Written by Kim
Slow down you crazy child, you’re so ambitious for a juvenile – Vienna waits for you. I couldn’t get that Billy Joel song out of my head the whole time we were here. We started our first day in a free walking tour but the tour was very big and it didn’t work for us so after the 2nd stop we bailed and tried another Voice App self guided tour. The Voice app in Vienna was not as good as Warsaw or Madrid but we still enjoyed it. It had difficult following us on GPS because of all the huge stone buildings.
Vienna is the largest city in Austria and until the beginning of the 20th century, Vienna was the largest German speaking city in the world – today it is second to Berlin. It is called the “City of Music” due to its rich history of musicians like Mozart, Hayden, Strauss and Beethoven who lived here. Beethoven wrote all of his works here. Lived in 80 places. Not a good neighbor always playing piano and not paying rent. Vienna is also often called the city of spies.
Our first tour stop was a solemn one. The monument of war and facism. The people of the city didn’t want this monument due to the horrific acts of the Nazis but it is part of the history so ultimately was agreed. Alex and I talked about how similar things are going on in the US. We can’t erase history but must learn from it so events aren’t repeated.
Across the street is the Opera House which was one of the largest building first built on the ring. The ring road circles the inner city where city walls once stood. The walls were taken down in the mid 19th century.
The Habsburg dynasty ruled Vienna for 6 centuries. Maria Theresa ruled in the 1700s. She was the only woman ruler, having 16 children and instituting financial, medical, instituional and educational. Mid of 18th century Mary Theresa’s – favorite daughter Mary Christina married Albert but he was not rich enough so her parents gave them Netherlands for a wedding present.Albert began collection art – this was the beginning of Albertina art collection
Did you know that cappuccino was created after the Battle of Vienna. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the color of their robes, and in this context referring to the color of the beverage when milk is added in small portion to dark, brewed coffee.
St Stephen’s cathedral is a huge church in the center of old town. Construction began in 1137 but it wasn’t complete until 1578 (sounds a bit like Sagrada Familia but it’s complete!). This cathedral must have had a fantastic music program. Hayden sang in the choir. Many composers including Hayden and Mozart were married here. Here’s a fun fact did you know that Mozart was a compulsive gambler.
After I some touring we headed back to the apartment to do some laundry. No dryer so we had to improvise. Good thing I brought my clothesline
After our chores we decided to create our own pub crawl for a little fun
Day 2 we took the hop on hop off bus to see a broader perspective of the city. We like this way of seeing a city since you typically get the lay of the land. We drove across the Danube which is the second largest river in Europe. The Danube has 4 parts in Vienna – the main river, the old river, new river, and a canal built to eliminate flooding of the city. Unfortunately, being on the Danube brings lots of Viking and other river cruises with tons of tourist. It was very crowded around the city even though tourist season is theoretically over. We’ve decided we’re not old enough yet for a river cruise based on the crowds we saw.
We had dinner across the street from our apartment at Figlimueller, a legendary restaurant with fabulous schnitzel. See Alex’s Facebook post for more details
Our last night in Vienna we went to a Mozart concert at the Kursalon. It was something different for us but we really enjoyed it. The seats were not assigned so we got there early and sat in the 2nd row with no one in front of us in the VIP section which cost 100€ more – research pays off for the win!
We enjoyed Vienna. Our apartment was in a great location but a little quirky. Normally in a Air bnb the owner puts away their personal items. In this one her laptop was on the desk, toiletries in bathroom, laundry hung out, and food in frig. That was just a little weird. Also, the shower was a tub with a handheld hose but no glass or curtain so it was impossible to shower without getting water all over. Lastly, I was happy there was a hairdryer but no plug in the bathroom or water closet so I had to dry my hair using a mirror in the dining room. Until next time Vienna. Off to Munich for Oktoberfest today. After about a 4 hour train ride.
