Eurovision in Vienna, 14th to the 17th of May, 2026

More culture

Both Sophie and I were a little shocked this morning when we woke up to the results of the Eurovision Song Contest last night. The UK was placed last with just one measly vote, Israel came second despite all the controversy, and news that the song "Choke Me" came third really upset Sophie. Is the love affair over?

We'd decided to have breakfast in the hotel this morning, and really make the most of the 24 euro price. I went downstairs first after we'd packed, showered and dressed. I made myself a coffee, and when Sophie arrived, we both went into the dining room. There was only one other table occupied, so there was no mad scrum to get to the buffet provided.

We both made use of the lovely foods on offer - cereal, fruit, breads, cold meats, cheeses, croissants, scrambled eggs and even fizz! We both had a small glass! My only gripe was the lack of service from the breakfast host, who never did bring me another coffee! Sophie kept me regularly topped up from the machine in reception!

Suitably full from our first (and only) meal of the day, we went back up to our room, did a last sweep and checked out. We were able to leave our luggage, and we emerged into sunshine... typical as it was our last day!

Sophie's itinerary was quite loose today, so we walked over to Karlskirche, which reminded me of the Berliner Dom.

Unfortunately, one of the pillars was shrouded in scaffolding, and we were sure a Sunday morning Mass was taking place, so we didn't go in. Instead, I treated Sophie to a coffee from a little café nearby. As we sat with our drinks, a bride and groom arrived, accompanied by an array of photographers. We deduced that it was some kind of fashion show taking place, and they attracted quite a crowd.

One man even played the piano and the couples danced, much to the delight of the crowd. It was all very jovial!

I was beginning to regret my large breakfast, but after sitting for a while, we decided to amble over to the Wien Museum, which was free to enter. The ground floor was about the original origins of Vienna, so we made our way up to the higher floors, where the exhibits were a little more interesting. Here, Sophie and I meandered about on our own, learning about Vienna just before the Second World War and the Anschluss in 1938, when Austria and Germany were united. 

It was very interesting to read the history right up until the present day, and there was even a Foodora bag on show! Sophie and I had lost track of each other as we wandered around the exhibits, and we both enjoyed the museum very much.

Exhibits on the lower floors

We both loved this, and it reminded us of a Manet painting

After all the culture and learning, we went up to the terrace bar, where we had a drink. I chose a rosé, while Sophie enjoyed an Aperol Spritz. We took our drinks outside and gazed out over the beautiful views.

Back to the madness!

We had decided to take the train to the airport, and Sophie had been researching the route. We walked slowly back to the hotel, retrieved our luggage, had a lovely chat with the friendly receptionist, and then walked towards the Opera House to catch a tram.

It arrived within a few minutes, and we stayed on for a few stops, getting off at Rennweg. I had forgotten this stop, but I soon remembered when we alighted. We had changed trams here last time and had been very confused!

At Rennweg, we needed to get the train to the airport. We spotted a lift down to the platform, so went in, but when the doors opened, we rapidly went back in again. The platform was poorly lit, and there was a heap of clothes and bedding opposite, where it was obvious someone was sleeping. They were stirring, so we beat a hasty retreat and went back up to ground level. It was the only time we felt wary in all of the trip!

We found the right route down to the platform, and we were delighted to see that the train we wanted was arriving at 2:21pm, about a twenty-minute wait. As we stood there, more and more people arrived with suitcases, so we knew we were on the right platform!

The train arrived, and we managed to get seats around a small table. In the small bin by the table were McDonald's wrappings, which smelled horrible. Ugh! The journey to the airport only took about twenty minutes, and soon we were emerging into the madness of the airport. We had a long walk to Terminal 1, and my heel was hurting badly. I was not in the best of moods!

When we reached the check-in desks, we saw that BA were letting us put our bags in the hold for free, so we queued for ages to check them in. The people in front of us all seemed to have complex issues, and it took us ages! We saw lots more Eurovision T-shirts and hoodies!

We eventually checked the bags in and made our way through security (up and down, up and down, grrrr!). Here, I was subjected to a most intrusive search that made me feel very embarrassed. I thought at one point she was going to make me undress completely! This, of course, put me in an even more foul mood, so Sophie was, quite rightly, fed up with me.

We found our gate number, and my poor daughter went off in search of sandwiches. We enjoyed these, and I relaxed a bit! Very soon, we were asked to board, and then it was time to say goodbye to Vienna. Hopefully, we will be back again soon!

The flight passed smoothly, and we landed at Heathrow a little later than expected. We were delighted to emerge from Terminal 3 and see our bus arrive to take us to the car park. Jeeves directed us expertly to the M25, and we saw several 747s take off over our heads. How these things get into the air is beyond me!

A near miss!

The M25 was busy, and it needed all my concentration to drive on the hectic motorway. At one point, I pulled over to an inside lane after the car next to me also pulled over, but he realised he was in the wrong lane, so swung back over just as I was pulling over myself. I swerved back into my lane, thankful that the car behind me hadn't overtaken! We were a bit shaken up by this!

Luckily, the rest of the journey was without incident, and we arrived home at 9:00pm. We sat in the living room and chatted to Keith about our visit for an hour, and then it was bedtime. We are both at work tomorrow!