Christmas ambiance in Vienna

For starters I have to say that one day + one evening is NOT enough time in Vienna! Even less if you consider all the Christmassy distractions... ;o) Still, better than nothing. Plus it was enough to give me a feel for the city, see a couple of places I wanted to, and decide that I need to plan a nice long weekend (4-5 days) to visit the city properly in the not too distant future.

The city was gorgeously decorated for the season, with Christmas trees everywhere:

Lots of light displays (both hanging or standing)

Storefront windows (like this one with live action!) and all sorts of Christmas items on sale (decorations, funny cards etc.):

There were stalls along the commercial streets

And of course Christmas markets in several parts of the city, 7 of them in the centre of the city (of apparently a total 25 throughout the city)!

Christmas Village at Maria-Theresien Platz

I'll split up over several posts the ones I visited, but of course they all have gorgeous crafts for sale (ceramics, woods, glass, cloth etc.)

And lots of FOOD!!! Like sausages (bratwurst, yummm!)

Or soup in bread,

Or all sorts of sweetbreads and pastries...

And you can wash it down with a variety of drinks, including my Christmas market staple: glühwein!

The one negative remark I have regarding the ambiance in Vienna: it all ends MUCH too early! Depending on the market the stalls close between 9 and 10 pm. That last photo, we want looking for a glühwein our first night in Vienna and went to the closest Christmas market near our hostel, the Weihnachtsmarkt am Spittleberg... (a neighborhood just off-centre) and ended up having to get one in a pub/cellar off the side because the stalls were all closing up! 

We expected more on a Friday night, fortunately the Saturday walking around town left us with a much better impression. You'll get that soon!