One of our favourite countries in the world, Austria, it’s good to be back. For this short trip, we are including a one night trip to northern Slovenia – dining and staying at Michelin-stared restaurant, HiŠa Denk, in the small village of Zgornja Kungota.
With that Covid thing slowly going away, travel is slowly getting back to pre-pandemic levels, so much so there were nightmare stories of people arriving at the airport (Dublin), two and three hours before their flights only to miss them due to delays at the security. Add to that, with staff shortages, even getting a cup of coffee was proving a disaster. So just to err on the side of caution, we arrived very early for our flight and not wanting to miss out on a cuppa, or breakfast for that matter, we booked the Aer Lingus lounge. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the main airport departure lounge so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and had time to sit back and relax before making our way to our gate.
Our flight left on time and before we knew it, we arrived at Vienna airport, however, for now, Vienna is not our final destination. For our first night, we’re in Austria’s second largest city, Graz. Top tip, if you time it just right, there is a train that goes direct from the airport to Graz which will save you having to go into the main Vienna station and then changing trains for Graz. The journey from Vienna airport takes around two and a half hours to get to Graz with some really nice scenery along the way (sit on the left side of the train for better views). Even in mid-March, there is still snow on the ground as you climb up higher into the mountains. Saying that, the weather is actually mild, reasonably warm days and slightly colder temperatures in the evening, but pleasant nonetheless.
On arrival into Graz, we made our way to our hotel, however, we stopped along the way to grab some lunch in a place called the Kunsthause Café which was in the Amorphous Museum. I opted for a veggie quiche and C went with a power salad, both very tasty. After this brief lunch stop, we continued onto our hotel. We are staying at Grand Hotel Wiesler which is the oldest hotel in Graz don’t you know.
Check-in was a breeze helped by the very friendly receptionist, once sorted, we made our way to our room. The room was a decent size, a tad dated looking but it had huge windows looking out onto a nice park. The bathroom was also a decent size and the place was spotlessly clean. Normally, we would drop the bags and hit the streets but as we had a very early start, we chilled in the room for an hour or so before venturing out to get our bearings.
There are several attractions worth checking out in Graz, however, one of the main draws is to take a trip to the Uhrturm medieval clock tower which overlooks the entire city. Normally you can take a funicular railway up but it was closed for renovations so your only option is to take the long stairways up, which is actually not that bad.
Once on top, the view is fantastic and as it was starting to get dark, the city lights started to illuminate, it was really nice. There is also a small castle that can be visited but was currently closed. We did, however, enjoy a coffee sitting outside while enjoying the view before making our way back down.
Once we got back down, we did a little window shopping, followed by a drink in a small bar which was nice. We had no plans for dinner other than to wing it, so after wandering around for a half hour or so we hit on a place called El Gaucho im Landhaus, a steakhouse bang in the city centre and luckily for us, they had a table, as the place was packed to the rafters.
To start, I had the bacon salad which came drenched in olive oil and a mound of garlic over the lambs lettuce, C opted for the salmon. The salmon was decent, nothing special but not bad, my salad was actually ok, besides the overflowing olive oil, it had plenty of flavour, mainly due to the garlic, which I actually liked. For our mains, we both went with steak, of course, I went with the ribeye and C opted for the fillet. The steaks were good, far from the best steaks we have had, but decent, although the accompanying fries had a very strange taste, not unpleasant, but certainly not pleasant. Still though, we left feeling full and reasonably satisfied.
The next day, we grabbed breakfast at the hotel which was the usual continental brekkie, nothing special but it did the job. We checked out and hit the streets for some sightseeing. One small attraction in Graz is the double spiral staircase ‘doppelwendeltreppe’, which is just off a courtyard in the centre of Graz. Apparently they are pretty rare and this is one of the better examples of this type of architecture.
After checking out a few other bits and pieces, we grabbed a late lunch before making our way to the station. We had a short train journey with Austrian rail to take us to the border with Slovenia before changing to a Slovenian train. Once on board we had about a 20 minute journey to the station in the town of Maribor, before hopping on a local bus to bring us to the small village of Zgornja Kungota, where we are staying for the night and also dining here.
It was a package deal, an overnight experience, so to speak, where you stay and eat in the same place. The accommodation was modern and comfortable, but of course we’re here for the food in it’s Michelin starred restaurant, we were really looking forward to it.
The main restaurant is roomy and modern, the seating is comfortable and the lighting is just right. Even though the restaurant was pretty full, it never felt crowded or too loud which can sometimes be the case. The service was very friendly and the staff were well presented, everything was really looking up. Of course, we had no idea what was in store as there was no menu, as part of the package you are having the ‘taster’ menu, so we were excited to see what we were going to get, so I’ll let the photos do the talking – and there’s a lot of them J
Note: As we had no menu, the description of the food is brief and I am going by memory to describe what we had.
Overall, how did HiŠa Denk rate … well, it was really enjoyable. The staff were fantastic and food was very good. If anything, there was probably too much food. While we have had taster meals in the past, the trouble with this one was the size of some of the portions, they were just that bit too big and at the end, we were so full that we struggled to finish the last few nibbles. Add to that the produce, while good, was not as good as what we are used to at home, after all our dairy and fish for example are of an exceptionally high standard. Those slight criticisms aside, we would certainly return and do it all over again, which we probably will.
The next morning, more food. Breakfast was laid out, with charcuterie, bread, cake, fruit and eggs cooked to your liking – it was fantastic. We checked out and were given a complementary bottle of wine to take with us and we were thanked for our custom, a nice end to a good night. We left Zgornja Kungota and made our way back over the border. For our last two nights, we’re back in the Austrian capital, Vienna. It’s been several years since we were here before and we were really looking forward to it.
Last time we visited Vienna, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and this visit was no different. It has a fantastic location, close to plenty of amenities along with places to eat and drink. Once checked in, we headed to our room. The room was a really good size, modern and spotlessly clean.
We had no plans for dinner other than to try some traditional fare, with schnitzel high up on the list of things to try. By chance, a member of staff showed up at our room to check that everything was in order, turned out he had worked in Galway so we had a good chat with him and he recommended two place to eat while in Vienna, which was great. As it was a Friday night, we asked the concierge if he could get us a booking for Figlmüller, as recommended by our chum who worked in Galway. He managed to get us a table which was fantastic. We headed out on the town and headed towards the old part of the city. Our first stop was a wine bar for a quick glass of wine in a place called Weinorgel. It was small, busy and grungy but it was fine. As we still had some time to kill, we grabbed another drink in a local bar called Bane which was a real local place, we actually really liked it. Once done with our drink, we headed to Figlmüller for dinner.
Figlmüller is considered ‘the’ place to eat schnitzel in Vienna so we were happy to have a booking as the place was crazy busy. To start, I went for the simple potato salad, C opted for the gnocchi. For mains, for me, it was a no brainer, the schnitzel, of course, which was huge, however, C went with a goulash. The schnitzel was tasty, nice and crispy and well-seasoned, C’s choice of goulash was also pretty decent. We were pretty full so did not bother with dessert. After Figlmüller, we headed back to the hotel for a late night drink in the hotel bar followed by a good night’s sleep.
The following day, we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and hit some of the nearby sights. The architecture in Vienna is fantastic, everything is so well preserved and clean. Add to that there’s plenty of museums to visit and you can also spend the day shopping if you choose to do so. We checked out the cathedral and spent a few hours in the fantastic Museum of Natural History which is housed in an amazing building. We grabbed lunch al fresco style in the Café Landtmann, as recommended by our chum at the hotel – and highly recommended by us. Freshly made juices and coffee were fantastic, I went with a toasty and C finally had her kaiserschmarrn which came with a berry sauce and an apple sauce, all fantastic.
We did a little more wandering, taking in the sights and atmosphere before making our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We are dining at the on-site restaurant, Distrikt. This is a fantastic steak house, we had eaten here before and it was excellent, so we were really looking forward to a return visit.
We arrived bang on time for our dinner reservation at Distrikt and were seated at a nice corner table with a window. The menu is short but everything reads really well, add to that the service is excellent. To start, I went with the creamy celery soup with shaved truffles, which was really tasty, the truffles are such an indulgence. C went with a Caesar salad which came with friend chicken, it was a huge portion so I gladly helped her finish it. For our mains, we both went with the ribeye steak and a few sides, consisting of French fries, herb butter, BBQ sauce which was homemade and really tasty. Some winter veg and mashed potato to finish things off, they also served plenty of sourdough bread, it was fantastic.
Despite being really full, we still managed to share some chocolate ice cream just to finish off the evening along with one final drink in the bar.
The following morning, all that was left to do was grab breakfast, check out and make our way to the airport. We had a fantastic few days in Austria along with our night in Slovenia and we look forward to a return visit, which may actually be a ski trip later in the year, you’ll just have to watch this space.
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 