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The Palm House across the street is one of the 3 largest of its kind in the world.



It's certainly not as impressive as the one at Kew Gardens, but still worth seeing.

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Of course, the zoo could not be missed, it is one of my favorite zoos. It is not only because of the pandas, but also because of the whole atmosphere. Simply a beautiful place, here are a few impressions.

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In the evening we had the first culinary highlight of the trip, a dinner at Steirereck. The restaurant is located in the city park and is known for its special Viennese cuisine. On the menu are extraordinary dishes, which you can hardly get anymore, at least today. In the Michelin it has 2 stars, in the San Pellegrino list it is regularly very high, in 2022 at number 13.
Inside, the interior is quite simple, which I like.


The evening started right away with the bread truck, which is definitely in the Champions League.

It is nice that all the courses are explained each with a small card. First there were small appetizers.




I hate to guest bash, but an exception is in order here. At the table next to us took a couple place, which entertained us very loudly. Because they probably eat here from time to time, they thought they were the regulars. All the members of the staff were addressed unilaterally (it is VERY different in Germany and Austria compared to America and is not really proper) and they simply talked nonsense all the time. Besides that, they had an admittedly cute dog, but unfortunately he was completely untrained. He ran again and again towards the kitchen, stood in the way of the waiters and was then more or less successfully "called off".

But now for the food. Here one was extremely flexible and we were able to combine to our heart's content. I had more courses and we could even take different dishes in the individual courses in the menu. That is anything but a matter of course.






















I was really thrilled with the food, from me it was at 3 star level. I can only recommend everyone to try the restaurant once.

Askartus

I see Andi´s hand and a "Blunzn Brot" (blood sausage bread, traditional bread from Vienna iirc) - two things that are guranteed to make me happy.

Do you remember the first breads after he was finished explaining the last ones? We mostly go like "this and that please" ...

I can only second that: The Steiereck is relaxing yet very sophisticated when it comes to the dishes and on par with most 3 star restaurants imo.

The only miss in your menu that I can see: You did not get the famous char churred in beeswax. One of my favourite dishes in the world, prepared at the table during the previous course.
Here are three pictures from our visit in Feburary 2022:

At the end of the previous course, the char is covered with 84 °C warm beeswax at your table and you can watch it change.



After resting for exact 8 minutes, the wax cured the char nicely with a strong aroma of honey, grass and flowers.



And then it goes back into the kitchen, is broken out of the wax and served with yellow turnip, "caviar pollen", char caviar rolled in a powder of beet marc, quince vinegar, salt and sugar. and a creme covered by mat made from beeswax.


We have the recipe, so we technically know what is in this dish and how it is prepared. Not that we will ever be able to cook this level of perfection! ;-)
(The whole dinner can be re-read in our german blog at travellingdevil.de)

Askartus

(double post - may be deleted/ignored)

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I can't really remember all the breads, nor the cheeses. I just keep in mind what interests me the most so far. As a rule, I get along well with it. Otherwise I simply ask again.

This char was not on the menu at our place or I probably would have gone for it. Maybe next time.

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Breakfast was available at the Park Hyatt not only in the main restaurant, but also in the in-house Cafe am Hof. The selection was smaller, but perfectly OK for a snack.

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In the morning, a visit to the Spanish Riding School was on the agenda. We had received free admission and tickets for the upper tier via the Vienna Card. Let's face it, you might as well stay at home, you can only see standing up here.

We saw the morning training. Honestly, totally boring. Halfway through, we decided not to waste any more time and left.
Here is another view of the stables.

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After the horse frustration we decided to go to the outskirts of Vienna. In Eisenstadt we had a look at Esterházy Castle.



The castle is largely accessible only with a guided tour. This began in the famous music hall.


Next to it there is a small exhibition.

Then we went to the state rooms.

















Something interesting happened during the tour. Besides us, a few other Germans took part, as you will see in a moment no members of the educated middle class. It was about the relationship of Germany and Austria, and our intelligentsia remarked: "Das war doch eh alles eins!" ("It was all one anyway!") Those who know a little can imagine how the guide looked. If you've always wanted one in the face, it's a good place to start.
But now we went to the staff rooms.





The chapel



A Haydn exhibition

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After the visit to Esterházy Castle we had a really good idea, we wanted to visit Forchtenstein Castle. The location is very predestined.



Arrived at the castle we had times apparently right luck, we got a parking lot in the first row. Looks nice.


Well, empty parking lots often have a reason and so it was here. As we discovered at the gate, Tuesdays are closing days and we had Tuesday. Stupid research, blame yourself....

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After the castle frustration, we stopped at the Danube Tower on the way back.

It was quite empty and thanks to Vienna pass we went up to the 150 meters high platform without paying extra.

The view was not really spectacular. Sure, you can look far, but from the classic sights you see quite little. Considering the location quite far outside the city center, it will be for most tourists, especially if they are without a car in Vienna, rather not a worthwhile destination.












On the way down you could look up again.

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In the evening we went to the Tian. This is one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants in the world, which has been awarded a Michelin star.

The interior is pretty and everything is quite casual.

The menu

The food was good and creative, I would eat there again.

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The Vienna Cathedral. Unfortunately, because of starting church services and similar adversities with somewhat sparse photos.

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After a carriage ride (yes, it's a waste of money!) we went to the Dom Museum. Half was closed, but still quite nice.

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Next we went to the Kapuzinergruft, also known as the Kaisergruft.
Below are masses of more or less magnificent coffins of members of the Habsburgs including a number of emperors.