Vienna: A Perfect Stop on Our Journey

We added Vienna to our itinerary when we realized that a train ride from Budapest to Prague could be broken up nicely with a stop in our first Austrian city. We are so glad we did because Vienna is a beautiful city to explore.

We stayed downtown in a small hotel that took up just one floor of a high-rise building right on a main shopping street. When we arrived to find the whole street corner walled off with a new transit line under construction we were understandably concerned, but our room was quiet and comfortable and the location ended up being perfect. We were within a block or so of subway stations and a short walk to several tram and bus routes, we could visit many amazing sites on foot, and we were surrounded by a great variety of eateries.

On our first evening, we walked to the MQ district (the MuseumsQuartier), home to over 60 institutions. We found MQ Libelle, where we took the free elevator up to the observation deck for our first view of the city. There is a little bar on the deck as well, but we opted to head to dinner instead. On the recommendation of our hotelier, we went to to the mall across the street from our accommodation and up to the top floor where we enjoyed an outdoor dinner and another pleasant view.

On our first full day we walked into Stephansplatz and the central core of Vienna. We discovered that this area, especially right out in front of Domkirche St. Stephan (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), was a meeting ground for umpteen tour groups so we were happy to view, take our pictures, and move on. We continued our walk up the shopping street of Graben and were surprised by a procession of horse-drawn carriages crossing our path. We turned the corner to see where they were going and Katholische Kirche St. Peter (Peterskirche or St. Peter’s Catholic Church) loomed in front of us.

We continued walking through Michaelerplatz, past the Spanish Riding School (famous for training Lipizzaner horses and a popular tourist attraction), and onto Heldenplatz, an expansive public space in front of Hofburg Palace. Looking at the palace, Ken had the sobering recollection from the book, The Third Reich, of seeing pictures of Hitler on the pillared balcony addressing the masses below. When we were there, the plaza was a hive of activity as tents were being set up all over the lawns. The preponderance of John Deere tractors suggested an agriculture trade show was in the offing. Behind the Heldenplatz was the beautiful Volksgarten public park.

We finished the day with a tram ride on part of the Ringstrasse to the Hundertwasser House, a unique and colourful apartment building completed almost 40 years ago. The building honours curves and fluidity, even in its floors, and sports a treed roof.

The next day we caught the subway to Schönbrunn Palace. When we arrived it was unclear where we should go and traffic seemed to be directed into the ticket office to purchase all manner of passes and tours. The best tip that we had read, though, was that it was free to explore the grounds. Ken asked someone where we could go for free. They weren’t keen on sharing, but we walked through the plaza at the back of the palace and found narrow entryways to the grounds at either side of the building. We walked through one side, continued along the trails until the whole park opened up in all its splendor.

From the fountain area we could have taken the path that zigzagged up the open hill to the gloriette (open building erected on an elevated site in a garden), but we found side trails that meandered through the shady forest making the trek much more cool and pleasant. Most of the gloriette’s patio area is off limits unless you are eating at the cafe there. The hill itself offers a wonderful view of the palace and lands surrounding it and many people were hanging out just enjoying any shade they could find, some even picnicking on the steps.

Back in central Vienna, everywhere we walked we saw colourful buildings and ornate details. We wandered streets, through the Naschmarkt (promenade lined with small shops, kiosks, and restaurants), past the gold-topped Secession Building and onto the Opera house. We had only glimpsed the Hofburg palace, so wandered back into Burrgarten to view it and the Schmetterlinghaus, a greenhouse building that now contains a butterfly exhibit with cafes running along its front.

We knew we had to hit a Würstelstand (sausage stand) so headed to a reasonably reviewed one nearby and then went up an escalator to the terrace of the Albertina art museum to eat our sausages poked into crunchy buns.

With a little daylight left, we hopped on a tram across the canal that meanders through the center of the city and out to the Danube River. We encountered the beautiful Katholische Kirche St. Franziskus von Assisi (St. Francis of Assisi Church), walking partway over a bridge to see it from the water. What a sight for the river cruises that dock in Vienna.

For something a little different, on our last day in Vienna we took the tram and bus out of the city up the hillside to Kahlenberg for the views, and to Grinzing for the cute little town.

On our return to the city, we hopped off the tram to see the highly decorated Votivkirche (Votive Church) and walked to Rathausplatz, the park and plaza fronting the Rathaus (city hall). The plaza looked like it was being set up for some sort of festival, so we were glad to see the impressive building (or at least its front side) before it was blocked by event paraphernalia. Right next to city hall we encountered the many-columned Austrian Parliament.

We enjoyed many delicious meals, starting with the Wiener Schnitzel we ordered our first night. For those who aren’t aware (I wasn’t), Wien = Vienna, thus Wiener Schnitzel = Vienna Schnitzel. Of course we had to try it in Vienna and it was delicious. We also saw the influence of neighbouring Hungary with paprika-flavored meat stews frequently on the menu.

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TripBits

• Train to and from Vienna – We booked our train tickets online on the Regiojet app after conferring with our favourite Europe train resource, seat61.com. €25.40 for both of us from Budapest to Vienna, €52.40 Vienna to Prague, our next destination. Except for getting onto the train with luggage and trying to find a place to store it, we found that the experience was a very good one. We had reserved seats. Once the train is in motion you can order food on the app and it is delivered to your seat. Prices were very reasonable and everything we ordered on both trips was good.
• Transit – We used the WienMobil app to purchase transit tickets. We were there for 5 nights. A 72-hour pass was €17.10 and a 7-day pass was €19.70 including tax (no senior discount). We opted for the 7-day pass so we could hop on and off the buses and trams at will the whole time we were there. Fun fact: Dogs are allowed on transit when on lead and muzzled (we observed various levels of adherence to this policy), and require a discounted ticket.