Photos : Vienna Photos Schonbrunn Palace Official palace site.
Many people think weekends are for relaxing and staying around home. True but we also look at as a chance to spend money and travel. 🙂
Public Transport
Due to Heathrow delays (don’t think we’ve ever left on time from that airport…it must be run by the same people that run the London trains) we arrived about 90 minutes late. On our way in to the airport we noted the times the express train to the city center departed the airport. Why is this important? Because it’s only every 30 mins and due to the delay in arrival it was getting close to the rail network shutting. After rushing through customs we got some exercise by jogging to the train platform and made it with 4 minutes to spare 🙂 The train is very clean, smooth and fast plus it takes you to the heart of Vienna. The rail network is easy to navigate but the stations can be little confusing if you don’t pay attention and we almost got caught out waiting on the overland platform instead of descending the stairs to the subway. The distance between the airport train and the city network is a short walk but luckily we hightailed it to the city network and made our train just in time.
Our exit for our hotel was Stephansplatz and as we surfaced had some light rain and snow… about a 1 minute walk from our hotel.
Food
Hotel breakfast was hotel breakfast. Good food but standard fare and nothing to rave about.
Lunch was at an Austrian restaurant and the schnitzels were large and ok, by all accounts, but again not earth shatteringly wonderful. I skipped this lunch and, as one would expect (insert sarcasm here), waited to have Japanese. I got the better end of the deal and had a great meal.
Due to our laziness dinner was had in a pub in which we spent the late afternoon and although the food was standard fare it was better than lunch. Our final lunchwas in an Italian restaurant and I can only say the servings are huge and contradictory taste (big meal small taste).
Stephansdom (St Stephen’s Cathedral)
Our hotel backed onto Stephansdom that remains one of Vienna’s most famous sights. Built in 1147 AD it stands almost 137 m tall and although currently undergoing restoration work, still presents an imposing shadow in the city. The style is Gothic and has two main features being the gigantic roof and the tower (136.7 meters high).
Inside the church is adorned with many art treasures dating back hundreds of years. The big bell, called the ‘Pummerin’, can be heard…too often for my liking, read incessant in the morning when you’re debating whether to get out of bed…when walking around the city center and is also used to celebrate New Year.
City Sights – Opera House / Theaters / Spanish Riding
So whilst we didn’t go inside the Opera House it is still a main attraction located at the southern end of the Kärntnerstrasse. The exterior of the building closely resembles Italian Renaissance and attracts heaps of visitors inside and out. As one could guess, it’s home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Burg’ or ‘Haus am Ring’ (House at Ring boulevard)…okay so the proper name is Burgtheater, is not too far from the opera house in Vienna’s first district. Its facade is made from white marble and decorated/adorned with statues of famous writers such as Schiller, Goethe plus figures depicting love and hatred.
City Sights – not necessarily those sights mentioned above
The Spanish Riding School has a claim to fame being the oldest and last Riding School in the world where classic dressage is still practised in its purest form. Founded in 1572 it is still very active today and tickets often hard to come by. The school’s name is derived from the fact that the horses were of Spanish origin. The horses undergo hours/years of grueling training before they are able to perform their prancing Renaissance ballet to classical music. Can’t say I have any interest in the riding nor forcing horses to do circus tricks so didn’t venture inside. It was still worth a trip to the school but for me it was for the buildings.
Schönbrunn Palace
Taking a couple of trains from the city center you can reach Schönbrunn Palace. Even with dark clouds in the sky, the palace and grounds are beautiful. Built to rival French Versailles in Baroque, it apparently fell short due to a funds shortfall. Formerly the summer residence for various rulers it’s today one of the most popular sights in Vienna.
Although we didn’t do any interior tours, we did spend the afternoon walking around the palace and the extensive gardens. Rather than bore with details the official site has the best information however it unfortunately hasn’t an easy way to view the photos so you can check out ours on our Vienna photo page. 🙂