Vienna....I am an outlier

That a notable destination doesn't speak to you is probably very common.

Please, everyone reading this, please sit down as the following will shake you to your core. Sitting? ...... okay, some people dont enjoy Budapest. Hard, nay impossible to believe, but true. So just imagine how many more must be bored by Vienna?

I liked Vienna quite a bit, for some strange reason I really enjoyed Hallstatt. I was turned off by Salzburg, and could not see what was so special about one of the Bad towns. So Austria doest light my fire to a huge degree. But Austria is in good company cause I feel the same about Germany.

Bruce, as Mr. E. said, that is common. Some places call to me and others not so much. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy them, but it does mean I probably would not return. And Vienna was one of those places. I did enjoy its beauty and history and especially loved the surrounding area, but it's not a destination that I have a burning desire to return to, unlike some others.

Which big cities in Europe do you like?

I tend not to make comparisons. I usually find something to like about almost every place I visit.

I did like Vienna, but the only other place in Austria I've encountered was Salzburg. I'm sure there are many other places I would like, also.

Would I return? Probably not, but that's because I'm old and have so many places I still want to see.

What other cities in Austria do you like?

Where is it written that everyone has to love, or even like, the same things and places? Just because someone praises a place (effusively or otherwise), doesn't mean that you have to enjoy it to the same degree, or at all.

I like Vienna just fine. Is it my favourite city in Europe? Not by a long shot. Have visited it more than once, and would I do it again? Absolutely, if only to revisit the Kunsthistorisches Museum one more time. And FTR, I don't like Sachertorte.

Nobody likes Sachertorte.

You should have been eating Strudel!

Lol Emily. Trust me, I would never turn down Apple strudel. In fact, I have some on the kitchen counter right now.

I think we should encourage this! I wish more people didn’t care for Paris.

I wish more didnt care for Europe. Getting crowded.

Per Hank: "Which big cities in Europe do you like?" Stockholm (my favorite large city) , Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Rome, Amsterdam...to name a few. And, as much as I require chocolate alone or in combination, amazing Sachertorte in Vienna is not enough of a draw for a return visit.

You should have been eating Strudel!

Yes! With vanilla cream sauce, of course.

Funny, I don't love Stockholm, stately expensive and boring. We will not be contributing to each other's crowd problems :)

Mr. E I agree on Salzburg, it's a lunch stop and heck outta there in my concept, much like Heidelberg not worth the crowd

Hank, no, it just didn't work for me. Most really like it.

I've now visited Vienna twice. I think it's a great place to just hang out and relax, and it would be an excellent introduction to a German-language country for the less experienced traveler.

This recent discussion may provide reason enough to visit:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/best-places-for-pastries-in-innsbruck-and-vienna

On the most recent visit I discovered the Hundertwasser Museum, which is now one of my favorite museums anywhere - his House as well. Not the type of artistic expression that comes to mind when you think of Vienna.

Mark my wife was an art history major and did a year abroad at the University of Vienna. She loves the place. It's a fantastic city for art 1850-1950.

I don’t particularly care for Paris or Rome but love Vienna, Berlin, Lisbon, Copenhagen etc. We’re all different.

I feel the same way about Vienna, but could have spent a week in Salzburg!

PQ

I love Vienna but I'm doing my part to reduce the crowd in Venice, which I've only been to once, in 1985. And I've never been to Barcelona and have no plans to ever go there.

I'm not all that into desserts, so I didn't eat any Sachertorte or strudel in Vienna. But Vienna is my favorite city in Europe. I was underwhelmed by Paris, I think because my expectations were too high.

Est. Prof. You had a brain fart (happens to me often) you might want to revise schnitzel to strudel.

Mister E - Thanks for the heads up about the fart. I don't know my desserts, just or otherwise.

But you cant find a good steak in Vienna either.

Correct on the steaks. We go to Croatia for good steak.

I dislike Vienna so much that I’m heading there again this year! ; ). Besides the Christmas Markets, I going to try to partially eat my way through Emily’s pastry list - thanks, Emily! : )

If I was listing out my favorite cities in Europe, many in the Top 20 are the smaller cities & even some tiny ones. Munich is one of the larger ones that’s had less appeal after two stays there. And London is exciting to visit - been there twice, but it doesn’t make me sigh with happiness when I think about being there like many others do.

But you cant find a good steak in Vienna either.

This is definitely not true, but you have to invest in searching, because it is not part of the Viennese cuisine.

I deleted my previous post because I think it was a bit confusing :-)

So, I judge cities based on whether I'd want to spend more time there. The spirit of some cities only becomes clear to me after I've been there longer and can delve a little deeper into daily life. That's exactly what I'd like to do in Vienna – stay for a few weeks. I don't need all that Habsburg stuff, because I have something similar at home, but of course in a much smaller version. But I have the feeling that Viennese life offers many little surprises, some of which I'd like to discover. There are cities that have a certain attitude to life, and I think the same about Vienna.
Since I'm from Munich and know that the typical attitude to life isn't reflected in any travel guide, I know what it's like as a tourist to only scratch the surface and never get to know what life there is really about. Vienna is, along with Hamburg and Paris, one of the cities where I want to look beneath the surface. There are cities where I don't feel that way, and those include London, Rome, and Berlin. They're nice to look at, but I don't feel like looking beneath the surface.
So it's clear that the spark has to fly first to create the desire to get to know the city better. If that spark doesn't fly, then it's just not the right city.

Mignon, happy to help you light that spark.

In my opinion, there are two Viennas. The one where you visit the one where you live. Vienna, like the Viennese, is very hard to get to know and befriend. But once you do, you are like family. (Just ask my upstairs Viennese neighbors who now have no qualms about folding up my dainties from the laundry rack when they care for my cats.) Very few tourists get to live in Vienna, but it can be done even with just a few weeks.

Thanks, Emily... I'll definitely come back to that :-)

I have a friend in Schwechat, and through her, some coworkers and my stays in Vienna, I've realized that we (Munich residents and Viennese, or let's say Bavarians and Austrians) are in many points similar. I also know from her that this will allow me to immerse myself a little more deeply. I'm not talking about living like a local, because you never achieve that. I'm talking about doing what I love so much at home when I'm not working - just going with the flow and enjoying the city's amenities (like beautiful markets, great cafes, and places off the beaten track) more intensely and taking more time for everything.
In cities that warm my heart, I also love to simply sit on a bench for hours and let life pass me by. No rush and no desire to complete all the bucket list items, because that's not what this experience is about at all.