Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava

Vanessa Kroepsch
Feb 3, 2017
3 min read

Once in Europe, it is easy to travel to multiple countries in a small amount of time. Especially. when you are from Germany. After discussing with fellow international students, the French foreign exchange students and I were recommended a student tour bus company.

We were thrilled when we heard of the Vienna, Austria along with Budapest, Hungary, and Bratislava, Slovakia trip! Quickly, all of us booked it and it was definitely an adventure.

Our Itinerary follows. Thursday, November 17th 2016 Departed Cologne - Central Train Station at 17:00

Drove through the night and had a complimentary breakfast on our bus.

Friday, November 18th 2016 08:00 We arrived in Vienna, Austria and had a sightseeing tour right way. Afterwards we toured Vienna for the rest of the day. Pictures from the day can be seen below. 19:00 The bus departed from Vienna and we were off to Budapest. Here we stayed in a nice hostel for the next two nights.

So what did we do in Vienna? I'd like to think almost everything including:

- Seeing a Lipizzaner Horse after passing the famous Spanish Riding School

- Visiting all the Christmas Markets

- Imperial (Hofburg Palace), along with Heldenplatz

- St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

- Historic Center of Vienna

- Kunsthistorisches (historical art) Museum

- Belvedere Palace Museum

- State Opera House

- St. Stephen's Cathedral

- Albertina

- Rathaus

- Stephansplatz

- Graben and Kohlmarkt

- Maria-Theresien-Platz

Not to mention that we stoped for lunch at the Figlmüller Wollzeile Restaurant and had a large traditional Wiener Schnitzel. The restaurant was founded 110 years ago an therefore it was no surprise that they have perfected the Schnitzel.

Saturday, November 19th 2016 09:00 This day started once again with a guided sightseeing tour of Budapest. The tour was spectacularly done. We first started in the bus in which we explored Buda and Pest, which is split by the Danube river. Next, was a walking tour that started on the Buda side and ended with us crossing the Liberty Bridge (Szabadsag hid) to the Pest side. With such an extensive tour we did not have much free time at night (which I did not mind since we saw almost everything) and ended up going to the Christmas Market on Vaci Street.

What did we see in Budapest? Almost everything including:

- The Parliament

- Fisherman's Bastion, along with the Statue of St. Stephen

- St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent Istvan Bazilika)

- Castle Hill

- Matthias Church, along with the Fountain

- Chain Bridge (Szechenyi lanchid)

- Hungarian State Opera House (Magyar Allami Operahaz)

- Buda Castle

- Gellert Hill and Statue

- Heroes' Square, along with all the museums around the square

- Vajdahunyad Castle (Vajdahunyadvar)

Sunday, November 20 2016 10:00 Check out from Budapest and now it is off to Bratislava. Once we have arrived, we had a guided sightseeing tour again. This time however, time was even shorter than before.

Of course it was wonderful and the tour guides were especially amazing who volunteered their time to show their beloved city.

What did we see?

- Bratislava Old Town

- St Elizabeth's / Blue Church (also known as the Smurf Church).

- Cumil

- St. Michael's Tower & Street

- St. Martin's Cathedral (Dom svateho Martina)

- Jesuit Church (Juzuitsky kostol)

- The New Bridge (Novy Most) or the UFO Bridge

- Michael's Gate (Michalska brana)

- Bratislava Castle (Hrad)

- Fontain Ganymed

Dinner that evening was at a small, local, underground restaurant. They were known for their Goulash and the existing Kofola (a version of Coca Cola that the communist had created).

That night we left Bratislava and headed back home.

Monday, November 21 2016 Arrived back in Cologne again and departed for Koblenz.

Overall the trip was absolutely amazing, I would highly recommend. With the limited amount of time we had, we saw just about everything in every city. Along with the trip came new friends and great memories. If I had to critique anything it would be that we saw most of everything from the outside. Again due to time, it was impossible for us to fit in a museum or go inside of a building. Most places in Europe do close early (starting at 5pm), making it difficult to sight-see inside after having a great tour in the morning. However, we got a taste of the cities and now know if we go back, what we want to see in more detail.

Now with all this touring, guess the price?

You may not believe it but the trip only had cost 159€. That includes: - Transfer with modern coaches to all the cities - 2 nights of stay in our hostel in Budapest - Guided tour in Vienna (1,5 hours) - Guided tour in Budapest (Almost 5 hours, you will love it) - Guided tour in Bratislava (1,5 hours) - Studifahrten snack pack for the first morning in Vienna - 2 breakfasts in the hostel in Budapest - City tax, bed lines, etc. all the obligatory costs about the hostel