Vienna

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Vienna Day 1-4 (May 19-22)

I arrived at the central station far too early the next day, but I still like to leave a plenty of time for the “lost factor” when getting around on my own. No need this time as it was easy to travel by S-bahn to central station, and I located the correct international platform easily. My group leader was travelling on the same train, but she had managed to obtain a first class ticket on sale earlier. We made plans to meet in the restaurant car for coffee and went to sit in our separate carriages.

I managed to be sitting in a 6 seater compartment with only two others, who I think must have just got married. They were very nice, but spoke no English and I think were happy when I went off for a while to the restaurant car. The train followed a river in a valley for a large part the journey which was very picturesque and I noticed some great camping places. Driving through that area would be great and I’ve made a mental note of it if ever I return.

The nine hours went fairly quickly, especially breaking it with coffee (and strudel) stops. The hotel I stayed in for the first night was great, with white iron inner balcony(corridors) that had flower boxes all round. There were French doors that opened normally, but also opened like the other windows I encountered that angle in leaving a small opening for air at the top. I was sorry that it was only one night here, as it felt like a place to make home for a bit.

Off exploring in the morning, leaving my luggage in storage. I found many parks, monuments (of Strauss among others) and Viennese buildings to take my interest, of course stopping to have a morning coffee (as kettles in rooms is not standard in Europe). I found my way to the centre and then back to my hotel after again taking too many photos.

A quick trip on the metro to the hotel used by the tour group, named Hotel Mozart where I settled in for the next three nights. The weather was quite warm and muggy, apparently unseasonal for the time of year. I decided I’d had enough walking and took my book to another park on the other side of the river (a tributary to the Danube). The park had groups of older and younger men playing, loud games of cards as well as many people walking their dogs and children.

Before long it was time to meet the next group. Our leader walked us through the plans, and other important pieces of information (reminding people that Europe can actually be different too from the places we were from - Australia, New Zealand and Canada). We had our initial group dinner and then met up the following morning for our orientation tour. I’ve been very fortunate with tour leaders, and the one on this trip I knew from the last, has a great way of presenting the historical information in small pieces as we walked around. This is something that they don’t have to do, but it certainly adds to the experience when they do.

The orientation tour ended conveniently at the State Opera house, which has opposite it the famous Sacher Café, which serves of course the Sacher torte. So most of headed there for a coffee in the lush surrounds enjoyed the chocolate and apricot torte (which apparently they will ship anywhere in the world - for a price).

I headed back to the museum quarter and went to the Leopold gallery, that housed a fair amount of Klimt work but a lot of his later and quite different pieces. They also had an artist called Ergon Shiele a student of Klimt that I was quite impressed with, especially his pictures of Cesky Krumlov, which was the next town we were going to. The Leopold also had a large collection of Barlach sculptures (who I recognised from the outdoor museum in Hakone in Japan).

Time to get some more Euros’ but unfortunately I found a cash strapped ATM that only let me have a few, but enough for me for the moment. I found an U-bahn station and headed out to the famous palace of Shoenbrun. I took a recorded guided tour through the palace and then spent some time in the magnificent gardens, even managing 10 minutes on the lush grass before being cheerfully ushered off by a man on a bicycle with a portable no walking on the grass sign (I had noticed any before sitting down). I found a seat in the shade and happily spent an hour reading, watching squirrels dart around and people watching.

I returned to the hotel meeting up with a few, but not being really hungry yet (getting used to eating late like the Europeans) I went along to be sociable. Later our group leader and I found a Greek restaurant, with no English menu, so leaving ourselves in the hand of the waiter I ended up with lamb and prawn dish that didn‘t disappoint.

The following day, we took a tram to the international station and an hours train journey to the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. This town had been a capital of the Hungarian empire in its history, and is gradually being restored after years of Soviet neglect. It had a very nice old town area, and a castle with magnificent views, including of the Danube. From the vantage point we were able to see an amazing 180 degree turn performed by a huge river cruising boat. It looked like it let the current spin around until it was perpendicular to the river banks taking up a large part of the river. Then appearing to be fighting against the current to finally complete the 180 degree turn. What appeared to be an out of control boat, turned out to be a perfectly performed manoeuvre.

We all left at different times to catch the return train back to Vienna. Some of us met up later to go the famous fairground area where there is an 112 year old viewing wheel. The carriages were wooden, and the views were great, however it was a bit nerve wracking when all the people moved to one side or the other to take photos. The fairground is there permanently, with many rides that we would see at the Gold Coast theme parks and more beside, and even better no entrance fee. It was a pleasant place to wander around or sit and people watch.

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Comments

[Hedins]

Hi from Di
It sounds like you're sampling some wonderful food!

[tezzakezza]

I can hear the music of Strauss playing in my ears as a look at these photos!! Love the people hanging out all over the yellow art...and the 114 year old ferris wheel takes history to a whole new level!! x Keri