Austria - Vienna

Totally unfair. Completely unfair. But I can’t go back. Sometimes all a city can get is one night of your time, of your attention, of your focus. Maybe it’s because you are on a cruise, maybe it’s because it’s a stop on a long way to somewhere else, maybe it’s a simple one night layover, like it was for me. Either way, you are deciding every time whether or not you would like to one day come back to that place and truly explore it further. For me, it’s a no.

Don’t get me wrong. The freaking city is lovely. I mean truly grand with pedestrian thoroughfares aplenty and a main drag that is filled with cathedrals and palaces and all of the history you could want.
But I wanted more.
I wanted those things, and I wanted fun, and I feel like that is offered in many European cities.

I did try mind you. I walked around for hours…literally hours. I made some ground. I saw some sights. I saw some bars. I saw some restaurants. I just didn’t get that free wheeling European fun side.

My hotel was only a block from the Strass Karntner, kind of the main drag. Lots of chains though and it seems fairly cookie cutter. It goes on for quite a while and is good for people watching.
They also have the Nasch Markt which is like a pedestrian thoroughfare in the middle of 2 streets. Pretty long and filled with little shops. It’s a little new yorky at Christmas.
My plan was to hit up some nightlife in this area but I found it flat. I walked around for miles and the closest I came was a beautiful looking place that was coincidentally closed for the night. Bummer.

Notes to self:

-Nah.

Le Meridien - Aug 2018

Pretty sweet location if you ask me, just a few blocks away from the start of their main drag.

The lobby is nice and there are a couple bars and a restaurant. The gym and pool are strangely in the building but they are not private to the hotel...and they have this "trainer" that has to be in there with you the whole time...a bit off putting (you might be able to get in there after hours but the door lock was broken).

They upgraded me to a gigantic executive room which was honestly too big. The upgrade was nice and all, but I didn't need the TV to be 50 feet away from the bed on this particular trip. The room also had windows on like every wall! Weird :)

The free mini bar stuff was good but limited. They do have room service but they do not have PPV. Pretty nice spot overall.