Netherlands to Austria: How to survive a road trip

Yes, I am finally going to talk about my roadtrip from the Netherlands to Austria! In my last blog, I shared everything about Rennes, France and if you are traveling soon, check out 5 Things You Need To Consider When Traveling During A Pandemic. So, me and two friends decided to drive all the way to Austria for a weekend getaway. It was our first time visiting Austria, so we were all excited and believe me when I say we were not disappointed. Let’s get into this roadtrip to Austria!

Netherlands to Austria

My friends and I decided to go to Austria on a whim and we went with the car. In total, the trip is about 12 hours and a big part was through Germany. We left on a Friday around 8:30 PM, mostly because I had to work and get my second dose of Moderna. Which was necessary in Austria for restaurants and museums too. Overall the trip went well and we did make a few stops along the way. For example, gas is a bit cheaper in Germany, so we made sure to stop at a gas station. Other than that, most of the time we drove was at night, so we couldn’t see that much. However, around 4/5 AM, it started to get lighter, we were still in Germany but at least we could see part of the country. I think we arrived in Austria around 6/7AM.

Muggendorf

The first stop we made within Austria, was in Muggendorf. The town looked really cute and picturesque. Other than that, here you could really see the difference between landscape in Austria and the Netherlands. At home, the country landscape is more flat and in Austria you have much more dimension. There are a lot of highs and lows, as you can see from the picture. We stopped at Muggendorf, because we wanted to visit the Myrafälle waterfall, however the tour was over 2 hours, but we were really tired. Eventually, we decided against it.

Vienna

After exploring Muggendorf for a bit, we decided to head to Vienna. The road from Muggendorf to Vienna was about an hour, so we were already close to Vienna. Vienna itself, is actually really beautiful. The city reminds me of France and Germany. I really liked the architecture and the old European buildings too. The local language is German, which I do not speak, even though I did an exchange semester in Berlin. In our part of Vienna, there were not a lot of people outside, but once you get to the city center, it gets busy! Overall, the city is a nice place to visit for a long weekend or even longer!

Our accommodation

In Vienna, we stayed at Urban Island Apartments. I found them via booking.com actually. I think it was great as we had our own rooms, bathroom and kitchen. What we loved about this apartment, is that everything was contactless, nobody had to physically accommodate us. You had a code for the main entrance and a code for your specific apartment. They send you all the necessary codes by email and the code to the appartment gets created at a check-in machine. Also the service was great, they responded very fast and it was really easy to find as well.

Magic History Vienna Tour

During one of the days, we did the Magic History Vienna Tour. This tour was actually amazing! The tour was all about the history of Vienna and at the beginning of the museum, you could read about different aspects already. Like the Turkish coffee houses, about the Belvedere, Princess Sissi etc. However, when the tour started, we were guided into these different rooms and each told a unique story. For example, one was a 5D movie that brought us back in time with a time machine. In another room we learned through VR about music and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There was so much and it was really a lot of fun, which you don’t necessarily expect.

Belvedere Palace

One of the last things we did was visit the Belvedere Palace. First of all, this is HUGE! We walked around this place for a couple of hours, but it is so impressive! The Belvedere Palace itself is big and if you count the gardens too it is HUGE! There are fountains, flowers, trees, statues and the whole shebang! If you ever find yourself in Vienna, definitely go to the Belvedere Palace, take some pictures and enjoy the beautiful view!

All in all, I definitely recommend going from the Netherlands to Austria by car. If you are not traveling from the Netherlands, I just recommend visiting Austria! I would love to go back to Vienna and take in the city otherwise, but overall I am satisfied! Have you ever been to Austria? Have you’ve ever done a long roadtrip? Let me know in the comments!