There is a restaurant that we like up in the hills on the west side of Vienna.  The city slopes steeply upward on that end, before ending and becoming Lower Austria.  We’ve been up there a few times, in the summer and the winter.  The food is good but the view is amazing, and it gives the feeling of being out of the city without having left at all.

Nearly next door to the restaurant is an old palace which has been converted into a hotel.  We’ve wandered over there a few times to stroll around the grounds and enjoy the beautiful view of Vienna.  Last winter, I heard that there was a skating rink in the winter alongside a tiny Christmas market in November and December, but by the time I’d decided to go up and check it out, it was too late — the skating was finished for the season.

Last weekend, though, my in-laws suggested a visit to the restaurant up in the hills.  B has been excitedly asking when we can go skating again, ever since it got cold outside.  It occurred to me that these things would go well together, so on Saturday, we went to check out Wilhelminenberg on Ice.

The skating rink was very small (as was the very little Christmas market alongside).  They only had a few pairs of children’s skates for rent, so we had to wait for someone else to return theirs before we could borrow some for the boys.  We only had to wait a few minutes, though, and it was worth it.  The boys had a great time sliding, skating (and falling) all around the little skating area.  And the view was really amazing — all of Vienna lit up down below.  It was just a little skating rink, and obviously not a super busy operation (even on a Saturday evening), but a nice spot with a great view.

Being up on the hill, it was cold and windy, so we didn’t last long (which was ok, because other kids were waiting for our skates, and we had dinner reservation).  But we definitely had a good time.  It was worth the trip up there just to skate around and enjoy the view.