Why Vienna?
Vienna, Austria was the second stop of my EuroTrip. I’ve been inspired to go after watching Chika’s (Bilingirl’s) YouTube video and Rick Steves’ video about Vienna. Mostly, I looked forward to the architecture and the cafes (hopefully, with gluten free food).
What I did in Vienna
I spent about three days in Vienna, one of those days in Hallstatt (more on that in another post). Schönbrunn Palace and Hundertwassenhaus were the main tourist attractions I visited, but I managed to veer off into a few other places.
Grocery shopping mini haul
I wouldn’t call grocery shopping a thing to do, because who wants to grocery shop when they’re traveling? Nerds like me who save money as a hobby! But seriously, it’s one of the reasons why I’m able to spend less money when I travel.
I mostly shopped at EUROSPAR (and anything with the word “spar” in it) but Billa and Hofer (Aldi), are a few other grocery store chains in Vienna.
Note: Many grocery stores in Vienna are closed Sundays!
Gluten free grocery haul
- Green smoothie €1.99
- Acai bowl €3.99
- Bottled water €0,67
- Lettuce assortment €1.99
- Gluten free kaiser rolls €3.99
- Energy bar €1.49
- Hummus €1.99
- Sliced ham (I think) €1.89
- Kiwi €0,49 each
- Chicken and rice meal €3.49
Street art
The Airbnb where I stayed was about a 20 minute walk to Schönbrunn. On the way to the palace, I passed by a few murals on Felberstrasse street.
These were painted by artists as a part of Calle Libre, a festival that connects artists, their street art, and the public in Vienna. Check out Street Art Cities to find and learn more about street art in Vienna (and around the world)
I’m a window shopper….except when it comes to chocolate
For my last day in Vienna, I kept it simple by exploring Mariahilfer Strasse and Neubaugasse. I mostly window shopped, but also walked into a TK Maxx. I’ve been shopping at TJ Maxx for years, but this was my first time in a TK Maxx. I don’t know why I was looking forward to this…there’s not much difference between TJ Maxx and TK Maxx 😕
Mariahilfer Strasse has lots of restaurants, cafes, food stalls, and chain stores (Lush, Nike, etc). Neubaugasse (and other side streets off of Mariahilfer Strasse) have more independent and locally-owned shops.
On Neubaugasse, I spotted Bon Bon’s cute storefront and stocked up on chocolate! There’s a whole section for Zotter chocolate bars, which I had sampled at the NW Chocolate Festival a few weeks ago. My favorite was the Christmas Magic bar, which I meant to order online, but never got around to it. I guess it found me 🙂
Quest for gluten free sachertorte
Last on my to-do list was to try sachertorte, the chocolate cake that was created in Austria (Vienna specifically). It’s not that hard to find sachertorte, but I needed a gluten free sachertorte. Imagine traveling for a few weeks through Europe, the land of delicious and highly accessible pastries, cakes, and breads…and having to refuse all of it because they are not gluten free!
Anyway, during my ‘Vienna gluten free food’ research, I found this Vienna gluten free guide from Metropole Magazine. I decided on Allergiker Cafe, which is at the corner of Floragasse and Wiedner Hauptstrasse. They were out of sachertorte, so I had the chocolate almond and chestnut cake with apricot.
As you can tell, it was a pretty short trip. I plan on coming back in a few years during the summer (or anytime it isn’t freezing).
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