Day 6: The United Nations Office @ Vienna International Centre (Apr 2017)

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Tuesday, 18th April 2017

What I liked about this whole visit experience was to be able to stand right in the middle of the Memorial Plaza overlooking the row of flags that represents the 193 Member States as we commenced our 11am tour. For me, there was this magical feeling as though we were standing in the middle of the cross-roads to the world.

Since 1979, this group of UN Building Cluster along the banks of Danube River forms part of the Vienna International Centre precinct. Visiting the UN Offices wasn't part of our original plan and this was really a "bonus" that we managed to cover during our 3 days in this city.

During our 1 hour tour, we were brought to the various buildings of the UN Office. The guide took us through an overview of the building model before we proceeded to the viewing gallery overlooking one of the meeting venues. Our movement was restricted within the ground floor even though there were pit-stops along the way to look at the temporary exhibits in greater details. There was an astronomical gallery devoted to Space. Throughout the tour, our guide engaged us with questions and it appeared that many of the participants were already very well-versed with the facts of the UN.

When the tour ended, we headed for lunch at a Chinese café nearby. It was nice to taste some Asian food for a change. Later on, we alighted at Donauinsel Station to take in the sweeping views of Danube River before proceeding to Karl-Marx-Hof, where it still holds the record of being the longest single residential building of the world. Finally, after grocery shopping at Billa, we took the tram back to the city and back to our hotel for a mid-afternoon rest.

Prior to our dinner at Café Museum, we stopped by for some free outdoor opera screening at Karlsplatz this evening. Our time in Vienna was well-balanced with a variety of activities ranging from the Millitary Museum, the UN Offices, the Danube River, Summer Palace, Opera screening and iconic Tram Rides. Our nice experience at Café Museum had us contemplating yet another visit to this fine city in future.

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