One Awesome Day Trip in Hallstatt Austria

One Awesome Day Trip in Hallstatt Austria

by Wen Austria

The drive to Hallstatt is very scenic and passed some lake viewpoints just like these in Sound of the Music. We were on a trip from Vienna and had about 2 hours to wander around.

Hallstatt Old Town

People often said that Hallstatt is Austria’s most beautiful lake town. After being there for just a day, there is no doubt why this is the most Instagrammed town in Austria. It is truly spectacular with the beautiful mountains surrounding it.

Hallstatt serves as a relaxing break between Vienna and Salzburg. Just browsing here for a few hours and you will fall in love. After all, this is Austria’s oldest salt mining town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hallstatt lake

Hallstatt Winter

Very Touristy!

After lunch we marched straight to the spot for the “Classic Village Viewpoint”.
Hallstatt tour groups

The area is absolutely packed with tourists. Therefore, ff you want to enjoy the tranquility that Hallstatt is famous for, it’s better to arrive before 10am or stay there the night and leave in the morning. However, most of the tourists on day trips leave by 5pm. Also, Hallstatt is mostly closed during winter but cafes and souvenir shops were still opened.
Hallstatt Tourists

This is the postcard picture!

View of the lake

What a joy to see the snow dusting the wooden houses up the slope and the mountains surrounding the lake. Meanwhile, from the viewpoints, you can see dozens of elegant swans on the water’s edge.


Central Square Marktplatz

This is a beautiful Austrian central square with fountain and the buildings are closely grouped and display the typical Austrian architecture. The old town by itself can be toured on foot in within one hour. So just walking the little village streets is amazing! The views are spectacular. Above all, if you every want to see Hallstatt in snow, plan your trip near and after Christmas. We are very happy with the snow on the rooftop, roadside and basically every horizontal. That blanket of white everywhere just adds a little touch to the quaint little town.

Waterfall channeled through the town

Mountain water rushing between the buildings creates a spectacular view!

Lunch

Fresh trout.

Meirerei am Stadtpark

by Wen Austria

Brunch

Meirerei is dairy-inspired and the "little sister" of Steirereck in the same modern stainless steel building in Stadt Park. Great place for breakfast or brunch. Can't wait for our dinner in the upstairs restaurant Steirereck! This is a very spoiled day. 😛

Farmer's Bread

with butter & chives

Soft Boiled Free-Range Egg

with toasted black bread

Cheese

Beef Tartar & Gulasch

Steirereck Restaurant, Vienna

by Wen Austria

Dinner at No. 15 - the world's 50 best restaurants

The restaurant was on the 2015 "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" list. It was located inside a modern stainless steel building set in Stadt Park. From amuse-bouche to the bread and cheese selections it had quite innovative touches. We chose the 7 course testing menu and were not disappointed in any one of them. Food was absolutely world class!

Your choice sliced fresh off the loaf!

It could be as excited as choosing the cheese! We were offered a HUGE selection of bread from the bread trolley. I would like to try all please! 🙂

We each received a card naming all of the dishes. The list of ingredients gives you a clue of what to expect when the plate arrives at the table.

Carrots

Young carrots with fennel, coconut and reinanke.

Puntarella with Kaki, Salted Capers & Bouchot Mussels

Puntarella: The hearts of this rare member of the chicory family have a flavour similar to atichoke and asparagus while the leaves are reminiscent of dandelion.

Pike Perch

Pike Perch with cabbage sprouts, berberis & almonds.

Pheasant

Pheasant with salted lemon-braised onions, chard & groundcherry.

Milk Fed Veal

Milk fed veal with young cabbage, turnip & bone marrow.

Choose your cheese!

The bread and cheese carts are worth the visit for alone! The cheese cart is the highlight of highlights!

Quince

Quince with Burnk milk & lavender.

Leopoldauer Alm

by Wen Austria

Very cozy and comfortable atmosphere. It's kind of a place where locals hang out. The menu is big and the food portions are huge but tasty. 

Soups

Bayrische Zwiebelsuppe (German Onion Soup)

Fritattensuppe (Beef Broth Topped with Strips of Sliced Pancake)

Knoblauchsuppe (Thuringia Garlic Soup)

Fleisch Knodel

Meat Dumplings.

Spareribs Klein

Wiener Schnitzel

Super sized Schnitzel that was the biggest I have ever had. Tender and crispy.

Café Sacher Wien

by Wen Austria

This is where the famous Sachertorte originated and invented. The atmosphere is what you might expect - old world Vienna in a timeless historical setting. Beautiful and elegant atmosphere with the red furnishings and chandeliers. The prices are a little steep but overall it's a great experience.

Original Sacher-Torte

Here's the original Sacher-Torte with whipped cream. Really rich and dense chocolate cake. A little bit on the dry side. Although the Sachertorte isn't my favorite dessert, I know my Vienna adventure wouldn't be complete without it. 🙂

Original Sacher Gewürzgugelhupf

Viennese ring cake with sweet spices (ginger and candied oranges)

Böhmische Liwanzen

Bohemian pancakes with plum butter and plum sorbet.

30 minutes later...

Fall in Love with Vienna in Winter

by Wen Austria

Vienna in Winter

After finishing our trip in Croatia for a week, we were heading to Vienna.  It's the capital and the largest city of Austria. Beautiful architecture and delicious food. Home to both Beethoven and Mozart. We spent 2 full days in Vienna which was not enough to enjoy this beautiful city!

Albertina

This was a beautiful, old but modern museum.  Really well laid out exhibit halls. We enjoyed our visit, particularly the Edward Munch collection. We were actually here to see the Scream! :-O)

The Scream | Edward Munch

Saw The Scream!

Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum)

You can easily spend a few hours at this museum. Each room holds unique and interesting exhibits. The dinosaurs was what I loved the most and it was really impressive. The museum was most famous for the Venus of Willendorf. It was really cool to see it in person. Hands down, this was definitely the best natural history museum I have ever visited!

Natural History Museum Vienna

Venus of Willendorf

"The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimeter-tall (4.4 in) Venus figurine estimated to have been made 30,000 BCE" - Wikipedia.

State Opera House

The building was beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't book the tickets in advance. We took advantage of the showing of the Opera on the big screen outside the Opera house. It was freezing cold outside but totally worth it. 

Live videostream outside the Vienna State Opera House

State Opera House Guide Tour

We could not get any tickets to an opera performance so instead we booked a guided tour (separate tours in multiple languages) in the opera house. The 45 minute guided tour included stopping in some of the ornate rooms and the auditorium.

Café Sacher Wien

The cafe was just behind the State Opera House. We popped in to have some tea and Sachertorte since it was one of the most famous gastronomic foods to try in Vienna. It was a bit pricey but worth it!

Sachertorte

Gewürzgugelhupf

Böhmische Liwanzen

Concerts at the Mozarthaus (Mozarthaus deutschordenshaus)

The room was said to be the oldest concert hall in Vienna. Small performance beautiful room with less than 100 people. The venue was intimate and the sound quality was impressive. 

Concerts in Mozart’s House

Stephansplatz

Stephansplatz was a busy and popular square right in the center of Vienna.  It was a great pedestrian area surrounded by shops and cafes. During the holidays the city was very festive. Very atmospheric especially with he Christmas season.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

We visited St. Stephan's Cathedral at night. It was breath taking. The exterior and intricate design of tiled roof were stunning. We were there in the winter so it wasn’t very crowded.  

Manner Shop

Located right across from St. Stephen's Cathedral. Prices are around the same as local supermarkets. They also have Mozart chocolates and other fun touristy things. The shop was super busy but the service was pretty good. Great place to get souvenirs.

Belvedere Palace Museum

Went to see the famous “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

The Palace has stunning decoration inside with painted ceilings and marble floors which are breathtaking. 

Gustav Klimt | Kiss

When I saw the Kiss I was blown away by its power and exquisite beauty. It was so different when you saw it for real. 

Looked like it was snowing pretty hard while we were inside.

Hotel Bristol Vienna

The hotel was located next to the Opera House. The location was perfect, closed to the Palace, the pedestrian shopping area, and the Sacher Hotel. Our room was overlooking the Opera House which was awesome!

Good morning Vienna!

Snowing in Vienna

Cafe Mozart

by Wen Austria

Breakfast

 The Cafe Mozart has been around since 1794. Serving traditional Viennese food. The location is great. None of us left feeling hungry. Don't be on a diet when you go. 😛

House Breakfast

Hot chocolate  
2 soft-boiled organic eggs  
1 buttered organic bread roll  
Fresh orange juice

Beef Tartar

Wiener Apfelstrudel

Apple strudel