Why Vienna and England?
My best friend Peter's birthday is on May 6. We last celebrated in person in 2024, so I figured it was time for another birthday visit (we last saw each other in March 2025). I'll leave on May the Fourth be with you (I already have the t-shirt) and arrive on the 5th in Vienna. Hopefully we'll get some Wiener Schnitzel at some time and do 2 escape rooms. This time with his wife Hanni for the first time!
Then I'll fly to London, stay at an AirBnB and hang around for 5 days going to plays or shows every night, including Stranger Things: First Shadow (for the 4th time). I'll be doing a lot of walking with plans for a lot of Sticky Toffee Pudding. The best so far was at the Mug House, but I will try it everywhere I can. Also Scotch Eggs!
I'll rent a car on Wednesday the 13th and drive to Milton Keynes - again staying in an AirBnB. Milton Keynes is where Bletchley Park is. It's also not too far (90 minutes) to Oxford (west) and Cambridge (east). I'm going to go on a guided walking tour in each, also a food tour in Cambridge and then to see Austentatious for a second time. Each show is different because it is based on what the audience feeds as the fictitious Jane Austen book title. It will be interesting to see the difference between London and Oxford audiences.
I'll be heading to Warwick Castle to tour it - it seems like more a souped up tourist destination, but I'll see. Also, going to Cadbury World near Birmingham. And speaking of chocolate, I'll be squeezing in a chocolate making class at the Secret Trufflier.
That's pretty much the plan. I will be posting all content on this page as opposed to having a separate page for each day. I've got links to each day of the trip and added pics before the real thing happens.
May 2026 Vienna/England Itinerary
| Date | Activity | |
|---|---|---|
| Mon May 4 | Atlanta to London | |
| Tue May 5 | London to Vienna | |
| Wed May 6 | Magic Adventure Escape | No Way Out |
| Houdini Escape Room | No Way out | |
| Thu May 7 | Vienna to LHR | |
| The Wellington | ||
| Tesco Express | ||
| Fri May 8 | Paddington Station | |
| Non-touristy & Unseen London | ||
| I'm Sorry, Prime Minister | ||
| Sat May 9 | Charbonnel et Walker | |
| Walk to Old Vic | ||
| Cuckoo's Nest | Old Vic | |
| Natalie Cuomo | Leicester Square Theatre | |
| Sun May 10 | London Canal Museum | |
| British Library | ||
| British Museum | ||
| Stranger Things: First Shadow | Phoenix Theatre | |
| Funland Arcade | Brunswick Centre | |
| Mon May 11 | Sherlock Holmes Museum | |
| Austentatious | Vaudeville Theatre | |
| Tue May 12 | Jen Earle Tour | Chelsea Tour |
| Inter Alia | Wyndham Theatre | |
| Wed May 13 | Rent Car | Alamo at LHR |
| GoBowling | Dunstable | |
| Drive to Milton Keynes | ||
| Check in at AirBnB | ||
| Cross Keys Pub | Scotch Egg & Bread and Butter Pudding | |
| Thu May 14 | Bletchley Park | |
| The Black Horse Pub | Dirty Burger and Sticky Toffee & Rum Pudding | |
| Fri May 15 | Chocolate Making | Secret Trufflelier |
| Oxford Walking Tour | Oxford | |
| Turf Tavern | Sticky Toffee Pudding | |
| Sat May 16 | Cambridge Food Tour | Cambridge |
| Cambridge Walking Tour | Cambridge | |
| Sun May 17 | Pixel Bunker | Milton Keynes |
| Austentatious | Oxford New Theatre | |
| Mon May 18 | Warwick Castle | |
| Drive to Stratford-upon-Avon | ||
| Loxley's for lunch | ||
| MAD Museum | ||
| Shakespeare Statue and Birthbplace | ||
| Tue May 19 | Cadbury World | Birmingham |
| Pinball Factory | Birmingham | |
| Wed May 20 | Return Car | |
| Fly back to Atlanta |
Trip Day 0-1 - May 4-5, 2026 - Atlanta -> London -> Vienna
My trip to Vienna - stopover in London with hopefully enough time to get from one flight to another. Peter will pick me up from the airport.
Trip Day 2 - Wednesday, May 6, 2026 - Peter's Birthday
2 Escape Rooms, lunch, dinner, and maybe pinball.
Trip Day 3 - Thursday, May 7, 2026 - Vienna -> London
We will have lunch at Zum Schwarzen Schaf (belongs to King Andy) then Pete will drop me off at the airport and I fly to London. I'll be staying at an AirBnB near the Strand.
Eat dinner at The Wellington, then head to Tesco Express to buy essentials.
Trip Day 4 - Friday, May 8, 2026 - London
Head to Paddington Station to take the Non-touristy & Unseen London tour. Meet at the Brunel Statue.
Walk to the Apollo Theatre for I'm Sorry, Prime Minister
Trip Day 5 - Saturday, May 9, 2026 - London
Head to Charbonnel et Walker and buy a lot of Pink Champagne Truffles.
Drop off purchases off then walk to the Old Vic Theatre to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
In the evening, see Natalie Cuomo at Leicester Square Theatre.
Trip Day 6 - Sunday, May 10, 2026 - London
Walk to and visit the London Canal Museum.
On the way back, pass the British Library and the British Museum.
Go to a matinee of Stranger Things: First Shadow at the Phoenix.
Go to Funland Arcade to play pinball
Trip Day 7 - Monday, May 11, 2026 - London
Walk to the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
Watch Austentatious at the Vaudeville Theatre. It's literally just 10 minutes walk from the AirBnB.
Trip Day 8 - Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - London
Meet with Jen Earle for Chelsea Bakery Tour. Not sure where we will meet yet.
See Rosamund Pike in the play Inter Alia at Wyndham's Theatre. It's a legal drama.
Trip Day 9 - Wednesday, May 13, 2026 - London -> Milton Keynes
Pick up car at Alamo and drive to Dunstable to GoBowling. After bowling, drive to Milton Keynes to the AirBnB. Do laundry since the AirBnB has a washer. Walk to Cross Keys Pub for a Scotch Egg and Bread and Butter Pudding. Possibly go shopping if necessary.
Trip Day 10 - Thursday, May 14, 2026 - Milton Keynes
Bletchley Park all day because I didn't give it enough time last year. Bletchley is where Alan Turing developed the Bombe, the machine that decrypted the coded messages from the German Enigma machine during World War II. It is said that this decryption shortened the war by 1 to 2 years.
The Black Horse for dinner. They have a Sticky Toffee & Rum Pudding.
Trip Day 11 - Friday, May 15, 2026 - Woolmer Green, Oxford
Drive to Woolmer Green to take a chocolate making class at the Secret Truffletier.
Drive to Oxford for the Oxford University Walking Tour With University Alumni Guide.
Possibly Turf Tavern for dinner because they have Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Trip Day 12 - Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Cambridge
Drive to Cambridge to go on the Hidden Cambridge Food Tour.
Hang around a bit, then take the Cambridge University Walking Tour with an Alumni.
Trip Day 13 - Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Milton Keynes, Oxford
Head to Pixel Bunker to play some pinball. Probably from 10-1.
Drive to Oxford to see Austentatious at the New Theatre Oxford. Yes, same play as in London, but this is an improv group that creates a different show each time based on a made-up title of a Jane Austen novel. I need to think of a possible title.
Trip Day 14 - Monday, May 18, 2026 - Warwick Castle
Castle and dungeon tour
Trip Day 15 - Tuesday, May 19, 2026 - Cadbury World
Drive to Birmingham to visit Cadbury World
Trip Day 16 - Wednesday, May 20, 2026 - LHR -> Atlanta
Return car and fly home.
