Drinking copious amounts of wine last night didn’t bode well for the run we had planned for the morning. So instead we slept in (finally!) and tried to recover. The run can wait for tomorrow.
On the day’s agenda: Vienna’s famous Naschmarkt. The Naschmarket is a fruit and vegetable market but it offers so much more. The fruits and veggies come from around the world and there were many that I’d never seen before. There were also spices and cheeses and meats and breads. Interspersed were food vendors offering all sorts of traditional fare. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and we got soaked going through the market. Cold and wet, we really didn’t take full advantage of the market. Soaked at this point, we decided to head to the next destination.
Yannick, our guide from the snowshoeing adventure, had recommended an ‘underground’ Christmas Market called Karlsplatz. This market is different in that it offers less traditional Christmas fare. It’s known for it’s sweet playground for children and crafts which feature local artists. As you all know, every trip I take is commemorated by a piece of art from a local artist so I was very excited about this market. So, even though it was pouring and we were soaking wet and freezing, we trudged along hoping to find something fantastic. Well, we did! There was some incredible art there! One of the requirements for those wishing to run a stand at this market is that the products on sale must be made by the applicant themselves. So it was all very original and we got to speak to the artists we bought from. Success!
Cold and wet and kinda depressed about the weather, we headed back to the apartment. I have to say, I felt a little trapped. All of my loved ones know that I’m no fun to be around when I feel that way. But Candace handled it – and me – well. BFFs just know what to do in those situations…
We decided to try another famous Christmas market in the evening. We bundled up – really, really bundled up – and headed out, stopping along the way for mini bottles of wine. Night one we drank gluhwein – the Austrian version of mulled wine – and just decided it wasn’t for us. So we decided we’d fill up our gluhwein mugs with our own wine! Yes, we are just that smart 🙂
The Weihnachtsdorf vor dem Schloss Belvedere (or Belvedere Palace). This market is the latest addition to the Christmas market scene in Vienna and is set against the backdrop of the baroque style Belvedere Palace which was the summer residence for Price Eugene of Savoy and now houses museums and stables. The palace is absolutely stunning to walk into! The grounds are incredible and feature a large pool and majestic and massive wrought iron gates. It was a beautiful sight! But slightly less impressive because some of the fairy take Christmas lights weren’t turned on 🙁 We still had luck with the vendors and enjoyed walking around with our version of gluhwein.
The Belvedere Palace is in a district of Vienna that we weren’t familiar with so we stopped into a sweet hotel to ask for a restaurant recommendations. The most adorable bellhop (what is that called in German?) suggested a traditional restaurant around the corner. What a recommendation! The restaurant was called Sperl and was fantastic. It was warm and cozy and almost completely full and reeked of Christmas and Viennese charm. We split some wonderful and I drank the traditional Gruner Vetlinger wine which is very similar to a Pinot Grigio but just a bit sweeter. We had a blast getting silly with the waiters.
We decided we were tired and a date night was in order. We stopped on the way back to the apartment to pick up some wine and dessert and promptly put ourselves to bed with ‘This is 40’ playing on my tablet (thanks Kerry!) and a Schokokuchen pastry to share (an Austrian pastry similar to a donut with chocolate merenge inside).
Another FANTASTIC day in Vienna! But, the question remains, will we ever see the sun while we’re here??