Budapest, Hungary (2.5 hours)
Bratislava, Slovakia (1 hour)
Brno, Czech Republic (2 hours)

Traveling to Vienna

This past September we took advantage of cheap airfare and jetted off to Vienna. I still can’t get over how quickly you can get to different countries when traveling within Europe. It’s amazing! It is one of my favorite things about living in Europe, the freedom to travel via affordable airfare and short flights. We have Italian resident cards that we need to have to travel outside of the country and they expire at the end of May. Due to this, I am trying to take advantage of as many travel opportunities as possible. Of course, Andrew has less flexibility due to school/work, which I have to work around. Why can’t we all have flexible jobs that allow us to travel? Wouldn’t that be ideal?

Anyway, we went to Vienna for 7 days. We enjoyed exploring Vienna. It is beautiful, clean, full of character, and relatively easy to navigate. It also makes a great central hub for different day trips via the train. I only wish we would have had more time to go to more places. Even so, we went to Budapest, Bratislava, and Brno–adding four more magnets to our collection. That means we visited four countries within 7 days (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic)! Maybe one day that won’t blow my mind, but today is just not that day. Day trips from Vienna are very easy and I highly encourage them.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is a mere 1-hour train ride away from Vienna, making it an ideal day trip destination. After arriving in Bratislava, we decided to walk from the train station to the downtown area. We also could have taken the bus or a taxi. The historic center is very well preserved and is definitely centered around tourists. This led to the costs being a bit higher than we had expected. If we were to go back we would make it a point to venture into other parts of the city that are frequented more by locals.

Near the center, you can walk to Bratislava Castle. Be aware that the walk is a bit steep and there are a couple of different paths that lead there. Once you have reached the castle, you can enjoy views of the Danube River and the surrounding city. It is very pleasant to walk around the exterior of the castle and wander through the park-like gardens. We decided not to go inside the castle and instead headed back to the center to search for some lunch.

A cool thing you can find in the center is the country’s oldest shop. It is a quaint little shop filled with goods strictly made in Slovakia. We got some beautiful chocolates as gifts for Wally’s dog sitters. The squares and little streets were very fun to explore and we had a great time. I would definitely recommend Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna.

In one of the squares of Bratislava. This was a very cute center.

Brno, Czech Republic

Before we started thinking about moving to Europe I had never really given any thought to visiting the Czech Republic. I really didn’t know anything about it. After Andrew started looking at programs there and his friend moved to Prague I became much more aware. Prague quickly became one of the leading destinations on my travel bucket list. We didn’t make it to Prague on this trip. Even though it can be done it is still a bit far. Instead, we ventured to an adorable town, Brno.

It was Sunday so it was a bit sleepier than I expect it is other days of the week, but that didn’t take away from its charm. The beer is cheap and delicious as well as the food. I was getting pretty hungry by the time we found a place to eat and went a bit overboard with the bar fare. We also found an adorable cafe where I tried a rose latte and honey cake (yum!). I am sorry, but I cannot for the life of me find the name of said cafe. At just under 2 hours (1hr 50min), Brno makes a fun little day trip from Vienna.

Budapest, Hungary

Let me first say that we have a friend that told us that Budapest was a nice city to visit. He was right! We decided to spend the night in Budapest and do a nighttime riverboat tour, but it would be possible to see the highlights in one day. I fell in LOVE with Budapest! Each side of the river is completely unique and both special in their own ways. The city is split by the Danube and the west side is Buda, while the east side is Pest.

The train station is on the Buda side and I had a few destinations I wanted to see as we made our way to the Pest side where our river tour was going to start. Buda has more of a park-like feel with all of its trees. It has less of the hustle and bustle of the Pest side. We really enjoyed the Fisherman’s Bastion and Castle Hill. Castle Hill is where you can find the Castle Hill Funicular. We rode down the hill in the funicular– the ride is short and the price is high, but whatever, it was still fun.

Once again, I was hungry, but we didn’t want to stop at a tourist trap where the food is expensive and the quality mediocre. Lucky for us we found the cutest little eatery along one of the streets. We actually ate here twice. The name is Hunyadi. We enjoyed eggplant paste on toast, fried goat cheese salad, and tasty beers. Budapest was relatively affordable when compared to what we are used to and especially when compared to Vienna prices.

On the Pest side, you can find the parliament building, the Ferris wheel, museums, and so much more. We stayed in a small apartment on the Pest side which was nice. We found a little breakfast place around the corner where I had the Hungarian breakfast which consisted of poached eggs with a yogurt sauce. It sounds strange, but it was delightfully delicious. The night before we enjoyed a river tour with bottomless champagne. All of the buildings were lit up and it was beautiful albeit a bit chilly. I wish it had been about an hour earlier so we could have enjoyed the sunset. Oh, well, it was still very pleasant.

The train ride to Budapest from Vienna is about 2.5 hours. You can squeeze in the highlights in one day or stay the night to get an even better experience.