Sisters in Vienna and Prague—Our Trip Report

3 NIGHTS VIENNA—MOTEL ONE STAATSOPER / STATE OPERA

https://www.motel-one.com/de/hotels/wien/hotel-wien-staatsoper

This was my first experience with the Motel One chain, and it was not a great first impression. I booked one of the bigger rooms, but there was some mix-up and they downgraded us to a smaller room we arrived. Boo!! The room itself was very clean. Basic, but sufficient. We were a little disappointed in the continental breakfast. There was no toaster and the fruit bowl was a little heavy on the vinegar. I think someone forgot to dilute it with water. But, the location was great as we were able to walk everywhere from here.

We went to the Secession building, Karl’s Church, Burggarten, Volksgarten, Stadtpark, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Imperial Treasury, Leopold Museum, the Butterfly House, and the Heidi Horton Collection.

We ended up at the Heidi Horton Collection because we saw a sign when we were out walking advertising a Klimt / Warhol exhibit. Turns out they only had one Klimt painting, but, the highlight for us turned out to be some of the other artwork. They had some really weird things that we are still talking about, like a talking lightbulb and some speakers on a vacuum cleaner hose. Videos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9aNtRSGJ1EwNYw6eA

While my sister was resting in the room, I walked to the Parliament building, the city hall, and Votive church.

Our favorite meals from this location were at Addicted To Rock Bar and Burger. Best burger and onion rings I have ever had!! I looked around and noticed we were the only ones eating our hamburgers with our hands, which made me very self-conscious. We also liked the Café Museum right next to our hotel.

3 NIGHTS PRAGUE—THE JULIUS

https://www.thejulius.eu/

I picked this hotel for the location. I had heard to avoid taxis in Prague, so I wanted to be able to walk to the hotel from the train station and then also walk to all the sights. This hotel was fabulous!!! They upgraded us to a suite, which balanced out being downgraded at our previous hotel. Breakfast was great (hot and cold items), and they had a toaster. We noticed the first morning there were pealed carrots in a bowl on the counter, along with some other veggies. I was thinking, carrots for breakfast is a little odd. It was for a juicer they had. You could make your own fresh veggie juice.

I didn’t have too much planned for Prague as I was looking forward to just wandering around and taking photos.

We did do a private tour with Jason from Living Prague Tours, that I had seen recommended here on the forum many times.

https://livingprague.com/tours/living-prague-tours/

He also does small group tours. I thought a private tour would work best for us in case my sister needed to go at a slower pace or take a few breaks. And turned out it was a good choice as we ended up cutting it short after 2.5 hours as the weather was not great, and my sister was getting tired. Jason was great to work with—very communicative via email before the trip and met us at our hotel and walked us back afterward. It worked out to about $50 an hour, so definitely affordable.

We also went to both Mucha museums.

https://www.mucha.cz/en/

https://mucha.eu/en

You can read about why there are now two museums here:

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/11/08/prague-new-museum-alphonse-mucha

My sister loved the giant rotating sculpture of Franz Kafta’s head by David Cerny so we walked there a couple of times trying to get photos and videos.

https://davidcerny.cz/300/k/

We also saw some of his other artwork around the city.

Our favorite meals from this location were sandwiches from Paul’s bakery, a quick meal from the BK, macarons from Mad Rabbit, and a trdelnik from one of the million of places in the old town.

6 NIGHTS VIENNA—HOTEL AM STEPHANSPLATZ

https://www.hotelamstephansplatz.at/

I picked this hotel based on forum member Pat’s recommendation and its location. We had a view of St. Stephen’s from our room and the “tube” stop was right outside. A little nosier and busier in this part of the city. There were some small protests outside each night, but nothing too disturbing. And the police were there, but it looked very peaceful. So, if you are looking for a quiet room, this is not the hotel for you. This hotel was wonderful, but they were a little pushy with wanting a tripadvisor review. Every time they did something nice for us, it came with a little note requesting a review. Breakfast was pretty good with both hot and cold options.

We went to a Spanish Riding School performance. We are glad we went, but wouldn’t call it a highlight of the trip. We heard more from the announcer, who announced everything in about 4 different languages, than we saw the horses. The seats were not comfortable and we had standing room people right behind us, so it felt a little claustrophobic. Our seats were in the middle along the sides.

We also saw Phantom of the Opera at the Raimond Theater. Now this was a highlight for me. I loved it and I don’t even like the theater. We saw Wicked in London last Oct, which I enjoyed, but I thought Phantom was so much more impressive. The quality of the singing was really incredible. The set design and special effects seemed more modern than Wicked. And you could really feel the live orchestra. I was really blown away. My sister said I need to get out more. :-) It was in German with English subtitles. I have to thank forum member Mumbling & Stumbling for mentioning this last year as I would have never thought to look for a musical in Vienna. My sister, a huge Phantom fan, also really enjoyed the performance. We went on a Sunday at 2pm and our seats were first balcony, 4 rows back.

We went to the MAK museum, where my sister got in trouble for not closing one of the doors behind her. :-) We didn’t realize it was not an automatic door. Also went to the Wein museum, which is free. Inside St. Stephens one morning and up to the North Tower. We picked that tower because it has an elevator. We also went to the State Hall of the Austrian Library, the Albertina museum, and of course the Belvedere. We got there early so my sister could be first to see the Kiss. And the lower Belvedere was having a special exhibit on Gustav Klimt so we also went there. They also had a nice exhibit on Slovenian painting. My sister loves to shop so we did lots of shopping in between all the museums. Our favorite Swiss chocolate shop, Lindt, had locations near all 3 of our hotels. So, of course we had to check those out. New flavor for Spring was Sakura, in celebration of Japan’s cherry blossoms. We also like the Zuckerlwerkstatt candy store.

Our favorite meals from this location were sandwiches from Strock’s Bakery, gelato from Vitavien’s right next to our hotel, the Karl Heinz toastie from Die Cafeteria, and pizza from Da Capo. Just stay away from the bruschetta there as it had BEETS on it.

CASH OR CARD: Credit cards are great until the card readers don’t work. We needed cash for both countries. The machine was down at the original Mucha museum in Prague. They were accepting Czech crowns, euros, or US dollars. The machine was also down at the toilets at the Vienna main train station. I always make sure I have coins and cash leftover from my previous trips. I was low on euro coins so I made sure to go to a grocery store and buy something inexpensive with a 20 euro note. The cashier was so nice and honored my request for all coins back as my change. So, now I have plenty of toilet coins for future trips. And I did order some Czech crowns from my bank prior to the trip. I don’t care if it costs 3 cents more, I like to arrive with cash in hand.

THE WEATHER: This was not our best weather trip. We had a lot of grey skies and light to moderate rain. We were prepared and it never stopped us from doing anything.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM: It’s always been common for people to ask where we’re from, especially in shops, when they hear us talking. My sister has a good Chicago accent. I like to think I lost mine when I went to school in Omaha, Nebraska and then moved to Colorado for 5 years after that. When I mentioned that to my sister though, she gave me this look that said, who are you kidding, you still sound like you’re from Chicago. Everyone was very nice to us. We did get one joke from one of the shop owners who jokingly said he was going to impose a special tariff on us. And our driver back to the airport had a few things to say, but not directed at us personally. I know some people are worried about traveling and how they may be treated. I always try to be nice, and people are generally nice in return. That worked well for this trip.

FINAL THOUGHTS: We had a great time. We both preferred Vienna over Prague. There was just more that interested us in Vienna. March was a good time to go. Crowded around some of the main areas, but otherwise not too bad. And none of the museums were crowded.

NEXT UP: I’m off to Ireland the beginning of May. The end of June is Iceland with my sister and her husband. Then, I will finish off my travels this year with a return trip to Edinburg. Odd I know, since I don’t love the big cities, but I’m really going to take a 3-day tour of the Lake District.

Carrie,
Great report, as always, and you sure get them completed a lot faster than I do. Thanks for sharing. Time to rest up for the next one!
EDIT-
Loved your pix, and especially the one of your sister blending into the upholstery!
Pix made me nostalgic, as my daughter and I were in those same cities at the same time of year, pre-covid.

Love your trip report, thanks! We head to Vienna and Prague next year and I’m already looking at hotels.

Thanks, Carrie, for another great trip report!

Great report! Thanks for writing. Hopefully headed to Prague in the fall. Will check out your hotel as I plan for that.

I always look forward to your Trip Reports! It's so great that you and your sister get to have these experiences together.

I'd love to hear more about you not liking Prague quite as much. I ask only because I'm surprised! I know you fell in love with Bruges, and so I would've thought you might also fall in love with Prague's own version of an architectural fairy tale vibe. (Obviously, though, there's so many aspects to experiencing a place!)

You've got a great year of trips coming up! Happy travels!

Hi Pat, I was busy the last two days--ordering prints and working on my photo book and trip report. It’s back to work today. :-( I’m trying not to second guess my decision to schedule my trips so close together. It’s always tricky trying to avoid holidays and the busy seasons. The window of off-peak travel is getting smaller and smaller.

That picture of my sister on the giant couch is one of my favorites. I’m still not 100% sure she was supposed to be on it, but it was not roped off, no signs, and others were taking pictures on it too. It was in the lobby of the MAK museum.

Hi Tammy, There are so many great hotels to choose from. For Vienna, I really enjoyed staying right in the city center. Sure, you can take public transportation everywhere, but I really like stepping outside my hotel before breakfast and being able to just wander.

Hi Barbara, Thanks for reading.

Hi Dave, Have a great time in Prague!

Hi Hannah, Bruges was so magical and felt more like a small town. And I loved the canals. Prague was just more city like with the hustle and bustle. In Bruges, I could get out before sunrise and I was the only one out walking around. In Prague, even very early morning, there were always people out and about. It’s my quiet morning walks that I enjoy most when traveling.

Carrie, what a wonderful trip report! Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos!

I’ve had Prague on my potential list a few times, but I continue to hear comments that make me feel I wouldn’t enjoy it, so I appreciate your opinion, too. Those early morning walks are a favorite of mine, too, so it’s good to know that Prague wouldn’t provide that atmosphere I enjoy.

When you mentioned the Hotel am Stephansplatz - ohh, such special memories staying there! We stayed 5 nights ( maybe 2017), and they upgraded us from a less expensive room up to the top floor balcony room overlooking the cathedral designed roof! So surprising! I would shut my eyes to sleep at night but open them a few times to gaze at that roof! : ). Wow, sad to hear they’re hounding you for stellar reviews! We thought the location was perfect & so handy, too.

I am thinking about a Christmas Market trip in 2026 and want part of it at least in Salzburg & Vienna, so I appreciate your details for further enjoyment of their museums, etc.

And just a nice hug that you’re traveling with your sister! Very special!

So very glad that you both enjoyed Phantom of the Opera. We too, could not believe the beautiful singing and impressive sets. The English subtitles made the language difference a non-issue.

Enjoy Ireland. I will be there in June The new season of Riverdance starts 5 June and I just might drop in

Us Chicagoans have to stick together

I loved Prague's green spaces particularly. We did "Prague's most beautiful walk" that I found on a blog, and I would return to Prague just to do that again. This is in the hills above the city. We also had some great musical experiences in Prague. We stayed in District 7 across the river, so out of the crowds. Of course, this all works better for a longer stay (5-7 cays). Then you have time for experiences that are different than if you're just there for 3-4.

Hi Jean, yes, I’m very fortunate to be able to travel with my sister. We have such a good time together. We loved the view from the Hotel am Stephansplatz as it provided for some great people watching. We didn’t have a balcony, but the huge window opened all the way so we could get some nice pictures without the glass. A nice thing about the museums in Vienna, was that other than the belvedere, timed tickets were not needed. So, we could decide at the last minute when we wanted to go and just buy the tickets online or onsite.

Hi Mumbling & Stumbling, I couldn’t find any shows for my upcoming Ireland trip, but I did get tickets for this concert at St. Patrick’s that looked like it would be fun:

https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/event/may-the-fourth/

Hi Janet, unfortunately, we were there a little too early in the season to enjoy the green spaces and parks. I was really hoping to get to Waldstein Garden, but it didn’t open until April. We missed it by a few days. We really enjoyed both cities, but it’s safe to say that neither Prague nor Vienna have replaced Switzerland as my favorite travel destination. :-)

Carrie, any good chocolate? (Wink emoji)

Hi Pat, Just our favorite Lindt chocolate balls. :-) And a few treats from the Laderach shop.

Carrie, I think you've turned into an art museum fan without noticing :-)

Hi Mary, yes, you can now find me at the museums or the theater. :-)

Fun report, thanks for sharing. I wish my sister was up for travel adventures but she wants to stay firmly planted close to home. You are fortunate! And I learned on my Eastern (now Central) Europe RS tour, if you want veggies you need to eat them at breakfast :)

Those early morning walks are a favorite of mine, too, so it’s good to
know that Prague wouldn’t provide that atmosphere I enjoy.

Just a note to Jean I had several quiet early morning walks in Prague. Yes people were out but no where near the number that hit in the middle of the day. I have photos of the Charles Bridge with only a couple people on it. But correct, if you want solitude in the early morning, a big city isn't going to be the place to do that, but I think Prague is worth a visit even so.

Not surprising that the card machine was down in Wien Hbf ....it was that way in Sept 2024 when I saw it. Never getting around to fix it?

Hi CL, who needs veggies when traveling? :-)

Hi Fred, it happened to us in London last year too. I wish they would be required to open them up for free when the machines are down. Perhaps that would encourage them to get them fixed faster.

Exactly, if the machine is out, then the facilities should be free.

Carrie, thanks for a wonderful trip report! It brought back a lot of good memories of Vienna and Prague. Like you, I preferred Vienna over Prague. I enjoyed the attractions in Vienna better but also, I could never get away from the crowds in Prague, which affected my enjoyment.

I’m sorry you had a bad experience with Motel One, though. I stayed at the one in Berlin and I liked it, but I am sure that experiences can vary from city to city and even hotel to hotel. And it also sounds like your hotel in Vienna more than made up for it. What a nice place!

Hi Mardee, Vienna was definitely a nice surprise. Sometimes you just don’t know about a place until you go and experience it.

As far as Motel One, I’ve since had to give myself a little reality check. The room mix-up was an honest mistake that could happen anywhere. The room was clean and everyone was super nice. Those are the important things. I do have a Motel One booked for my return to Edinburgh later this year. If this hotel also doesn’t have a toaster for breakfast, I’m thinking I’ll just offer to buy them one. There’s just something about toast when traveling. It’s my special treat in the morning that I don’t have at home.

I have stayed at several Motel One properties, including the Wien Staatsoper location at least 3 times. I have no recollection of the presence or absence of a toaster at any of the 8 or 10 hotels where I have stayed. I love the dense German bread, though. Mmmm... top half of a slice with cheese and cold cuts, top the other half with a little quark and preserves... so good.

Carrie,

Thanks for your report! We are headed to both Prague and Vienna in the fall so your report comes in handy!

Just wanted to drop a note to say that we stayed at the Motel One Princes location in Edinburgh last spring. You couldn’t beat the location for convenience and we had a gorgeous view of the Royal Mile and the castle. The breakfast was lackluster and not worth the price in my opinion. But if you’re staying at that location, check out Snax cafe just behind the hotel! Lots of hearty, affordable options—I bet they could wrangle you up some toast :)

Hi Dave, I’m hopeful my next experience at Motel One will be more positive. And there is definitely no shortage of cold cuts at the European breakfasts.

Hi Susie, Thanks for the heads up on the breakfast at the Motel One Princes street location. Unfortunately, I have already paid for breakfast. I will keep my expectations low. And thanks for the Snax café recommendation. It looks like a great place for lunch too. I love a good toastie!! Have a great trip!!

If this hotel also doesn’t have a toaster for breakfast, I’m thinking I’ll just offer to buy them one. There’s just something about toast when traveling. It’s my special treat in the morning that I don’t have at home.

Ha ha, Carrie, that's too funny! I like toast, too, but like Dave, I also love that dark German bread. There is nothing like it!

Also, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but if you become a member of Motel One (no cost), you get your first breakfast for free.

Thanks Mardee for the tip on the free breakfast.

Just finished the Vienna part of out 18-day trip on Easter Sunday afternoon ... Monday in Bratislava before night sleeper train to Krakow for 4 days then off to Prague Friday night on another sleeper train. Stayed at Motel One across from Vienna hauptbahnhof ... great location, reasonable price, nice room ... no complaints. And we're at the Motel One near Prague Hlvani for 5 nights. We like Motel One.

Hi DQ, I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying your stays at the Motel One. I’m hopeful that my next experience with them in Sept. will be a pleasant one.