Vienna

Having been given an enormous list from all of Skye's family of all the things to go and visit whilst we were in Vienna, we were feeling a little overwhelmed. Although the bus from Ilz to Vienna the day prior wasn't the longest journey, the emotional drainage of having just left family was hanging with us when we woke up on day 1. So we intended on it being a quiet day, trying not to cross off too much knowing we had another full day here before moving on.

With Skye being a qualified Zoo Keeper back home she was particularly interested in seeing what Vienna Zoo had to offer. Our journey there from our accommodation was a big one - over an hour on a couple trains. We were staying on the outside of the Danube River just outside of Vienna in a cheap Airbnb. The room was nice, but the bathroom probably needed a bit of looking after. It was relatively cheap though and the area was safe so we weren't disappointed.

As we arrived to Vienna Zoo we found ourselves lucky because just outside is Schonbrunn Palace, so we were able to tick one thing off that big list after all.

The zoo is also surrounded by one of Vienna's stunning botanical gardens so you truly feel natures calling on your walk to the zoo.

The conditions were less than to be desired, but the zoo do a great job of looking after you by providing suitable umbrella's and rain gear. Skye had positive expert reviews for Vienna Zoo, aside from the Polar Bear's enclosure. They provide a map to follow through their guide of seeing everything there, and include feeding times or special shows that are on. Honestly, you will not be disappointed spending a day here.

We finished the day heading to Vienna's famous Prater - an amusement park that runs till 10pm each night. There's colour, there's music, there's food, it's honestly a vibe. Prater is an absolute MUST-DO if you're in Vienna. The best part - it's free to enter. We spent our night just roaming around the park, admiring the courage of the locals jumping on the scary rides, and enjoyed being apart of the atmosphere.

We found a great and cheap pizza place just outside the park which have incredible serving sizes! The pizzas don't even fit on the plate. Skye and I shared a pizza, and finished our night taking one last walk through Prater before heading home.

It wasn't such a quiet day in the end.

We had been given a list of architectural masterpieces to see around Vienna which took up our time in day 2.

This included Votivkirche, Burgtheater, Rathausplaz, Osterreichisches Parlament, Hofburg Imperial Palace - all honestly breath taking.

Because of Australia's youth, architecture like this is few and far between. Here in Vienna - and most of Europe as we discovered throughout our trip - it seems as if every corner you walk around there is another phenomenal building to see.

I highly recommend walking through Maria Theresien-Platz and having the Natural History Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum either side of you. It is challenging to take a bad photo there.

For lunch we found a decently priced burger joint called Addicted to Rock. They play brilliant rock music, cook up juicy burgers and fries and the guys there are super friendly. We were surrounded by locals coming in for their lunch break so it is the place to be!

Naturally, being the frugal travellers we were attempting to be, we did not visit any of these museums and simply just enjoyed the architecture of them.

We took ourselves to Belvedere Palace via the tram and walked around the beautiful gardens there.

I cannot speak of what is inside of these palaces and museums, but if you are trying to minimise your spendings like us, I promise that you can make a fantastic day out of exploring the architecture of the buildings, statues and gardens that surround them.

Having seen just about everything of what we intended to see, and being completely drained from all the walking, we decided to make an early dinner out of the night, and try the local McDonalds - because Skye insists on comparing fast food chains to back home.

We finished the night with a quiet movie, ready for our train the next morning.