2023 Mini-Retirement Update: Vienna

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to live the life you actually want to live.

Thank you for your continued support.

If you enjoy The Matt Viera Newsletter, please forward this email to one person you believe would enjoy reading this.

One of my favorite places to travel to is Spain, in part, because of the food.

I had such a great time in Spain last summer, I had my heart set on going there again.

However, that changed a few months ago when I watched a few YouTube videos on where to eat in Vienna and Budapest.

Part of the reason I'm currently in Vienna (then Budapest) rather than Spain is because I was swayed, in part, by those food videos.

If you know me, you know the one thing I am passionate about is great eats.

Vienna being ~2.5 hours away from Budapest and a city I've never been to made it a no-brainer to visit both cities (and try great eats in both).

Well, after struggling with jet lag since arriving this past Wednesday, I got it together and made it to the city center.

After a few drinks, we wandered over to a famous Viennese restaurant that possibly serves the biggest schnitzel. (recommended by one of those YouTube videos).

The schnitzel was good (I've had my fair share of schnitzel, having lived in Germany for 2 years); however, the sides took the meal to the next level: a gourmet potato salad and roasted potatoes.

Potatoes?

Yes, Potatoes.

Look, I'm not a food writer.

All I can do is tell you is the restaurant's name, encourage you to take a mini-retirement, spend part of your time in Vienna, and try this restaurant: Figlmüller.

If you want to disagree with me about the potatoes, feel free, but at least you’re in Vienna.

I'll definitely go back for that schnitzel (and those sides) before we leave.

And, I have to try this other small restaurant that serves bacon-wrapped bratwurst.

One of the perks of travel: trying out places to eat.

While the trip is good so far, it hasn't been without hiccups and second thoughts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to be here.

It's taken me a couple of days to get over jet lag (which I'll take any day over what happened last summer: I became sick and bedridden for 3 days upon arriving in Seville).

I'm glad we're not leaving for another European city in a day or two, as we haven't had much time to explore Vienna fully since arriving.

So let's start at the beginning.

If nothing else, you can avoid some of the mishaps we encountered.

My first recommendation is don't fly Aer Lingus, at least not out of JFK airport.

Flying Aer Lingus was a perfect storm of (minor) mishaps.

We typically arrive at an airport ~2 hours before flying internationally.

For this trip, we decided to arrive ~3 hours before, which was a good idea because, for some unknown reason, Aer Lingus doesn't allow passengers to use TSA Pre-Check, which in JFK airport is a must.

The security line was better than I've experienced in the past; however, it was about a ~45 to 60-minute wait.

And Aer Lingus only flies out of terminal 7 in JFK (no lounge access).

Without lounge access, we spent ~$50 for a snack and a few drinks.

Overall the flight was good; however, once we arrived in Dublin for our connecting flight, we had to wait to deboard for ~45 minutes because of mechanical issues with the air bridge.

Granted, this is not Aer Lingus's fault, but we only had ~20 minutes to rush across Dublin International Airport to catch our connecting flight (thank goodness we don't check baggage, ever).

Once we arrived in Vienna and made our way into the city proper, we hopped into a taxi to check in to our hotel.

We arrived at the hotel about 3 hours before check-in and were dead tired.

Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready.

We decided to grab a bite and wait until our room was ready.

Now, our hotel room is great.

It's like a studio apartment with a huge balcony (to enjoy morning coffee and evening drinks).

Plenty of grocery stores around are crazy inexpensive (a 6-pack of pint-sized German beers: ~5 EUR, which in the States would probably cost ~$20).

Our only regret is that our hotel is ~30 minutes from the Vienna city center (a tram to get us there is around the corner and only ~2.5EUR one way).

But there are plenty of places nearby to eat and drink, and we still need to explore the surrounding area fully.

Be that as it may, we may consider an accommodation closer to downtown the next time we’re in any European city, even if it means forsaking a balcony.

We'll see.

Aside from these minor complaints, my biggest obstacle has been jet lag.

If nothing else, whenever you fly internationally, try to arrive at your destination closer to the evening so you can get on the local schedule as soon as possible and avoid missing part of your vacation days to sleep.

With jet lag out of the way, we finally made it downtown, had a few drinks, and had that great schnitzel dinner.

Now onto exploring Vienna (and having some bacon-wrapped bratwurst)!

Interesting reads:

Americans are flocking to Europe’s hot spots. Here’s where Europeans are going instead (potential locations for future mini-retirements!)

30-year-old [teacher] who left the U.S. for Denmark says she’s ‘much happier’ now: ‘My salary goes way further’

Budapest: The beautiful city with the darkest of pasts

Thanks for reading!

Please feel free to reply to this email with suggestions, questions, or comments.

I read every email.

If you have a questions about personal finance, email me and ask, I’ll discuss the answer in a future article.

If you enjoy The Matt Viera Newsletter, please forward this email to one person you believe would enjoy reading this.

I’m ready to follow you on Twitter!

I definitely want to read past articles of The Matt Viera Newsletter!

I’m not a subscriber to The Matt Viera Newsletter and I’m ready to subscribe!