Copenhagen → Prague → Vienna

Here’s a post thats a little different…

Earlier this year, myself and my boyfriend, Liam, were trying to find a holiday destination. We ended up writing lists of places we wanted to visit. The list was so long that we decided to interrail to combine a few.

This blog post features the first 3 destinations- Copenhagen, Prague and Vienna.

(P.S All photos are mine unless credited to another source)

Copenhagen:

Copenhagen was on my travel bucket list before this trip, it certainly lived up to expectations.

On our first evening, we took a trip to the Nyhavn canal. The beautiful old houses have been renovated and turned into classy restaurants and bars. Nyhavn is filled with people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere by the canal, jazz music and great food. It looks so beautiful in the early evening!

We even managed to stumble across an art installation by Ai Weiwei. I did a little bit of research in this installation. Named Soleil Levant, the installation barricades the windows of Kunsthal Charlottenborg with more than 3500 salvaged life jackets collected from refugees arriving at the Greek Island of Lesbos. It is a really eye catching piece with a deeper political and social meaning.

Check out some photos of it below:

On the second day, we went exploring! And we saw some beautiful houses along the way. I love the contrast between the orange brick and the blue/green doors and window frames.

The next stop was Kastellet, a star-shaped 17th-century fortress.A number of buildings are located within the grounds of Kastellet, including a church as well as a windmill. We didn’t even know this place existed but it was so beautiful!

The little mermaid statue is also a must see if you visit Copenhagen. Although, it is a very popular tourist destination, especially when the weather is nice!

In the evening, we took a trip to Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s famous and magical theme park. This is a must see when visiting Copenhagen, just to walk thought the gardens is an experience, you don’t even have to go on any of the rides. The whole venue is hightly decorated and bursting with colour. It was so much bigger and better than I was expecting and definitely worth the price too!

I would definitely visit Copenhagen again, it is such a beautiful city with amazing buildings and attractions. If you go, make sure you take a lot of money with you as it’s an expensive destination!

Rating: 5/5

Prague:

On our first day, we took a trip to the Charles Bridge, Prague’s most historic bridge that crosses the Vltava River. The views you get from the bridge are incredible, you get a perfect view of the terracotta roofs and Gothic cathedral. There are street performers, buskers and artists lining the bridge, giving a view of the Czech culture.

We managed to find an awesome pass that got us entry into a number of attractions. We could see St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica, and Golden Lane for 250CZK (about £8.60!).

Here’s the Old Royal Palace and the view from the balcony:

Out next stop was the Lennon wall (or John Lennon Wall), a nice change of pace from what we had already seen.  Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles’ songs. Believe me, it was bold!

On our second day, I dragged Liam to see the Dancing House. It is one of the most unique pieces of architecture in the world. The contemporary building really stands out against the Baroque and Gothic backdrop.

I definitely didn’t enjoy Prague as much as Copenhagen (I think the hostel put me off a bit!) However, I would still recommend it as you can see lots of beautiful places in a short space of time.

Rating: 3/5

Vienna:

On our first evening, we headed out for food straight away. Honestly, the food was incredible! We went for a very traditional meal, schnitzel and strudel/Austrian crepes. Check it out:

The next morning, we started our sight seeing adventure. The first place on our list was Vienna State Opera House. It is a beautiful building, but it’s surrounded by busy roads.

Next, we walked through the museum quarter, to the Neue Berg (‘New Castle’) Palace. It truly is one of the most beautiful and dominating buildings in Vienna, and just to make it better, it has beautiful grounds around it. There’s a statue of Mozart in the park area which is absolutely stunning. I love the treble clef made out of flowers on the grass!

 

We then followed the crowds to the Hofburg Palace. For centuries the Vienna Hofburg was the centre of the Habsburg empire. Today the palace houses three museums, the Imperial Apartments with their original furnishings and decoration, the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Silver Collection. It is a very impressive building and one of the top tourist attractions in the city.

Then we saw the gorgeous Theseus Temple and colourful rose gardens. This is such a hidden gem, it would be stunning in the spring and summer.

We finished the day by visiting St Stephen’s Cathedral. A Medieval Roman Catholic place of worship with an ornate spire, catacombs & a treasury museum.

On second full day, we decided to go to Vienna Zoo. Tiergarten Schönbrunn or “Vienna Zoo“, is located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace. Founded as an imperial menagerie in 1752, it is the oldest zoo in the Western world.

We did a bit of research on the zoo before our trip, there are a couple of amazing species that I’ve never seen before, but I’ll reveal that at the end of the post!

have a look at some of the amazing animals below:

Introducing the stars of the show; Giant Pandas and Polar bears! I was so excited to see these animals, they are such beautiful creatures.

Vienna Zoo is honestly one of the best zoos I’ve ever been to, I’d highly recommend it! Despite catching a cold and high temperature, Vienna was high on my holiday destination ranking as there is so many different things to do and see in a short distance.

Rating: 4/5

Stay tuned for part 2, it’ll be on the blog within the next week. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post.

Can you guess our final 3 destinations?

Eve x