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Published: December 22nd 2013
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Final Observations on Vienna
I decided to enjoy my last morning, and yes, I slept in. Work has put me through the ringer and I just wanted to make sure I was not tired on my return journey. I took my time waking up, showering, packing, and strolled up for my last free breakfast. Of course I got more ham to savor before heading back to the middle east. So, nothing much exciting happened on my last day. Instead, I'll leave you with a few photos and some observations.
1. I absolutely, positively could NOT leave without at least glimpsing the Danube River! I don't know why, but as a student of history, especially European history, I would have felt incomplete without at least seeing this historic trade route. I took the U1 to Donauinsel - this is a random stop in the middle of an island between the Danube River and the New Danube. There was really not much there except a nice park. It was almost noon and it was just so peaceful. This area kind of divides old, central Vienna from the newer areas.
2. The CAT - City Airport Train - is awesome. It
least on the :06 and :36 of every hour and is clean, smooth easy and very efficient.
3. Architecture was amazing. Whether it was incredible opera house, the giant palaces, or just the beautiful city streets, the city had a feeling of organization and pride.
4. The city was pretty pedestrian friendly. I never once felt the urge to take a taxi, even when I saw dozens after the Nutcracker. It was so much easier to cross the street to the U-Bahn than have to describe where my hotel was. The metro was among the best I've ever seen.
5. Make sure you get the 24/48/72 hour passes for all Vienna Public transportation. You can get on an off the subway or trams or buses whenever you want. I was never once checked for my ticket. I don't know if it is an honor system - if so, it is pretty amazing to rely on people so well.
6. Food was ok. While I enjoyed the ham, I'm not a fan of sausages or lots of meat (especially veal!) or fried foods or pastries. So, the food was not my favorite. I do regret not getting
a side of sauerkraut, but other than that, I don't feel like I missed much. Wine was pretty good - I found kind of a house red that they seemed to sell everywhere called Zweigelt which I actually really enjoyed. I just had the one beer at the pizza place - I already forget the name of it - but it was light and smooth.
7. I was a little disappointed in the museums. I enjoyed the Schonbrunn Palace audio tour and especially enjoyed watching the restoration works in progress. But I felt the other museums were far too overpriced for very little information. If I'm paying that much for a tour, I want it to be interactive. Seeing the documents in the Mozart museum was the low point. It also seemed like most of the tours were of just the buildings - very little from the relevant time periods existed, meaning you could basically glean this information from a book. Part of the reason I didn't even bother going to the Hofburg, though i kind of wish I did.
8. My favorite part was the LACK of English. Most people you need to interact with seem to
speak some English and English guides/pamphlets are always available. But most places you go to do not have English translations. I heard little English spoken unless I was near a tour group. It was fun to try to speak to people. And it was fun to try and dredge up my memories of my one semester of German in college. I was able to get by. "Ich komme aus Dubai" and I understood almost all the train announcements on the U-bahn.
9. I never had a real
desire to visit Vienna, but it seemed like the perfect spot to spend a Christmas holiday. I loved seeing the happy children and the general Christmas atmosphere. Definitely a magical experience. Seeing the city at Christmas time with all the Christmas markets was FANTASTIC!!!!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Heading to Vienna
We will follow in your footsteps in a few days. I look forward to seeing the Danube. We look forward to experiencing the public transportation.