Vienna was a bit of an afterthought to me. A convenient stop between Prague and Budapest on the train. I’d planned it so I would have only a day and a half in the city and as I read about things to do and see I was not overly excited about this stop. Boy was I proven wrong!
I pulled into the Wein Subbahnhof (south train station) in the early evening after going through some gorgeous countryside between Prague and Vienna. At points I’d thought it was like a scene from a movie. There were deer jumping and playing in a field with rolling hills behind them. Is that for real? I was listening to some classical music on my iPhone…I never listen to classical music and realized it was good timing considering where I was going. Vienna seemed, by literature I’d read, the center of all things classical music.
Arriving at the Hilton Stadtpark, I was impressed with what my Hilton Honors points had gotten me for a free stay. The hotel was quite nice and I was upgraded to the executive floor which meant I’d get some free food and drink in the executive lounge. My vantage point from my tenth floor room were out onto the city in the opposite direction from the center. I decided a bit of free food and maybe some wine were in order before I began my exploration of central Wien. The views from executive lounge were great! Looking down on Stadtpark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtpark) and into the city center. I was able to get myself a bit oriented and filled my stomach.
Heading out into the central part of Vienna was very easy from the hotel. I crossed the edge of Stadtpark, which looked beautiful at night so I looked forward to a walk through it in the daylight. On the opposite side of the street was the MAK (http://www.mak.at/), a museum of applied and contemporary arts. Walking down Wollzeile towards the Stephanplatz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephansplatz), a main central square, I was stuck by how cold it had gotten and how festive the city seemed with Halloween and Christmas (I know a bit early) décor filling the windows of the numerous shops. The other thing I noticed was how clean it is here. The streets were practically sparkling and I’d never seen buildings, particularly of this age, that were so pristine.
I was awestruck by my first view of the Stephansdom ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen's_Cathedral,_Vienna) as I walked into the Stephansplatz. The Stephansdom is a gothic cathedral that that was lit up beautifully. This cathedral was completed in 1160! I figured it was closed but was pleasantly surprised to see people walking in. I followed and was blown away by the size and grandeur of this cathedral that I’d never heard of mentioned in the same breath as Notre Dame or St. Patricks in New York. They were setting some trees up and it smelled like Christmas inside which was warming given the temperature outside.
I continued walking through the center of the city without a clue where I was heading. I ended up in the midst of the Heldenplatz which is the center of the Hofburg (http://www.hofburg-wien.at/en/), home to the Hapsburgs for centuries. The lights of this city were brilliant with the Rathaus off in the distance across the Volksgarten. Walking back to my hotel I veered in different directions through the winding streets and was impressed by the number of unique little shops that remained scattered throughout Vienna.
This morning (Saturday) I woke up excited to see Vienna in the daylight hours. I got an early start so as to beat the throngs of tourists that would inevitably fill up the key sites around the central city. My first stop was the Stephansdom once again. This time by daylight I was able to go up to the bell tower and view things from above. The roof of the Stephansdom is as impressive as the rest of the building. It is colorful with 230,000 colored tiles and has almost a Bavarian charm to it. I stood taking pictures of the spires and roof with a three quarters moon still shining in the distance.
Arriving at the Hofburg I was a bit overwhelmed with where to go. This place is huge! There were museum entrances all over the place and each seemed to house something different. I hadn’t prepared myself well for this given that Vienna had not been as high on my list of places to visit as the others on this trip. I saw and entrance that peaked my interest. Ancient musical instruments. I figured Vienna being the center of music and the fact that I used to, long ago, play the piano, guitar and saxophone, I’d enjoy it. Plus housed in the same section, while and odd combination, was the section of the museum dedicated to armor and ancient weapons! The section of musical instruments was pretty cool. It housed many instruments used by the likes of Beethoven and Mozart. I had never realized what an art form the construction of musical instruments could be. Ornate to plain, these instruments were something that could be the center of a beautiful room. This visit also gave me some additional history on the musical history of Vienna which was at one point or another home to just about every major classical composer you can imagine Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and the Johann Strausses (Jr. and Sr.).
The section of armor and weapons was equally impressive with full displays set up of knights on their horses attacking one another. There was armor from Maximilian II, who I remembered had built Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. I was struck with how the borders had either not existed as they do today or they were blurred by the control of an empire that spanned large areas of Europe. My favorite piece of armor was a dome shaped head piece that was topped with a decorative piece. This was used for practice in which two opponents would use a club with the objective of knocking off the decorative piece from the top of the dome in order to achieve victory. The theory was this would help hone the precision of a club toting knight in what they hit…I have a feeling there were numerous people wearing these domes that wished this precision was practiced on inanimate objects!
Lunch for me today was at an outdoor café on the Stephansplatz. A huge Weiselbuger Bier, an Austrian beer, some salmon, a whole lot of people watching and I was energized to see some more. Vienna is full of parks, Stadtpark by my hotel, Burggarten by the Hofburg, Volksgarten by the Hofburg and Rathauspark by the new and old town halls (Rathaus). Volksgarten was the most ornate with rose gardens and details not found in most city parks. Stadtpark was more of a city park with people running and a river cutting through its middle. The Rathauspark is impressive if only for the fact that the Rathaus building which is as grand as most buildings in Vienna but in a more gothic style than the other imperial looking buildings which were more reminiscent buildings such as you might find in Washington, DC.
After a rest and some food I left the hotel in the evening hours and made my way to Naschmarkt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naschmarkt). I didn’t really know anything about this except it was a different part of the city than I’d seen thus far and it was supposed to be an interesting site. By the time I arrived much of the market was shut down but I was surprised to learn that much of the market consisted of permanent buildings that housed restaurants. The really odd part to me was that most of them were Asian restaurants. I’d not come to Vienna expecting much but certainly not a large selection of Chinese food. Walking back through town I saw what appeared to be more of the local spots, all the while marveling at how friendly, clean and beautiful this city is. Another stop in Vienna would certainly include a musical venue. There are so many that it is almost dizzying and makes it difficult to determine which one will be the best experience. Proving that expectations can always be blown away, I will certainly put Vienna on my list of places to visit again and be more prepared to take advantage of all it has to offer.
