Ah, the unforgettable schnitzel from Vienna. This actually brings back memories of that fateful…read morefreezing December afternoon where D and I scoured the Naschmarkt from end to end to find Herta Gruber's place. Mind you, the Naschmarkt is almost a mile long and packed with a multitude of stalls selling eye catching trinkets, clothes, exotic spices plus a variety of ethnic snacks and delicacies that will surely make your mouth water. After walking around for half and hour peering into each stall we passed by, we finally found Herta's. Stepping inside we noticed that this place was a cozy 3 table (1 counter), almost a 10 seater restaurant. I am sure they have more space during the warmer months by setting up a few more tables outside but during the winter season, it's best to stay inside. A wonderful woman named Elizabeth suggested we order a schnitzel and a cordon bleu to try both of their specialties. I trust her because she was the same lady that made Anthony Bourdain's schnitzel on his NR show when he visited Vienna. Meeting her was the closest thing I'll probably get to meeting Bourdain. Hah! Anyway, she prepared and cooked our order one at a time in this tiny kitchen on the other side of the counter. We first tried the schnitzel which was a gigantic thinly pounded slice of pork that was about 10-12 inches in diameter. It was crispy on the outside with a rich golden brown coating and perfectly juicy on the inside. Tasty. Very very tasty. We washed it down with an ice cold bottle of Wieselburger Bier and wiped the plate clean in about 5 minutes. Next we had the cordon blue which was made with bacon and mild cheese. It was twice in size compared to its schnitzel cousin and it was equally oh so good. I almost licked my plate clean wanting to savor every last bit of it. Both were fried to perfection in pork fat which imparted a rich and umami like flavor. mmmm.... definitely not something you eat everyday! After hanging out to chat with Elizabeth for a few more minutes and taking a couple of pictures with her, we said our goodbyes and told her we will drop by again the next time we are in Vienna!

Charming little chocolate shop in the busy shopping district of Vienna, but kind of off the beaten…read morepath. It looks truly like an authentic and original Viennese chocolatier. Yes it's pricey but worth it for tourists like me. Definitely check it out if you're in the area. The staff is friendly and will happily answer any questions and point out their suggestions.

This was one of the chocolate shops that we stopped in. We knew that we would be back in time for…read moreEaster so, we were going to build the most decadent Easter basket for our son when we returned to the states. The chocolate is still made by the same family that has owned the shop for generations. This chocolate shop has drawers of chocolates to sift through. This used to be a button shop for the royalty. The drawers were full of buttons that the royalty could pick from to be on their clothes. Now the drawers are filled with buttons of delicious chocolates. The staff was extremely helpful and very pleasant. Besides, who could be sour in a chocolate shop. It was some of the best chocolate we have ever had. We are keeping the hot chocolate mix for our trip to Tahoe later this year. It will be a way we can relive our amazing trip. I wanted to say thank you to the staff for being so friendly and helpful in selecting our chocolate. I gave it one Euro sign, but you could easily get carried away in here. We spent over $40 of chocolate because we knew we weren't going to be back anytime soon.