Our train ride to Vienna was smooth and comfortable. The electric trains in this area are clean and quiet, without the clickety-clack of train travel “back in the day.” Roger says it is due to the fact that the rails are welded together eliminating the joints that caused the noise. The main train station in Vienna was busy when we arrived, but we followed the picture signs of a bus out to the street and hopped directly aboard a waiting bus going our direction. (We had researched ahead of time which bus to take to our AirBnB.) We thought the driver would sell us a ticket, but no. So we and our luggage hopped off the bus, returned to the train station, found a bus ticket machine and, with the help of a cute, young man who spoke English, bought the requisite ticket. He noticed that we were over 65 and made certain we bought the cheaper ones. We left the train station again, found another bus waiting to whisk us to our AirBnB, and within 30 minutes, we were ensconced in our rental, unpacking once again. I must say that the entire time we were in Vienna, not one person ever asked to see our tickets for buses or metros. On the other hand, one lady was brought into the main ticket office while we were buying a 7-day transit pass for not having a valid ticket…so they must have some controls in addition to the honor system.
Our rental is in the 6th district, southwest of Vienna’s center. It is accessed from the sidewalk through an old door which opens into a wide hallway. At the end of the hallway is another door into a large shady area with trees and hosts. At the far side of this green space is a small elevator that took us to the 1st floor (in this case, really the 3rd floor, but who’s counting when you have an elevator). A quick turn to the left onto an open-air hallway led to our apartment with parquet floors, 14’ high ceilings, windows and a balcony overlooking yet another green space below. Our space is far removed from the noise of the city. It feels like another world…so quiet and calm. After unpacking, we left the apartment for a Thai dinner on the street near our apartment (actually very good!) and a little grocery shopping for the next few days.
We were totally unprepared for our first visit to Vienna. No Rick Steves to guide us here. That is to say, there probably is a Rick Steves’ Austria, but we didn’t buy it. Vienna is overwhelming...it stimulates all the senses at once. It would take at least a year to see/do everything you might want to see. To get a handle on how to attack the the endless sightseeing options, we decided a visit to the Tourist Information (TI) Office at the city center. We hopped a nearby Metro and went into town. The metro system in Vienna is wonderful: it is clean, efficient and feels very safe.
We found the TI center quickly and were fortunate to find a lovely English-speaking Viennese woman who helped orient us to her city. She advised us not to purchase the “city card” which we had used so successfully in Ljubljana. Rather she unfolded a map and proceeded to circle places that we should see within the center and the outskirts. She happily informed us that if we ran out of places to see before the end of our stay, we should return and she would add to our list. She even advised us to buy a 7-day pass for all forms of transportation (bus, metro, trolley) in the city. That has worked out beautifully.
Our walking tour that first day took us around the beautiful State Opera House, up to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, to the Danube canal (more later on this) and into a warren of tiny streets with shops and restaurants. There we stopped for a lazy lunch at an outdoor restaurant: die Feinkosterei. It was phenomenal. Roger (who is a born risk-taker) tried the Wiener schnitzel again and loved it this time. This time, there was actually veal encased in the breading. I’m embarrassed to say that I had a tiny steak smothered in a heavenly chanterelle sauce with potatoes. I haven’t had steak for so many years—it was incredible! So much for my vegetarian dreams.
After lunch, we continued wending our way through the neighborhoods of Vienna on our way to the Hapsburg Winter Palace. We got lost (you already know what app I will blame for that), but eventually we found the enormous group of buildings that make up the palace. These monarchs had money!!! We didn’t do tours of the inside, but just enjoyed walking around the ornately carved and decorated buildings. Tired from our day’s wandering, we found the Metro station and headed home.
The next day, we visited the summer palace. Again, we did not do tours of the interior. But the buildings were exquisite…less formal than the winter palace, and the gardens were enormous and enjoyable. We spent most of our time strolling through the gardens (both formal and wild) and enjoying the pools and fountains.
We visited the Nashmarkt, an open air market of snacks, fresh vegetables, spices, and now meals that has been functioning for 100s of years. Farmers would bring in crops from their fields and fishermen would sail up the Danube to sell their catches. It is open every day and on the weekends, it expands to include a flea market.
Another day, we rode the Metro to the Danube. Who could visit Vienna and not see the Danube? You may recall that I mentioned our seeing the Danube Canal on our first day. The canal’s path is actually the path of the Danube itself in the Middle Ages very near the city center. But today, the actual Danube River flows farther north in a new path…and it is indeed a deep blue. The river is moves slowly and very wide. An island with walking/biking paths, a children’s park and lots of swimmers splits the river into an old and new branches. It was lovely to escape the busyness of the city, find a shady bench, sit and watch the Danube flow by. In this area of Vienna is also the Giant Ferris Wheel which we had to see. Built in 1897, it still goes round and round. The lady at the TI assured me that it was safe.
One evening we attended a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Four violins and one cello entranced the large crowd for precisely one hour. I think we were all amazed that the young violin soloist could make his finger move so perfectly and at times quickly on his instrument for such a long period of time. More amazing was the sweetness of the violins. Violins can be screechy. I know because I played the violin for a couple of years in elementary school and all the instrument could do for me was screech. (user error?) We did do a half-day wine/dinner tour in Vienna. We drove outside the city to find acres of vineyards. We tasted at 3 wineries, the last also served dinner. A delightful afternoon with a very international crowd. We represented the U.S., an Israeli couple, a New Zealand couple and a couple from Holland. Quite a fun group.
This ends our 2022 summer adventure. We fly home early tomorrow morning. A couple of you have asked if we tired of traveling. In truth, cities wear me out after awhile. But I could hop from small town to small town forever I think. Still we are looking forward to returning to friends and family. For those of you who stuck with us through the 11 weeks, you deserve gold medals. It has been fun having you with us.
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