S L Song : Love to travel but hate the travelling

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Souvenirs from Austria

I like to collect souvenirs and little models of churches and buildings during my travels. I can buy more now that my wife has promised to get me a large display cabinet for our new house 😍

Hallo Austria

We have just completed a memorable journey through Austria. We arrived in Vienna and based ourselves there while making overnight trips to Salzburg, Hallstatt and Innsbruck.

Despite our limited time, we immersed ourselves in as much as the country had to offer, in exploring its historical sights and sampling the local favourites such as Wiener Schnitzel, Apfelstrudel, Sachertorte and Tafelspitz. We also attended a classical concert, Mozart & Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, at the Musikverein to experience Austria’s rich musical heritage.

We also made a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia since it is only an hour away by train.

Our itinerary was as follows

Day 1 (18/3/26) Wednesday
Flight from Changi Airport at 2325

Arrived in Istanbul at 0605
Flight to Vienna at 0830

Day 2 (19/3/26) Thursday

Arrived in VIENNA at 0855

City Airport Train (CAT) to the hotel

Stadpark

Franz Schubert Monument

Johann Strauss Monument

Ludwig van Beethoven Monument

Karlkirche

Central Cemetery

Dinner at Restaurant Im Sunnhof

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 3 (20/3/26) Friday

Breakfast at Konditorei Oberlaa

Train to BRATISLAVA

UFO Tower

Most SNP

Dom St Martin

Old Town

Napoleon’s Army Soldier

Roland (Maximilian) Fountain

Lunch at Le Papillon Restaurant

Man at work

Michael's Gate

Bratislava Castle

Tea at Historische Conditorei Cukraren

Jesuit Church

Back to Vienna

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 4 (21/3/26) Saturday

Breakfast at Strock Feierabend

Melk

Melk Abbey

Lunch at Rathauskeller

Hundertwasserhaus

Steffan arrived at the hotel

Dinner at Weissgerber Stube

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 5 (22/3/26) Sunday

Breakfast at the hotel

Train to SALZBURG

Marko Feingold Steg

Getreidgasse

Salzburg Cathedral

Lunch at Gasthof Goldgasse

Hohensalzburg

Mirabell Garden

Dinner at Meissl & Schadn

Hotel Sacher Salzburg

Day 6 (23/3/26) Monday

Breakfast at the hotel

Train to HALLSTATT

Town Square

Evangelische Pfarrkirche Hallstatt

Marktplatz

Lunch at Zur Ruth

Catholic Church of Hallstatt

View Point

Tea at Die Gemischtwarenhandlung am See

South point of Hallstatt

Dinner at Restaurant Geoffnet

Hallstatt at night

Seehotel Gruner Baum Hallstatt

Day 7 (24/3/26) Tuesday

Breakfast at the hotel

Back to Vienna

Lunch at Restaurant Vienne

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

Anker Clock

St Stephen's Cathedral

Peterskirche

Column of Pest

Michaelkirche

Minoritenkirche

Grinzing

Pfarrkirche Grinzing

Dinner at Zum Martin Sepp

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 8 (25/3/26) Wednesday

Breakfast at the hotel

Train to Innsbruck

Nordkette

Top of Innsbruck

Dinner at Riese Haymon

Adlers Rooftop Bar

Adlers Hotel Innsbruck

Day 9 (26/3/26) Thursday

Breakfast at the hotel

Old Town

Hofkirche

Hofburg Innsbruck

Golden Roof

Hebling Haus

Dom St Jakob

Maria-Theresien-Strasse

Lunch at McDonald

Back to Vienna

Dinner at Skopik & Lohn

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 10 (27/3/26) Friday

Breakfast at Konditorei Oberlaa

Upper Belvedere Palace

Kapuzinerkirche

Lunch at Zum Figlmuller Backerstrasse

Hofburg

Mozart Monument

Tea at Demel

Dinner at Cafe Imperial

Mozart & Vivaldi Four Seasons 8.00 pm at Musikverein

Hilton Vienna Park Hotel

Day 11 (28/3/26) Saturday

Breakfast at Joseph Brot

Schonbrunn Palace

Lunch at Plachutta

Parish Church Maria Hietzing

Steffan's flight to London at 1800

Our flight to Istanbul at 1905

Flight to Singapore at 0150

Day 12 (29/3/26)

Arrived in Singapore at 1735

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Places we have been (an update)

The following are the places that we have been together since 2001

2001
June Beijing, Chengde & Tianjin

2002
May Shanghai

2003
Sept France (Paris, Normandy & Brittany)

2004
June Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice & Pisa)
July Perth
Dec Kunming

2005
May Yangon
Oct Greece (Athens & Mainland)
Nov Bangkok

2006
March Siem Reap
May Tioman Island
June Japan (Tokyo & Osaka)
August Club Med, Bintan Island
Sept Melaka
Oct Russia (Moscow & St Petersburg)

2007
May Turkey
Oct Kuala Lumpur
Nov Egypt (Cairo, Luxor & Aswan)

2008
May Desaru
June Sentosa Island
Nov Prague & Budapest
Dec Hong Kong

2009
April Sedili
Sept Xian
Nov South Korea
Dec Taiwan

2010
Sept Kunming, Dali, Lijiang & Shangrila
Nov Gold Coast & Sydney

2011
August Solo & Jogjakarta
Sept Penang
Dec Hanoi

2012
April Jordan
August Silk Road, China
Nov London & Cambridge

2013
August London & Italy (Rome, Assisi, Orvieto, Pompeii, Naples & Sorrento)

2014
June Tokyo & Nikko

2015
June Athens, Mykonos & Santorini
September London & Exeter

2017
Jan London, Paris, Shrewsbury & Liverpool
August Osaka & Kyoto

2018
Feb Delhi, Agra & Jaipur
July London, Belgium, Exeter & Cornwall
Nov Morocco

2019
April Spain
July London, Wales & York

2020

Covid-19

2021

Covid-19

2022

Oct London, Italy, Oxford & Cotswolds

2023

Jan Egypt (Cairo, Minya, Sohag & Luxor)

April Switzerland

Oct Bali

2024

Jan London, Paris, Holland & Provence

April Germany

July Sihanoukville

Sept Tibet

Nov Kansai Japan

2025

March Norway

June The Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland

Sept Beijing, Datong & Shanhaiguan

2026

March Austria

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Pause

We will be flying to Vienna tonight for our first trip this year. We will be back on 29th March 2026. I shall continue my post upon my return.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Dubai to Singapore

We arrived in Dubai at about 1.00 am and made our way to the gate immediately because this airport is huge. Besides, our flight to Singapore was at 3.05 am. It was a 7 hours flight home. That was our wonderful holidays in the Irelands.