Austria: Vienna // Slovakia: Bratislava
Vienna was a city that took me by surprise with quickly and easily I fell in love with it. We (as per usual) were only there for a four day weekend but I would happily go back to keep exploring.
Friday
The flight from Naples to Vienna was short and easy! We took the express airport train from the airport to the Vienna city center (about ~€18 round trip) and bundled it with a 72 hour Vienna public transit pass. I think this was about €34 per ticket and gave us unlimited use of all public transit in Vienna for 72 hours from the time of validation. We did hear from friends that there is a different even cheaper train (I’m talking <€3 to and from the airport) but the airport city train was incredibly easy to figure out, the kiosks were clearly marked, and it still didn’t break the bank.
Once we were in the city we made one transfer at the Vienna Central Station onto a metro that took us to the stop closest to our hotel. We checked in and grabbed a quick bite to eat before we started getting ready for what brought us to Vienna: Ball der Offiziere - The Officers’ Ball hosted by the Austrian Armed Forces at the Hofsburg Palace. As international military, we are able to put had tickets and attend the event and it has been on my Europe bucket list since moving here. Luckily, my mom flew to Vienna from the States to meet us and babysit — she is a wonderful Mimi!
The palace is absolutely stunning and this event is a people watchers dream. There was traditional dancing in the ballroom, bars and food stations (although the price of food and drinks was not included in the ticket), professional photo set ups, a disco for less “traditional” dancing, and more. Each woman attending the ball also received a gift — ours was a beautiful silk scarf with a design honouring the 2025 ball.
This was such a fun excuse to dress up with friends and feel like a literal princess in a palace. It was also fun to guess what country all the different uniforms came from.
The ball started at 8pm and went until 4am. Needless to say, we did not stay for the entire night.
Saturday
Because it was only an hour train ride away, we spent most of Saturday in Bratislava, Slovakia. We were able to purchase the tickets online through OBB and then print the tickets at the station using the confirmation code at the kiosk. The Vienna Central Station is clean, easy to navigate, and well marked. We had no issues finding the train.
Once in Bratislava, we found our way to a bus that took us into the city center. The city is definitely much smaller and doesn’t have the same glamour as Vienna but is incredibly charming. It reminded me more of when I’ve been to Zagreb, Croatia or Ljubljana, Slovenia. While there, we mostly just walked around and took in the sites. We found a small illusion museum (fun but not worth it), a beautiful ceramics shop to get my Christmas ornament, and a great spot for a traditional Slovakian lunch. We wanted to do a few other things like visit the castle and go up the UFO tower (our taxi driver later told us there is a great restaurant at the top) but the weather wasn’t great so certain activities just didn’t seem as appealing.
One recommendation from friends was that Bratislava has fantastic Christmas markets. This would be a great addition to a holiday trip to the Christmas markets in Vienna.
Once back in Vienna, we had some time left in our evening and decided to head to the IKONO pop up experience in the city. This is influencer heaven. While we went for my 4 year old to run around and burn off some energy, we were mostly surrounded by adults looking for photo ops. Because we were nearby and wanted to kill an hour indoors it was perfect but I don’t think I would go out of my way for it.
From here we headed to the hotel and grabbed dinner so we could get to bed to prep for a long day of exploring on Sunday.
Sunday
Our first activity of the day was to attend mass and see the Vienna Boy’s Choir perform. You have to purchase tickets ahead of time for this. My mom is a classical musician and was incredibly excited for this concert (as was I). It was beautiful but I would not recommend it with littles. I think my son was still a bit too young.
After this, we walked a short distance to check out the butterfly garden (Schmetterlinghaus) and then grabbed lunch.
One of our favorite parts of the weekend was what we did next — Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (the Natural History Museum). Not only were the exhibits set up incredibly well for kids of all ages, but the building (inside and out) was insanely beautiful. I could have sat in the cafe in the middle of the first floor for hours just looking up and enjoying the architecture. My son especially loved following the ant decals up the staircase while singing “The Ants Go Marching….” This museum often receives particular praise for their dinosaur hall — we didn’t make it too far inside because my son was a bit freaked out by the animatronic T-Rex but it looked fantastic.
For my fellow art history lovers, the Venus of Willdendorf is a part of the permanent collection of this museum (which I had forgotten until we arrived).
From here, we headed to the Haus der Musik for a children’s concert of Peter and the Wolf, a childhood favorite of mine. The concert was very very sweet and engaging for the kids. Especially after the stress of having kids at a more highbrow performance like the Boy’s Choir, it was a sigh of relief to let him dance and play and talk about the music he was listening to without stressing about the people around us. After the concert, we explored the museum itself which was also lovely.
Monday
We had a later flight, so we had some time on Monday to still explore. First we headed to the Haus des Meeres, the aquarium. It is several stories high and made mostly of glass so it provides beautiful views of the city of Vienna. It’s not the most amazing zoo or aquarium we’ve ever been to, but my son loved it and it was well done.
We walked around the city a bit and saw St. Stephen’s Cathedral (which has a stunning interior), shopped a bit, and then headed to the Mythos Mozart. It is an interactive light and music experience that takes you through Mozart’s life and career in Vienna. It was very cool but there were times that my son (4 years old) was a bit scared, especially in the first room. He warmed up to it all but definitely took some coaxing.
We made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and then grabbed the metro to the train back to the airport! I cannot say enough how easy the public transit in Vienna was. Once at the airport we had time to relax in the lounge and prep for the short flight home.
Vienna was amazing and I cannot wait to go back and experience it in different seasons and hopefully for the Christmas markets.
Recommendations from Friends
Schnitzel & Strudel cooking class (Airbnb Experiences)