Holidays are meant for one to have a break and enjoy life to the full, doing things we love and also making new experiences. In my opinion, a holiday cannot be called so unless you eat good food. Whenever I go on holiday I try to exercise more than usual and eat clean and healthy at least 2 weeks before my departure. This makes me feel great during by the time I need to leave as I am usually very fit and healthy once my holiday starts. And from departure day till one week after my return home I allow myself to exercise less and eat whatever I like. While I exercise less during my holidays, this is compensated by the fact that I walk all day every day since most of my holidays are long city breaks during which my husband and I like to venture around the city we are visiting. Walking a lot and hitting the gym a few times during my holiday allow me to eat without too much guilt. And once I am back, usually after a week from my return, I like to do 2 weeks of detox - which for me mean eating clean and healthy and exercising more than usual to make up for the extra calories eaten.
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| My breakfast at the Levante Parliament Hotel, Wien |
Good holiday food to me means 2 things: a great breakfast and comfort food in the evening. Indeed I usually skip lunch because I am still full after a good big breakfast. While I suggest you to eat whatever you like while on holiday, I also think you should do so within a limit. Eating too much junk food or sweets might make you feel sick and therefore ruin your trip. That's why I like to mix healthy food with comfort food and start with a healthy and fun breakfast. That's exactly what I did while in Vienna. Our hotel, the Levante Parliament, offered amazing breakfast with lots of fresh and healthy options. Every morning, after either working out in the gym or writing a blog post and getting ready, I would go for breakfast and find a nice spot where to seat - usually by the window facing the main street or by the glass facing the courtyard. Next I will get a glass of orange juice; I will proceed by filling a small plate with 2 slices of wholemeal and multigrain bread (which was delicious), some butter and few small pastries. I will then fill a second plate with tomatoes, cucumber, cheeses, hams and several slices of smoked salmon since I can get enough of it. And then I will enjoy my breakfast while browsing online and chatting with my husband. Sometimes I would have a tea and some more cheese and cucumbers and bread. Other times I would go get me another pastry but most of the times I would only get another juice or some water and may be some melon. Eating this around 8.30-9.00 in the morning would keep me full till about 17.00/18.00 in the evening. I also never felt sick after my breakfasts, even though I ate more than I usually do in the morning. For me breakfast is the most important meal of the day and staying in a hotel I love and which provides me with an amazing breakfast is the key to enjoying my holiday. The Levante Parliament Hotel definitely did so!
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| Naschmarkt restaurants, Wien |
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| Naschmarkt fresh produce, Wien |
Speaking about breakfast, if you book your hotel on room only basis and want to try different places for breakfast. You should go to the Naschmarkt which is open from 6.30 every morning from Monday to Saturday and there you have so many options to choose from. You can have a fresh pastry with a hot drink; you can buy some cheese, bread and fruit to enjoy in one of the parks around the city; and you can try some Austrian delicacies as well as specialties from other parts of the world including Italy and Russia. While at the Naschmarkt you can also shop for souvenirs. If you'd rather have breakfast inside a café you can go to Starbucks or McCafe, although I suggest you to try one of the many local cafes which offer amazing pastries and hot drinks as well as savoury food. If on the other hand you are on a low budget, you can get a sandwich and hot drink for under 5 euros at one of the several food shops in Vienna. I suggest Anker as well as Spar supermarkets for low budget meals.
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| Sandwich shop, Vienna |
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| Spar supermarket, Wien |
In the evening my husband and I ended up eating three times out of 7 at a local fish and chips shop, called Nordsee. We had a fish burger with chips and an amazing yogurt dressing twice and the third time we had a breaded fish filled with chips and the same dressing. I love their food so much I think I could have eaten it almost every night. On Sunday, after visiting Schonbrunn, we had McDonalds. On our first and third day in Vienna we got salads, crisps and chocolate to eat in our hotel. I loved the teriyaki chicken salad from Spar with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. On Thursday we tried the Viennese sausage from a stand in one of the side roads along Kartnerstrabe - my husband got a cheesy sausage hot dog and I got the regular sausage with mustard and a slice of their traditional bread.
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| Nordsee, Wien |
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| Best fish and chips, Vienna |
And for desert our favourite place in Vienna was Aida, located right in Stephansplatz. I suggest you to try the Mozart cake and cappuccino. This is what I got for 2 nights in a row - which were our last 2 nights in Vienna. I must say that the old city centre is my favourite spot for dining in the evening whether you want to have a full meal or a light snack, followed by a walk along the historic buildings while window shopping! If you want to know which are the best places to shop in Vienna read my
Shopping in Vienna post.
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| Best café in Vienna |
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| Mozart Cake, Wien |
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| Best chocolate cake ever! |
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| Vienna at night |
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| Wien St. Stephen's Cathedral at night |
STAY FAB
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