Vienna – Palaces, Dynasties and Opera

Interesting fact about Vienna: it and Bratislava are the two closest capital cities in Europe, separated by a distance of only 79 kilometres. And when you are poor exchange student living in England, backpacking Europe you count every penny and every saving counts.

Day 1 – Hello Schnitzel

I took this to the extreme when I visited Vienna and actually flew in to Bratislava. I spent a couple of hours there but the real show I came to see was Vienna: medieval and modern history mixed with European culture, schnitzels, and a dash of opera.

After a long day in transit, my first Austrian experience was an enormous pork schnitzel at Cafe Mozart. Literally the biggest one I’ve ever eaten – it filled the entire plate and was so delicious. My only regret that I can’t have one every day for the rest of my life.

After dinner a few more friends joined and because us Aussies were still a novelty to my American friends it was necessary to find an Australian bar. We sat downstairs in a smoke filled bar area of Crossfield’s pub. Ok so Australian bars are a bit of a novelty for me as well because believe it or not we don’t actually have Australian themed bars back home – we just call them bars. The strangest thing was seeing all the bogan, cheap Australian beers so expensive. You should not, ever, pay €4.40 for a VB!

Day 2 – Getting acquainted

The following morning began with probably the best breakfast I had in a hostel during my time in Europe, at Wombat’s City Hostel. It did cost us €3.70, but it wasn’t too bad since this also became our lunch. (I told you – we take cheap to the next level).

We fought the rain and took the train to the Stephansdom: a magnificent Romanesque cathedral still in active use 800 years after being built. We were lucky enough to arrive during a choral service. Even though I didn’t understand the language they were singing, I could have listened to the harmonies coming out of the 19 teenagers’ lungs for days. Unfortunately, we only caught their last 2 songs.

A great way to get around the city of Vienna is actually on the tram. Our group had little direction in the city so we jumped on a tram and got off anywhere that looked slightly interesting. The first place this took us to was the Hofburgtheater: the most prestigious stage in the Germanic world. Rebuilt in 1888, bombed in WWII, then restored to its former glory.

Across the road is the Rathaus, or the city council building. To be honest, I would have been impressed with any city council in comparison to the ugly one in my own home town of Newcastle. Europeans just have a way with architecture don’t they.

After doing a few laps on the tram taking in the beautiful city we headed back to the hostel for dinner: pasta with very cheap wine followed by more cheap wine for dessert. We were very excited because we had plans to see an opera at the Staatsoper. We got all dressed up but when we got there we were told it was sold out. Here’s a tip for you, if you have your heart set on going to the opera, book ahead.

We brainstormed for a few minutes and the best idea we came up with is summed up in this quote of the week: “Well, I guess if we cant get in to the opera then we might as well go back to the hostel and get drink more wine.”

And so we did.

Happy hour and King’s Cup ensued, but this was just the beginning of the fun. We began a pub crawl but our limited knowledge of the area led us to serendipitously happening upon a small little Australian bar by the name of Cross Fields for the 3rd time in 2 days. What was that I said about culture again?

[Read on for more nightlife ideas in Vienna.]

Day 3 – More Palaces

Another day that seemed to start with little direction but we ended up seeing some pretty incredible places. Starting out the Hofburg Palace, a large complex of varying styles of building as different Austrian rulers added their own style across 6 centuries. Even looking at a floor plan of the complex will give you a headache – it’s very counter intuitive with many differently sized and shaped courtyards, gardens and walls and is probably the least symmetrical complex ever.

Given that description you might think to give the Hofburg a miss. You would be wrong. The pictures are what really tell the story:

Just out of the city centre is Belvedere, the holiday home of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Two Baroque palaces joined together with a sloping garden dotted with cascading water fountains. Just a beautiful place to meander. Have some more photos.

After dinner we got all dressed up again and decided to try our luck at the opera again. This time we were able to get standing room tickets in the nosebleeds for a mere €3. It actually turned out to be A Midsummer Nights Dream ballet, and despite the fact that most of us don’t know the story and found it hard to follow, it was very enjoyable and almost as rich a cultural experience as Cross Fields.

Day 4 – The end of the Wiener

Looking back at my travel journals it sounds like I put zero effort into seeing Vienna, and yet I still saw some pretty incredible places. The final day was no different and our little group found ourselves a short metro ride away at the Schönbrunn palace – yet another summer residence of Austrian nobility, this time none less than the Austrian Imperial family.

The complex consists of the magnificent palace, manicured lawns for days, a playground, and most randomly, a small zoo. Despite the length at which construction and remodelling took, it is yet another beautiful example of neoclassical architecture in its finest.

The palace also has something for everyone as kids (and adults!) will get great enjoyment out of the playground, called the Labyrinth. There was a hedge maze plus another 2 smaller mazes with puzzles or other fun things throughout them.

Vienna. A beautiful city bursting with culture and even more history. A true former European empire with a legacy that will last for centuries to come.

Have you been to Vienna?

Let me know in the comments what your favourite part of your visit was, or if not what you would most like to see there?

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