Vienna- The capital city with a unique charm.

Very similar to Germany, but more of a young population. The native language is german and that is what is widely spoken in shops, public transport and the streets. Very pretty and well maintained architecture and buildings, following the Gothic style.

1. Wien is the traditional name for Vienna. Wein is wine in german.

2. We went to an interesting beer place called Mel's craft beer, that had 400 kinds of beer. The place was super busy in the night and it was very difficult to get hold of the waitresses.

3. You can drink tap water in Vienna. Well, in the whole of Austria for that matter.

4. All shops remain closed on Sundays, as it is considered a family day. Everyone gets their shopping done on Saturdays or weekdays.

5. Well planned city with great connectivity. You will find trams running even in small streets. Other modes of transport include Metro, Bus, Autobahn and Ubahn.

6. You can get a glimpse of the Danube river, which is the longest river in Europe and flows through 10 countries.

7. Famous food items are Viennese sausages (Frankfurter) and Schweinsschnitzel (deep fried pork dish).

8. Things to do includes an Opera visit (you will find guys, dressed in uniforms, selling opera  tickets in the streets), Schönbrunn palace (with close to 1,440 rooms, picture below), Stephansplatz- the main street in Vienna, where you can indulge in massive shopping!

9. Vienna is very close to countries like Hungary and Slovakia. These places can be included in the itinerary of your Vienna trip.

10. Just like in Germany, announcements and hoardings are in German. We had to cancel going to another country, Bratislava, by train, as we were late to understand that the train was cancelled. Had to take the bus instead.

11. Autumn is beautiful with multi-colored tree leaves (yellow, orange, red).

12. If you go during the winter, don't bother packing a lot of clothes for the trip. You will need to wear many layers with jackets everyday. You will look the same on all days :)

13. For 8 years straight, Vienna has been ranked first in the Quality of life survey.

14. The city will always remain close to my heart, as my bestie n kin lives there!

15. Sache torte- A special piece of cake, known as “a piece of Vienna”. This little introduction was enough to make us decide to buy it as a souvenir for near and dear ones back home. A close friend who had visited Vienna earlier, was a fan of this cake. Hence, I did not need to think twice about what to get for her.

We were introduced to the game of Poker by our hosts in Vienna. I was against playing the game, but they finally convinced us and then I was the one asking for another round of poker every night :P 

We also had a prestigious moment in Vienna- the day we visited the headquarters of the United Nations. My bestie's hubby was kind enough to take us on a tour of the place. We were escorted inside after a security check with a special ID card. There are a lot of artistic works, donated by some countries, inside.And boy, were we surprised with the number of Indians working there! It was fun finding out the Indian flag from a huge group of flags from all over the world. Saw a glimpse of PSLV launched by ISRO.

Did you know that Vienna is one of the 4 headquarters of the UN?
The others HQ's are in New York, Geneva and Nairobi.

I would love to end this post with a picture that spreads love and peace. See below :-)

Have you visited Vienna? 
If yes, what is the one thing you remember about the place? If no, what is the one thing you wish to see there? 
Please post it as a comment!