I started my day in Vienna, Austria and finished the day in Berlin, Germany. I was up around 6 am to get ready and get down to breakfast at the hotel. Before starting the journey to the Airport around 7 am. As it turns out I did not need to be quite so early. I arrived at the airport with over two hours until my flight would depart. At this time of the morning, there are no lines or holdups so found myself with 90 minutes to spare at the gate.
My Vienna Experience
When I think back over my time in Vienna, it is an interesting introduction to the European Continent. There was a range of challenges that I faced along with a healthy dose of positive experiences as well.
Lacking Information
I found a significant lack of information once you arrived into the city of Vienna. Some of it might have been on me not looking for the information earlier in the process. However, when I arrived at the CAT station at the airport and in the city, I could not find maps, guidebooks or anything helpful. Even just a simple map on the wall showing the underground stations would have helped.
But not to worry, even though it took considerably longer and much more searching than planned I did make it to the hotel.
The Underground
Of course, once you have managed to get a map and understand the Underground system it is the best way to get around. Even though I had access to a car for 4 hours a day as part of my hotel booking, I did not need it. The Underground station was less than one block from my hotel.
Trains were running every 3-6 minutes at any time of day I wanted to be out. So walking from the front of my hotel to being in the centre of the city was rarely more than 10-12 minutes. Even with a wait for the train, there was no other quicker way to cover the 3kmto the city centre.
How Long To Stay
Vienna has long been a place that I have wanted to visit so I may be a little biased. However, I find the question is not whether you should visit Vienna or not, but how long you should stay.
I stayed in Vienna for nine nights, and I could have happily continued to find more things to see and explore. If I had visited more in the summer months, there are some close by local tours that would have been running. There are some day trips to other cities close by such as Salzburg, Prague or Bratislava.
First Time To Vienna
If you are looking to plan a visit to Vienna, I would highly recommend trying to give yourself at least a week. You would also want to look at making it within the summer months if you want to see everything. Through some of the winter months and shoulder season, there are many things that are not open or operating. If you aim for early April, most things should be operating, and you might still be just ahead of the crowds.
Berlin, Germany
The flight from Vienna to Berlin is rather short, right around 50 minutes. The flight was reasonably good, except for some significant turbulance towards the end. However, I made it to Berlin ready to see the city over the next couple of days.
Walking Berlin
I arrived at the hotel around lunch time and since the room was not quite ready, so set out for a walk nearby. There looked to be some interesting areas that I could explore later today or tomorrow. One that especially caught my eye was a church named Kreuzkirche (Cross Church).
Berlin Wall
After getting checked into the hotel and taking a little time to get myself sorted out, I headed out again. I headed for an area called Sony Centre fand walked around a few of the streets in the area here. I found a small display including some of the Berlin Wall. Before taking a look at some options for dinner.
Ready For The Next Few Days
I took the afternoon quite easy so that I am ready to get out and explore the city over the next couple of days. There is also the fact that I have a city bicycle tour tomorrow and did not want to double up too much on what may be included. So You can expect a bit more to come tomorrow so be sure to check back.
