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Eat Your Way Through Vienna: 10 Restaurants

August 25, 2016 2 Comments

I love eating my way through cities, and I’m thrilled to share with you my favorite restaurants in Vienna. If you’ve been following along for a while, then you know that I lived near Vienna for over a year. And I fell head over heels in love with this beautiful city. Maybe if I had stayed longer, the stars in my eyes would have faded, but I’m not so sure.

Recently, I’ve been missing Vienna.

Therefore, I’m inviting you to join me as I reminisce over the restaurants that I frequented while in that iconic city.

My Favorite Vienna Restaurants

Cafe Sperl

This corner cafe has a special place in my heart for its old fashioned glamour. It doesn’t seem altered since it was established in 1880 (but of course it has toilets now), but when I visit this place, I can imagine all sorts of stories unfolding within the room. You must visit this cafe.

Meal: You can eat here, but I always go for dessert!

Drink: Kakao (hot chocolate)

Dessert: *Topfenstrudel (it’s not like cheesecake at all, but it’s similar)

1516 Brewing Company

My first memory of this place is when my small group met there. We crowded around a tiny table on the second floor (no smoking floor), and one of my friend told me I had to have the wings. Best Thing Ever. I think I only ordered that meal when I visited 1516. Feel free to check out reviews on TripAdvisor, but really, I think you should just go (and buy the wings).

1516 wings — the wings you must get at 1516

Meal: 1516 BBQ Buffalo Chicken Wings

Drink: Radler (a very popular, slightly alcoholic drink)

Dessert: Chocolate Brownie with Walnuts and Apricots (but I was always too full)

Eis Greissler

This is The BEST ice cream in Vienna as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve tried a lot of ice cream there. But it was Eis Greissler (ice gr-I-ssler) that stole the show for me, and when I visited the last time I bought a small box to eat in a sitting. I love ice cream that much.

Meal: N/A

Drink: N/A

Dessert: Topfen*, Mango, and Zotter-Schokolade (dark chocolate)

* Topfen is a hard thing for Americans to describe. It’s most often compared to cream cheese, but it’s really not the same. And that comparison has ruined Topfen for many Americans. It’s white, creamy, and slightly sweet. I love it.

Vietnam Bistro

I wish I could claim that I found this sweet mom and pop’s restaurant, but I didn’t. My friend found it, and once it was discovered, we visited often. Our favorite table was one of the two in the back of the restaurant although one day we sat under the awning (where bees wanted our food too!). I wish I could teleport there for a meal today. Seriously.

Meal: Pho bo or Bun bo

Drink: Radler

Dessert: I’m not even sure if they offer dessert!

7Stern Bräu

A huge group of us ended up here for dinner one night, and I shared a meat meal with a friend. But the best part of this time was dessert because it was dreamy. Always, always choose knödel everything. Go here just for that dessert. Seriously.

Meal: 7stern Skewer

Drink: Chilli Beer (okay, not really, but get a small one just to try)

Dessert: Topfennougatknödel mit Himbeersauce und Schlagobers (delicious chocolatey pastries with raspberry sauce and whipped cream)

Esterhazy-keller

Do you want to see the coolest thing ever? You need to go to this place. I remember ducking into this side door in a small alley and then walking down and down and down to discover a giant restaurant. I would have never known! Check out these images.

Meal: Heurigen (buffet style where you go up to a counter and an attendant makes a plate according to your requests)

Drink: Welschriesling

Dessert: Apfelstrudel (apple strudel)

Das Kai

My friend discovered this fun restaurant because she finally discovered a sushi that she liked (deep-fried). The prices are good, and the food was tasty! Now, I don’t know what is the real deal for this type of cuisine, but I can say this restaurant was yummy. Try the KimChi!

Meal: Mozarella-Maki, KimChi

Drink: Mangosaft (mango juice)

Dessert: Tang-Yuan

Schnitzelwirt

This is The Place to go for schnitzel (in my opinion). When friends came to visit me, I made a point to take them to Schnitzelwirt for schnitzel. And goodness, you received a lot of food for your money. I suggest splitting a schnitzel unless you know that you want leftovers!

Meal: Cordon Bleu Schnitzel (otherwise go for the Wiener Schnitzel. The garlic schnitzel here will keep vampires away for a year at least)

Drink: Soda Zitrone (lemon soda)

Dessert: I’m always too full!

Vapiano

This chain restaurant is so easy, and this is why I loved it. It’s all throughout Vienna. This is where my friends and I went when we had a huge group or we were in a rush. The selection of freshly-made food created while you watch is pretty spectacular. I also liked that the affordability had to do with my food choices!

Meal: Homemade soup (it’s a seasonal menu) with bread

Drink: Peach Vanilla Black Tea (Vapiano brand)

Dessert: New York Cheesecake

Tichy

It feels wrong not to mention this ice cream parlor. This is the place my Austrian friend dragged me when I first visited Vienna because the eis was her favorite. But, the truth is that their Eisknödel is the best that I’ve ever had. Eisknödel is ice cream molded around a fruit center and rolled in a sugar cookie.

Meal: N/A

Drink: Almdudler (an Austrian classic soda) or Kaffee

Dessert: Eis-Marillenknödel and Himbeer-Eisknödel

Eat Your Way Through Vienna — Was this post helpful? Pin it. 😀

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Vienna that I didn’t mention? Tell me in the comments!

Book Recommendation: Give Your Child The World

August 22, 2016 10 Comments

Books instilled in me the desire to travel the world, to explore it, to meet people from other countries. My fondest memories from growing up are long car rides where my mother would read to me and my siblings about far away places. When I could read for myself, a whole new world opened to me.

Fast forward ten years, I’ve traveled to almost 20 countries, lived abroad for months at a time, and begun writing my own books (while still reading SO much). And it’s all because my parents opened the world to me through reading.

I’m thrilled to be partnering with The Blog Spot Network to review and share Jamie C. Martin‘s Give Your Child The World. My opinions are my own, and I am using affiliated links to support this website.

Book Recommendation:

Give Your Child The World

Broken into two parts, Give Your Child The World starts with Falling in Love with the World showing Jamie Martin’s own heart for children and the world.

But, it’s the simple ideas that make a big difference, including ten ways to build a story-solid foundation for your family. Jamie is practical in her ideas for those who want to explore the world but can’t afford to jet off to every other country.

The second part of the book is Read the World. Jamie’s book recommendations are categorized by region, country, and age range (4-6, 6-8, 8-10 and 10-12).

Meanwhile, there are special sections throughout where parents have shared how they incorporate learning about other cultures and spectacular places around the world without really going around-the-world.

Jamie includes books highlighting Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

My Thoughts

I’m not a mom, but I have a lot of friends who are moms (and the number is growing!). I adore children and the world and reading. Give Your Child The World weaves all of these loves together so I don’t know what could be better (maybe a book that makes dinner too…)!

I want to have kids now so I can use this resource, but since I don’t, I’ll use it to help with future kid activities that I’ll lead.

On a scale of cotton candy (unhealthy but sweet) to Brussels sprouts (healthy but bitter), Give Your Child The World by Jamie C. Martin creates an international potluck that never becomes inedible.

[Tweet “Give Your Child The World by @jamie_cmartin creates an international potluck that never becomes inedible.”]

What I’ll Be Reading from Jamie’s List

Based on Jamie Martin’s book recommendations, I’ll be looking at stories set in South Africa (since I hope to travel there in the coming year).

The Day Gogo Went to Vote by Eleanor Batezat Sisulu

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me by Maya Angelou

Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo

#BookGiveaway

So here’s the BEST part. I get to give the winner of the below giveaway their own paperback copy of this AMAZING resource. You have a week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you stuck around all the way to the bottom of this post, all the gold stars for you!

I so believe in reading (and loving the world) that I want to offer you another shot at receiving a free copy of Give Your Child The World. If you know someone who (or if you) really deserve a copy of this book, explain why in the comments before August 31, 2016 [edit August 28 to line up with Rafflecopter Giveaway]. This will not be a “fair” contest because I intend to choose someone based on their comment (if you’re not okay with that, please do not enter). All other terms & conditions of the above giveaway apply, other than my selection process.

Winner from the Comments: Suzanna!

Happy Traveling and Reading, Friends!

The Search for Identity

August 18, 2016 3 Comments

For the world. For my friends. For this website. For my life. For anyone who’s ever searched for their identity.

I’m not going to go on and on about how I’ve chosen that my identity is Christ (because I have). That’s new news every day (to me anyway). And it’s my favorite thing to remember on every good day, but especially the very-bad-no-good days.

laughing — Let’s be real: Christina is brilliant…me, I’m awkward.

but This is my blogging story.

If you’re not interested, make sure you enjoy the photos (I’ve chosen the most awkward) taken by my friend, Christina DeClerk. Our life threads tangled (aka we met) in Austria where we both worked in the same space for 8 months or so. She’s now back in the USA. And you should definitely creep her website because she’s great at capturing such candid beauty!!

awkward feet — What are feet? Gosh. I don’t know what to do with mine! (c) Christina DeClerk

1. Know Your Motivation For Why You Write

When my college rejected my application to be a blogger for their website, I should have taken it as a sign to never write again. Instead, I had less of a lady-like response, “Fine, I’ll do it better.”

Ironically, I think that little space of blog has more followers now (that I’ve stopped writing there) than it did when I was writing. And like the regular journaler I am, I can’t fathom deleting this space of interweb, so there it still sits. And now you know…

The Search for Identity — Let me open a window for us…this looks harder than it was, but I was balancing on a bathtub edge…so. (c) Christina Declerk

My most popular posts from my old site?

I’ll let you decide why these were the most popular while I keep from cringing. Operation Strawberry Chicken??? What was I thinking?

Operation: Strawberry Chicken

A Short Story: Tears

For Freedom

Hobby: Letter Writing

2. Write for Your Audience (if that includes you, great, but don’t just write for you)

After a long hiatus of no posting, I decided that it was time to write for a community again. I had these grand schemes of becoming a famous blogger and all that jazz. Wouldn’t everyone want to know my thoughts?

I headed my categories with confusing but lyrical titles (that even I forgot what they meant), and I didn’t visit other websites. I wrote what I wanted. Part diary, part faith-spirational, part how-to. This website existed for me and only for me.

Sheesh. Selfish shellfish! I’m ashamed.

And yet, some of you have reached out to me to share how a post has encouraged you or challenged you. Maybe You Can Break Up With God and Heart Puddles and Poppy-Red Hope caused private messages to me, and when I hear from someone, I know that I’ll keep writing even if it’s only for one person to feel less alone.

You’ve spoken. And I’ve heard. You value vulnerability. And so do I.

3. Write Sustainably.

This website has spent a lot of time on my past travels, food loves, cultural observations, and so many other things besides. But I’ve been trying to cover too many topics. Some posts were only there to fill my 2 posts/week quota, and I’m not proud of the writing or the information. If you’re going to read here, I want it to be good.

So new goal.

The goal is to write plainly and share truth, and so if you scroll up to the top of this page, you might notice that I’ve rewritten my categories so you (and I) will be able to navigate this website without a head scratch.

I’m a 20-something, and I want to write for my fellow 20-somethings. Life is a journey that I want to share with you, if you’ll let me.

From now on, I’m writing for the young woman who mind-and-soul-fully lives. She dabbles in style (mostly if it’s thrifty but occasionally splurges on something divine) and she hungers to travel and time-travel, whether by car, train, plane, or book.

If you’re in, I’d love for you to sign up for my e-newsletter. The form asks for a website (because I want to check out your space of interweb), but if you don’t have one, no sweat!

But mostly, I want to hear from you!

If you’re a 20-something (at heart), what does mindful and soulful living look like to you?

How do you create a life that is sustainable to you?

Where do hunger to travel to next?