When the summer months arrive in the northern hemisphere, my thoughts go to Vienna. It was a place that I had never thought much about visiting, but outside circumstances took me there a few years ago. Shortly after I arrived, as I slowly crept up that long escalator and the view of the majestic and ominous Stephansdom came into view, I realized it is possible to fall in love with a city.

My trip to Vienna presented a lot of firsts in travel for me. Perhaps that is why it holds such a special place in my heart. Aside from a trip to the Caribbean, it was my first international trip and my first trip to Europe. The city was also the host of my first adventure as a solo traveler. Well, sort of.

My flight to Vienna was my first international flight alone. Funny how at that moment I had no idea how many of those were ahead of me going back and forth to Brazil. I was headed there because my husband was taking part in a three week study abroad program for his MBA. We explored the city center some over that initial weekend, but the rest of the week I spent my days walking the streets, shopping and exploring museums alone, and my evenings with my husband and his classmates. It was at this point I realized that traveling alone is just as invigorating and exciting as traveling with someone you love.

While it may seem that I liked Vienna so much because it launched me onto this journey of a travel-lover, there is much more to it. Vienna is an incredible city – the food, the drink, museums, Mozart, summer festivals, outdoor markets, public transportation – there are too many wonderful things to mention them all.

My husband and I like it so much that we can hardly bear to go to Europe without a stop in Vienna. We have returned since that first trip in 2006 and will likely be there again next summer. If we have our way, it is one of two locations in this world where we would gladly take a second home.

So now, let me get to the point. Keeping with the format of the Antigua post from a few months ago, here are a few reasons why you should get yourself to Vienna and what to do once you are there.

 

Why is Vienna different?

I’ve tried multiple times to put this into words and this is what I have come up with. Vienna has multiple tourist attractions yet the way the city is designed I never felt overwhelmed with tourists as I visited them. You feel as though you are part of the culture when you are there. A strong contrast to cities such as Prague, which I enjoyed, but felt completely claustrophobic. Vienna is fabulously designed with bike and walking lanes and incredible public transportation.

 

Why summer in Vienna?

The Film Festival auf dem Wiener Rathausplatz. The Film Festival at the Vienna Town Hall Square is an event from July to early September where films are shown on a large screen mounted on the Rathaus. Throughout the square are vendors selling foods that represent a variety of international cuisines – German, Brazilian, Italian, Indian – as well as local beer and also wine. Yes, it gets crowded, but you can grab your food and go sit in the park nearby. You don’t even have to watch the film to enjoy this festival. Tip: Take a few spare euros with you for the bathrooms which are located to the left of the Rathaus. Be sure to give them to the attendant and don’t drop them in the money bowl. Yes, I was reprimanded for doing so.

 

Where to hang out?

One of our all-time favorite restaurants is the Schweizerhaus. It’s not exactly a secret, but I would consider it a hidden gem, mainly because you will take an adventurous walk through Prater (an amusement park/fair) to find it. The beer garden is typically open March through October. Get there early because once the huge groups of people find their table and park it, they are there to drink for the night.

 

 

What to eat?

There are actually three very specific things we are sure to fit in during a trip to Vienna. The first is a Döner Kebab, the Turkish sandwich with chicken or lamb, tomato, onion, yogurt sauce and don’t forget to add hot sauce or the red pepper. We get them outside the U-bahn stations, specifically at Westbahnhof, or at the Naschmarkt.

The second is the Mozart Croissant from Anker Bakery. It’s a croissant filled with marzipan. In fact, anything you come across that is Mozart means it has marzipan. I believe this has something to do with it being one of his favorite sweets. You can find Anker everywhere in Vienna, on all major shopping streets and in most U-bahn stations.

The third is a any kind of bratwurst or sausage in general. How in the world the US came up with that crappy canned version or even the fat and short versions at cookouts, I have no idea. Real Vienna sausages are nothing like them and one of my favorite foods.

 

What to drink?

If you are at the Schweizerhaus, try a Radler. But be sure to order it with the strong German emphasis – RAD-LAH!! It is beer, usually Budvar with a lemon soda. Sweet and refreshing, and yes, maybe a little girly.

Otherwise go for Ottakringer which is brewed in the city. If you have the time, go take a brewery tour and enjoy plenty of free samples. One that I especially like is the Ottakringer Kirsch bier which you can get at the Ottakringer booth at the film festival. It is a tasty beer with a mild cherry flavor.

 

What is the one must-see attraction?

This one is easy for me, Schönbrunn Palace. Gorgeous landscaping and an incredible view if you are willing to take a little hike. The zoo on the grounds is nice as well.

 

 

What you won’t need?

A taxi. Vienna has the best public transportation system I have encountered to date. The U-bahn and the S-bahn, although we didn’t use the S-bahn much, makes it so easy to get around. Remember that this was my very first solo travel experience. If I could handle it, you will have no problem at all.

 

Best unexpected experience?

Visit a heuriger, a wine-tavern. It will take a U-bahn ride and likely another trip on the bus, but it is worth it to get out of the center of the city and see more residential areas. You will be surrounded by gorgeous vineyards as you sit at picnic tables and drink local wine and wine spritzers to your heart’s content.  We went to The Wolff Buschenschank heuringer on our first trip. It was gorgeous, but there are plenty of others as well. Tip: Learn the words for German foods. We knew a handful of phrases before going, but nothing that helped us order food once we got out to the heuringer.

 

After writing this I realize I probably will need a part II on Vienna. Once I finally make it there for the Christmas markets there will surely be a part III!

Have I mentioned how much I like Curitiba, Brazil? It is a melting pot of fantastic food which blends European influences with Brazilian culinary culture. I did a guest post and travel tip at Travel Dudes last week called Brazilian-German Cuisine in Curitiba, Brazil.  Head over and learn more about one of my favorite eating and drinking spots, Schwarzwald Bar do Alemão, in one of my favorite cities of the world.

 

 

 

I’ve put off writing this post for a while. Looking back I think it was because I knew once I finished it, I’d be sitting at my computer, one click away from buying a plane ticket back to Singapore. For a city that had us feeling disoriented and mildly disappointed upon arrival, the transformation we underwent in four days was amazing. Our time in Singapore quickly became a visit we wished would never end.

Yes, I did say mildly disappointed. I’m not sure what I expected of Singapore. Now that I think about it I’m pretty sure it was that I wanted the food hawkers handed to me without much work on my part to find them. That was nowhere near the case. As it turns out, though, our adventures in finding them are some of the best memories we have of our time there.

I’ve eaten at busy churrascarias on a Sunday afternoon in Brazil. I’ve shuffled sideways through the tourist filled streets of Prague and a few days before this trip I drug a suitcase through a crowded street market in Hong Kong. Yet, nothing prepared me for the experience that is the hawker in Singapore.

There were bright lights, pictures of foods both familiar and unidentifiable, writing I couldn’t pronounce even if I tried, vendors asking what we were looking for and long lines snaking through the seating area as diners waited to order their food. It was unlike any dining atmosphere I’ve encountered and it was incredible.

Yes, I often had to take a seat just to get my bearings and soak it all in, but I would go back and wait patiently in a line the length of the building at a hawker in Singapore in a heartbeat. However, when that time comes, there are a few things I learned from this first visit that I will be sure to take into consideration when planning next.

 

Get yourself a guide. Our first stop was a bookstore in a mall near Boat Quay. I’m sure there are lots of guides that can help you navigate the foods of Singapore, but I wanted this one – Makansutra Singapore 2009. This guide didn’t provide maps so we did have to reference those when looking for the hawker centers, but this guide rates the best dishes from the best hawkers and tells you in what area of town to find them. In addition, there are wonderful descriptions of hundreds of dishes which is helpful when wanting to know exactly what you are eating and for writing posts and articles like, well, this one.

 

Don’t expect it to be easy. I have to say I’m pretty proud of us for uncovering the locations of the some of the hawkers we sought out. My most vivid memory is the night we searched for the Soup Tulang at the Golden Mile Food Center located on Beach Road. It took a long metro ride, combined with getting lost at night, asking a kind woman for directions, then walking a few blocks until we could smell the food cooking. Be prepared to spend some time traveling to the best hawkers and don’t be afraid to ask for directions.

 

Plan to be overwhelmed. The lights and people alone may require you to sit and gather your thoughts before decided what to eat and where to order it. You may walk into a hawker knowing exactly what you want to eat, and then once you see the lights, menus and lines, completely forget what you went there for. Take your time and enjoy every bite. 

 

Follow the No Reservations trail. Yes, we did, and do this quite often in our travels. If we hadn’t then we never would have known to look for the Maxwell Food Center on Maxwell Road to try the Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice or the Soup Tulang from Hajir Kadir from the Golden Mile Food Center. It doesn’t have to be a specific guide or show you follow, but the advice of others, even that from national television, can help you discover some delicious food.

 

 

But also make your own path. If we hadn’t set off to discover some foods on our own, or simply walked up to some vendors and ordered what looked good, we would have missed out on a lot. This would have included Mee Chiang Kueh (a sweet dough with fillings such as peanut or grated coconut), Roti John (a Panini-like sandwich with eggs and onion), Wonton Mee (egg noodles with pork and filled dumplings), and Chai Tow Kueh or Carrot Cake (white radishes in a rice flour batter with egg, garlic and other veggies).

 

 

Forget the numbers. I read a lot of numbers prior to our trip that were supposed to tell me the location of a vendor within a hawker. About the only place this helped was at the frequently visited Lau Pa Sat. Otherwise, I never even saw the numbers on the vendor’s booths. They are difficult to find. Use this method if you choose, but we found it much easier to follow the lines if it is a popular place you are looking for. Otherwise, know what the food looks like or the name and give a random vendor a shot.

 

Know the schedules. While the numbers didn’t help us, hours of operation did. This is where a book like the Makansutra guide comes in handy. Some hawkers like the Maxwell Food Center cater more to the lunch crowd while you can get some foods at other hawkers like the one in Chinatown until late at night. Vendors also have different closing days and they can be random such as Tuesdays twice a month. If you have your heart set on trying a food find out the location and schedule of the specific vendor so you don’t miss out during your visit.

 

 

The articles, television shows and travel blogs don’t lie. Singapore is a food paradise. We enjoyed some of the most outstanding food we’ve ever had the opportunity to try. And it’s not just the food, but the experience surrounding it. Long lines, dumplings being rolled, oil splashing out of hot woks, food slapped quickly on a plate cooked to perfection – there is simply nothing like Singapore.