The best shopping weekend of the year is officially here! It seems like every store has stepped up their discount game, so budget your time (and money) wisely. Check out my roundup below:

// S T A Y //

We stayed at Hotel Stein, the only non-Airbnb during our trip. The room itself was small, but really nice, with an amazing view out over the river and up to the castle. There was also a breakfast buffet (on the rooftop!) in the morning for an additional charge. As for the location, it was perfect. It's situated in the midst of a pedestrian-only street and right across the bridge from the majority of the Old Town. It was so nice to be able to head back to the hotel after a day of exploring and relax before dinner without feeling like we were trekking super far out of the way.


// D O //

Mirabell Palace/Gardens - We enjoyed wandering the grounds here and looking at all of the different flowers and landscaping. You'll also recognize the gardens from the "Do Re Mi" scene in The Sound of Music.

Old Town - This is where pretty much all of the touristy things are. Super cute small streets with a mix of boutique shops and larger international stores. Not to miss are Mozart's birthplace, (we just walked by it) on the main shopping street, Getreidegasse, Chapter Square, and Salzburg Cathedral. There's also the two main squares: Residenzplatz and Mozartplatz. While we were there, Mozartplatz had a small farmer's market going on with all sorts of pastries and produce for sale. As usual, I enjoyed wandering all the small winding side streets the most.

Hohensalzburg Fortress - Otherwise known as the castle on the hill (@Ed Sheeran). If you choose not to take the funicular up (this way saves you a few dollars) you can enjoy (?) a super steep trek up to the top of the mountain. Once at the top, we bought tickets to see the fortress and walked around the grounds before starting an audio tour. One weird thing to note is that the audio tour is still done in groups, so you go from room to room with your group, but you're all listening to your own headsets. The tour was about 20 minutes, so not too long to get boring. Plus, it ended on the roof where you got an incredible view over the city. There's also two lunch spots on the grounds; the nicer one overlooks the backside of the fortress out onto the countryside. The food was nothing special but the view made up for it.



// E A T + D R I N K //

Die Weisse - We went here our first night, looking for an authentic beer garden experience, and that's what we got! It's a little outside the main touristy area, but they had a small outdoor seating area and cozy indoor seating. Expect classic Austrian food (read: sausages, wiener schnitzel, potatoes) and lots of different beers. But! They do have gluten free beer, and I didn't totally hate it, so that's really a ringing endorsement because I usually hate any and all beer.

Darwin's - We went here after Die Weisse for some cocktails. They have a great assortment in a small and cute atmosphere but it's not cheap. So, needless to say, we only stayed for one drink.

Augustiner Brau - If you want a beer garden experience that's a little more lively than Die Weisse, this is the place. They make one beer and one beer only, so if you want something else you're out of luck. (Or sneak your own alcohol in and mix it with a lemonade bought from the brewery 🙊.) The outdoor seating area is huge and it was crowded the whole time we were there, which was not even on a weekend night. There's also a bunch of small stands indoors with different food options (pretty much all varieties of Austrian cuisine).

Gasthaus Zwettler's - Okay, if you're going to eat Austrian food, go here. The atmosphere is so cute and feels very Bavarian. And I actually enjoyed my dish with potatoes, fried egg, and sausage, so that was a plus. Also! They have the most insane giant meringue dessert thats gluten and dairy free. You have to try it. The service was super quick and the prices were affordable as well.

Taj Mahal - This would be the Indian restaurant I begged to go to on our last night in Salzburg. Honestly, for being in the middle of Austria, this was high qual Indian food.

Enjoy Salzburg!

Budapest was easily our favorite stop on our trip around Austria + Hungary. Having received a ton of recommendations from family and friends ahead of our trip, we allotted the most time to Budapest, staying for four nights. I think four to five days is the perfect amount of time for exploring the city. I like to think I've been to a fair amount of cities in Europe and yet Budapest really stood out to me. It has such a unique personality, with funky cafes and restaurants on every corner and truly diverse neighborhoods. We're also not museum people and yet we were never at a loss of what to do. One of my favorite ways to explore a city is to just start walking, and in Budapest I was never disappointed. On top of all of this, the city is so cheap. Drinks for 2 Euro? Count me in.



// S T A Y //

We stayed at a private Airbnb apartment right by St. Stephen's cathedral and found it was a great location. The neighborhood itself was pretty residential and quiet, but the apartment was only a block from the metro and a 5-10 minute walk to major sites. 10/10 would recommend.




// D O //

Hungarian Parliament Building - Such impressive architecture! We just walked around the outside of it and oo'd and aah'd at just how intricate each detail is. Also worth looking at it from across the river.

Chain Bridge - Chances are you'll walk across this bridge to get to Buda, but the views from the bridge are unparalleled. We liked walking on the right side of the bridge (when facing Buda) as it had better views.

Fisherman's Bastion - An iconic viewpoint that looks across the river to Pest. Crowded, but definitely worth the views.

Matthias's Church - One of the coolest roofs I've seen. Weird sentence, I know, but the roof is composed of these small colored tiles and it's so beautiful. We didn't pay to go inside because we're cheap but the outside of the church was impressive own its own.

Old Town - This area is in Buda, right by Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias's Church. It's easily walkable in a few minutes, but the candy colored buildings mixed with old churches and towers are worth the detour.

*For all of Buda, we bought a ticket for the Budapest Castle Bus, which for 7 Euro brought us up the hill and stopped at 4 locations throughout Buda in a hop-on hop-off fashion. We thought it was totally worth the money!

St. Stephen's Cathedral - One of the only attractions we actually paid for, haha. With a small donation we were able to walk around the interior of the church and take in all of the gold detailing and stained glass windows. The true highlight, though, was taking the 302 stairs up to the top of the church and enjoying the 360 degree view of the city. We went right before sunset (unintentionally) and it made it that much more beautiful. Can't miss!

Szechenyi Baths - The iconic baths of Budapest. Touristy and crowded, but for a reason. We bought a day ticket and, stupidly, rented towels and slippers, which ended up being waaaay overpriced. Note: bring your own towels and flip flops. Otherwise, we loved our time at the baths. It was about 70 degrees out when we went so we spent most of our time in the outdoor bath, but there's also a bunch of different (and hotter) baths indoors. The place is huge! We may or may not have gotten lost a couple times 😂. *Also, we did not buy tickets ahead of time and had no wait in line when we arrived. 

Central Market Hall - One of the biggest food halls I've ever seen. The ground floor is mostly stalls of fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood, with some ready-to-eat food and souvenirs interspersed throughout. Upstairs is where you'll find the takeaway food and a whole section of kitschy souvenirs and textiles.

Andrassy Avenue/Hero's Square - Andrassy Avenue is the main shopping street of Budapest with all of the classic high end stores. If you follow it all the way up, you'll hit Hero's square, which has some impressive statues and is at the entrance of the park where the baths are located. A solid stop if you're walking up to the baths.

House of Terror - Okay, so we didn't actually get to go here, and I'm really bummed. We tried to go on a Monday (our last day in Budapest), only to realize they're not open on Mondays. So don't make the same mistake as us!



// E A T + D R I N K //

Blue Bird Cafe - Located in adorable pedestrian alleyway near the Jewish district, this was the perfect low key breakfast spot.

A La Maison - If you're looking for more bougie brunch vibes, this is the spot. From the gold accented furniture to the grey velvet chairs, I was ready to move in. Don't worry, the food was good, too 😉.

Gossip Coffee - On our way back from the baths I could not for the life of me find a casual place for lunch with GF options. We finally settled on Gossip, and although the menu is limited and it's definitely more of a coffee shop, I was able to make it work.

MRKT - Of course after eating at Gossip, we stumbled upon MRKT, which was exactly what we were looking for (🙄ugh). A counter-serve place with a burger counter, a Mexican counter, and a beer counter, it's perfect for a casual lunch or mid-day snack. We enjoyed nachos from the Mexican counter and they seriously hit the spot.

Papitos - This little stand was right by our apartment and had cheap and delicious Mexican food. We both had tacos and were happy to not spend a ton of money on dinner.

Tom George - Also nearby our apartment, we went here for dinner on our first night. Gluten free pasta is pretty much all you need to know. But actually, make a reservation because we got the only open table available.

Spoon - While we were in Budapest we celebrated our fourth anniversary and I was lucky enough to be taken to Spoon to celebrate. The restaurant is on a boat on the Danube overlooking the Buda Castle. From the best seat in the house to complimentary champagne and the best salmon I've ever eaten, I can't recommend it enough for a special occasion! Truly one of the best meals I've ever had.

Szimpla Kert - Probably the most popular ruin bar in Budapest, but for good reason. From the random assortment of plants and objects that kind of look like they were collected at the local dump, to the themed rooms, this bar is one-of-a-kind. No matter what vibe you're looking for when you go out, you're bound to find it at Szimpla.

BB'z Bar and Grill - So if you happen to find yourself in Budapest with someone who has to watch the NFL, find your way to BB'z. Truly the best of both worlds - they show football games in a modern space that has a wide variety of cocktails and food options. We just ordered some bar food but the rest of the menu looked good as well.

My Little Melbourne Coffee - We're always trying to find coffee that compares to that of Melbourne, so we figured this would be a good option. Our flat whites did not disappoint!

Naspolya Nassolda - A GF/vegan bakery with lots of raw bars and brownies and coffee options. A great place to stop by for a snack.