This picture depicts our arrival in Vienna perfectly!!!
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One street away from our desired location...
Me (confused) and Mum (concerned) |
Little did we know that we were only one street away from our hotel... and we spent close to half an hour searching for our street on a map!!! Believe me, when you are searching for one tiny street name (in abbreviated German street names), Vienna seems MASSIVE!!! Thankfully, by the grace of God, I managed to find that tiny street on the map thus beginning my geographical awareness and skill (...it only took 25 years). And for those that know the 'Kenilworth' story... let it be known that those days are over as I have been navigating Dad and Mum through Austria ever since!!!! - LOOK OUT EUROPE!)
In Vienna, there are so many lovely sounds everywhere that it's no wonder that it is the city of music! In addition, there is an abundance of detail everywhere… many of the churches having a Gothic influence.
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| "Grumpy gills" |
And although it took us until our third and final day to go into the Stephansdom, it was well worth the wait.
Day 1 – Walking, walking and walking in Wien
All throughout the city, you can see the affects of an 'arts' cultured society. Art and music dominate this city but to be frank – graffiti adorns almost every wall whether it be an ordinary building or one of historic significance. I did wonder if this is a way to "creatively express themselves" - a form of modern art, perhaps? Nevertheless, the more artistic graffiti looked fabulous on the underside of the bridges alongside of the Danube Canal.
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| Grafitti |
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| Grafitti under the bridge |
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Refresh and recharge with Ottakringer!
Me, Dad and Mum |
...Thankfully I got some sun on my snowy skin (maybe it will add me some colour before Italy).
We continued on through the city trying to avoid the vast numbers of bicycles and worked our way into the back streets.
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| Bicycles... |
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| Bicycles... |
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| BICYCLES!!! |
As we quickly walked, the Rathaus and the Stephansdom towered over us. We walked an epic 10 kilometres today - and we felt the affects as we crawled into bed around midnight.
Day 2 – Wet Wien
Our second day brought buckets of rain down from the heavens. We were lucky enough to get in a quick visit to the Naschmarkt (big markets in the city centre) where we spotted lots of awesome fresh fruit and vegetables. Surprisingly, there was not a lot for Dad to haggle with and when the rain started we took cover on the trams that circle around the city.
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Naschmarkt
Dad and Mum |
When the rain eased slightly we made our way over to ‘The Blue Danube’. However, it was not so blue today (except for maybe the mood of the rain). We were sure that it is a beautiful river usually and I hummed Mozart’s famous tune anyway to cheer us up.
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| The Needle and the Danube |
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The Danube River
Mum and Me |
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| 'Danube' (looking towards the hills) |
Back to the city centre found us outside the Stephansdom (but as I mentioned earlier we were to only go inside it the next day).
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| Umbellas, brollies and ponchos! |
In an attempt to escape the rain and revel in a bit of musical culture, we made a somewhat spontaneous decision that seemed only fitting for the 'City of Music' and went to a Strauss and Mozart concert in the Stadtpark at the Kusalon.
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| The Stadtpark (Behind: the Kusalon) |
With a treat of a three course dinner prior and front row seats, Dad in particular was well pleased with the success of the evening… and that was all before the performance had even begun!!
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| Dinner prior to the show |
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Happy campers in the front row!!
Mum, Dad and me |
Growing up I played many a Mozart piece on the piano – but it was delightful sitting there to hear the pieces being played by an orchestra in perfect sync (nothing like how I used to play!!!) There was a minor ballet and opera to accompany some of the pieces. They were wildly entertaining and it was so great having a light-hearted atmosphere to these fun pieces. Even during the opening song “The Bird Hunter”, the percussionist stood up to shoot off a cap gun!! Simply fab!
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| Prior to the show beginning |
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| The Stadtpark bridge after the show |
Day 3 – All things high and mighty in Vienna
We took the trams and buses up into the mountains in Vienna, though the locals reassured us they were mere hills!!!
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| Old tram - love it!! |
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Mischief on the tram!
Dad, Mum and me |
There was a fantastic view of the Danube from up on the ‘mountain’ but due to all the mist hanging around from the rain the day before, unfortunately we could not see clearly all the way to the bottom.
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| View of Vienna & the Danube (from the hills) |
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Walking through the forest
Dad and me (with Mum in the far background) |
...and of course then quenched our thirst with a Viennese coffee ‘The Melange’.
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| Melange |
Back down the ‘mountain’ and then we were off to the city, which had eventually decided to clear up. Some of the major sights were…
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| Rathaus |
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| Rathaus clock |
Here we stopped here for lunch (in line with the Vienna Festival) and had wurst and another Austrian beer (...what else??!)
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| Parliament Haus |
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| Wiener Staatsoper (Opera House) |
And topped it off with my personal favourite… the Stephansdom.
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Out front of the Stephansdom
Under reconstructive works |
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| Main altar |
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| Looking back towards the entrance |
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| Golden icon (I think it looks like one of the three kings!) |
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Left side of the cathedral
Mum and Dad |
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| Jesus on the crucifix (tree version) |
There are so many Gothic details inside this cathedral – making it very difficult getting decent photographs (for the lack of light.)
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| Stained glass windows down the right side |
Down through the back streets of Vienna (or to the Backstraße) we found this gorgeous little gothic-influenced restaurant ‘Zum Basilisken’ on the quiet street of Schönlatern-gasse.
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Zum Basilisken
Me, Mum and Dad |
The perfect end to our Wiener Schnitzel dinner (and our trip to Vienna) was with a delicious serving of Sachertorte (mmm… schmecken!)
