Anurag Singh
Today is a good day to post TR on Christmarkets in Europe based on award alert sent by Spencer Howard.
Christmas Markets Vienna, SalzBurg, Hallstatt & Prague -
Visiting Christmas markets in Europe has been a long time must do on our list. We picked up Vienna based on my research online to be one of the best.
Vienna - To put it shortly it was Magical. I felt we are in some Christmas Fairy land. It was exactly what we always wanted to see. So beautiful, amazing lights all over the city, great food and vibe. There are lot of Christmas markets in Vienna but biggest one is Christkindlmarkt Rathausplatz. We visited Christkindlmarkt Rathausplatz & Belvedere Christmas market. All Christmas markets close on 26th December so plan properly if you go visit. We walked all the way from St. Stephen's Cathedral to Rathausplatz where you see all the lights.
Hotel - We stayed at Imperial Riding School Renaissance Vienna. It's a great option in Vienna if you want to burn Cat4 certs. Hotel is very close to main train station (2 mins walk) and a grocery store. We mostly did Uber all the time which was never more than 7-8 euro. Lounge was great and offered free beer & wine in evening. Good amount of other options. You also have an option to eat breakfast in restaurant and that's what we did 4 days. I was put in a std. king room but after complaining, upgraded to a junior suite without any push back.
Salzburg & Hallstatt- We only spent 2 nights in Salzburg. I enjoyed the vibe and would love to go back in summer. We did a day trip to Hallstatt. It's a long trip to Hallstatt including bus & train options. There is tons of YouTube videos explaining what the best options to get to Hallstatt are. Hallstatt is very beautiful and def visit if you go to Austria. Imp tip - Make sure you search Westbahn train for Vienna-Salzburg because Obb is very expensive compared to Westbahn (private train company)
Hotel - Sheraton Salzburg - Cat 4 Marriott. Decent hotel, got nice suite upgrade and lounge was ok. Location is 8-10 mins walk from main station. Cabs are $10 euro
Prague - Prague is my fav city in the World. I have never been to Prague during New Year's so I wanted to experience that. Christmas markets are not fancy as Vienna but vibe & the whole atmosphere was just amazing, very lively.
Hotel - Hilton Prague - We loved Hilton Prague, location is right next to Palladium mall and probably 5-6 mins walk from Old town square. We were upgraded to Junior Suite, staff was amazing, lounge was decent and breakfast can be taken in restaurant also. Great hotel in Prague.
Flights - We flew DL 1 ATL-AMS rt. booked via Virgin and booked separate flights for intra Europe. Also took train from Salzburg to Prague which was lot cheaper compared to flying. #travelmore
