UNESCO World Heritage Sites #3 and #4 on this tour
Vienna needs no introduction. Mozart. The palaces of Hapsburg Austria. Heurigers. Everyone has his/her own favorite aspect of Vienna, and we would find our own.
The Sights:
We started with Schloss Schönbrunn, the old summer residence of the Austrian royalty and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in itself. And it was HUGE! I just can't imagine any royalty walking around without a parade of carriages to transport them. The afternoon sun turned torturous and it took us a weary thirty minutes dragging our feet to the fountain and back. Certainly a sun stroke would have been waiting for me had I purchased a ticket to walk up to the Gloriette.
The interior of the palace was impressive, though no photos were allowed. The most breathtaking sight was the 15-feet-tall, gold embroidered bed of Empress Maria Theresa presented in a dark room with blue spotlights. Words can't describe that jaw-dropping opulence. I tried to buy a postcard of that bed at the giftshop, but none could capture a tenth of that magnificence. As always, the most beautiful sight is captured in the heart.
The other World Heritage Site, the historic city centre of Vienna, is of course even bigger. In the evening we went for a "Tram D" tour around the Ringstrasse, just hopping on and off the tram at each major sight. The first stop was the Votivkirche, closed at the time for restoration. Some parts of the white marble wall became so sooted that we wondered for a while whether the church caught fire at some point.
The University of Vienna was just across the street. Further along the street was the tall Neo-Gothic spires of the Rathaus (city hall), with the Burgtheater standing across the Ringstrasse.
The next stop on Tram D brought us to the parliament, in typical neo-classical style.
We didn't go as far as the Opera that night, but instead walked inside the ring towards the Hofburg, the imperial palace of the Austrian royalty. Hofburg at night was romantic from a distance, but the streets smelled of horse manure from the carriages roaming the palace grounds.
We then followed the Kohlmarkt and the Graben, two of the busiest pedestrian streets in Vienna, towards the Stephansdom. All the Prada and LV stores were already closed, which was great for window shopping.
The next day we visited three museums in the Hofburg - the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, and the Imperial Silver Collection, all of which were included in the "Sisi" combo ticket purchased at the Schönbrunn the previous day. A handheld audioguide was provided, but after about 45 minutes in the Silver Collection it became long and tiring and we just wanted to rush through the rooms and finally get to the Imperial Apartments. Not as impressive as the previous day, but 22.9 Euros (CAD$35) to see the Schönbrunn plus these three museums is not a bad deal.
In comparison, the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) was a STEAL at 10 Euros (CAD$15), and the greatest thing was that cameras were allowed! It was a dazzling display of crowns and scepters and necklaces, many with incredible details and pebble-sized diamonds and other jewels. There was a 1700-carat emerald, a fiery opal larger than an egg, all kinds of embroidered gowns and even a horn from a "unicorn" (actually a narwhal). It was every lady's dream.
The Graben is no doubt the busiest place in Vienna, making the cafes under the Pestaule a great place to people-watch.
After lunch we went to the Stephansdom. Access is free and the elevator to the bell tower cost 1.8 Euros. Tall, Gothic and solemn, but not the most impressive church in Lower Austria (hint: see my Wachau page).
We had tickets to see Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander at the opera house that evening, which we booked a month in advance in order to avoid lining up for hours. Seats at the Staatsoper can be selected and booked at http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/ starting at one month before the performance date. Actually, I used the "advance ticket" option to book more than a month in advance and allowed the computer to select 2 tickets for me. The important thing was to NOT select the "Accept Seats with Obstruction" option (many cheaper seats had varying degrees of sight obstruction and can't see the stage)!
This is the view from our seat at the balcony prior to the performance (no pics during performance of course). My seat cost 9 Euros (CAD$14), which was cheaper than a movie and a coke at my local cinema. The standing room at the back cost only 3.5 Euros, but for me wasting several hours to stand in line then standing for the two-hours-plus performance wasn't worth the savings.
The Food:
Most people would probably think of frankfurters, schnitzels, and heurigers. So did we. (But we would save the heuriger for our day trip to the Wachau, where the actual grapes are grown.)
Schnellimbiss Europaplatz
Europaplatz 2 (Just outside Westbahnhof train station)
It was noon when we arrived at Westbahnhof by train, which was perfect timing to visit this Viennese institution, a favorite of backpackers and students, the wĂĽrstelstand.
European hot dogs are so much better than North American ones, both in taste and in design. The 10-inch-long sausage is inserted into a semi-hollowed French baguette along with the mustand and ketchup, and it's just much less messy to carry. My wife had the käsekrainer (cheese sausage...mmmm) while I had the regular frankfurter. A tasty, authentically Austrian and very filling meal at about 3 Euros each.
Centimeter
1080 Wien, Lenaugasse 11 (U-Bahn Rathaus station)
http://www.centimeter.at/
Monster portions, cheap prices, good beers. I suspect every Viennese college student knows this place. Almost everything was 6.5 Euros (CAD$10) or less and would feed two of me, so ordering a soup and two entrees for two was a mistake.
We started with a large Paulaner wheat beer (3.3 Euros) for me, and a Stiegl (2.9 Euros) for my wife.
The kartoffelsuppe (4.5 Euros) came in a bread bowl as big as my head, which set our expectations for the entrees to come. And the taste was pretty good too.
My wife's Berner wuerstels (6.5 Euros). Three 10-inches-long cheese sausages wrapped in bacon. The waiter said in English "good appetite"...well...
Finally, my schweinschnitzel (6.5 Euros). A devastating meal for cholesterol conscious people with two gigantic pork schnitzels, each piece as big as my face. After helping my wife finish her wuerstels, I couldn't even finish these schnitzels. Neither of us touched the fries. Burp.
Trzesniewski
1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 1 (U-Bahn Stephansplatz station)
http://www.trzesniewski.at
Great open-face sandwiches at the absolute centre of Vienna, in fact just down the street from the Gucci's and Swarovski's. At less than 1 Euro a piece. Interested?
Well, I can't pronouce it but I can tell you where it is. It's on a narrow side street off Graben between the plague column and the Stephansdom church. Little 10cm x 5cm open-face sandwiches at 0.9 Euros each. Ordering 12 kept the two of us very well fed. And a large beer (Ottakringer) cost less than 3 Euros.
There were probably 20 flavors, and I just randomly pointed at 12, at which point the server thought I was nuts. Definitely try the sardine, and the salmon and cream cheese. It was quality way beyond its price.
It was so good we even took a pic of the menu, once again proving that authentic food at the heart of the tourist district doesn't need to be expensive.
Demel
1010 Wien, Kohlmarkt 14 (U-Bahn Stephansplatz station)
http://www.demel.at
Last but not least, we couldn't leave Vienna without having a Sacher Torte at one of its famous cafes. So we went to Demel, the former imperial confectionery and one of two cafes claiming to serve the "original" Sacher Torte. It was just more convenient for us than walking to Hotel Sacher.
Having cake at Demel is a cultural experience, a prestige thing, but I found the cake itself nothing too spectacular. Though it was a fine chocolate cake, very rich and moist, but not much different from its competitors'. My melange coffee though, was excellent, as was my wife's hot chocolate with vanilla. Total bill cost around 16 Euros.
Transportation:
There are two major train stations. Our EC24 train from Budapest arrived at Westbahnhof, as would most international trains from Germany. On our way out, our train to the Czech border at Retz would depart from Sudbahnhof (though we boarded the train at the suburban stop of Floridsdorf). So it's important to ask the ticket office where you train departs. For example, on our day trip to Wachau we boarded our train to Melk at Westbahnhof, but the return train from Krems would terminate at Franz-Josefs Bahnhof.
Vienna's transit system is simple. Tickets are valid for trams, buses, U-Bahn (underground) and S-Bahn (suburban rail), within a certain boundary large enough for most tourists. 24-hour ticket and 72-hour tickets are excellent deals; you simply buy one from a vending machine or from a tobacconist, and validate it on your first trip. The only surprise was that U-Bahn trains' doors do not automatically open at the stop; you're supposed to give it a sharp sideway pull before it opens. I've been to other cities where you're supposed to press a button, but this would be my first time encountering a system requiring physical force!
Accommodation:
We stayed at Wombats-The Lounge (http://www.wombats.at). A double room with private bathroom cost 50 Euros per night - the most expensive on our trip - at a hostel! But when we arrived, we realized it was quite worth its price.
Spotless clean room with laminate flooring and Ikea furniture. Clean bathroom with almost brand-new fixtures. An electronic key-card for entering the hostel, the floor, and the room. Two minute walking distance to the U-Bahn and four to the Westbahnhof train station. Two excellent supermarkets almost next door. It was better than some 2.5 - 3 star hotels I've stayed in. Most importantly, it was close enough to the centre for us to return at any time and take an afternoon nap, a real luxury on a backpacking trip.
Our Ideas for Day Trips:
1) We chose Wachau, a UNESCO World Heritage site only 75 minutes away from Vienna by train. Our day in the Wachau consisted of a cruise on the Danube, wine and light dinner at a heuriger, hiking to a castle ruin, and visiting the glorious Stift Melk and a couple of small medieval towns in Lower Austria. Please see our Wachau page for details.
2) Amazingly, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is almost at commuting distance (an hour by train). You can even take a cruise there on the Danube. You can find lots of info on Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org/en/bratislava).
3) The Vienna Woods provided inspirations to many famous composers and writers, and is just a bus ride away. It is possible to combine this with a visit to the heurigers at Grinzing. There's even a private train/bus called Heuriger Express (http://www.heurigenexpress.at) that transports tourists from Nussdorf (terminus of Tram D) to Grinzing and Kahlenberg.
4) The Neusiedler See (http://www.neusiedlersee.com/) on the Austrian-Hungarian border is another World Heritage site a little over an hour away. It's a large shallow lake of ecological value and I hear it is beautiful in the summertime.
Miscellaneous Comments:
Sausages everywhere! I love Viennese supermarkets and their high quality organic food at reasonable prices. We were even able to buy some excellent Prosciutto di Parma for breakfast on the train.
Links for Transportation and Sights:
Address Search. Very very useful - http://www.wien.gv.at/stadtplan/suche.asp?lang=en
Vienna's Public Transit - http://www.wienerlinien.at
OEBB (Austrian Rail) - http://www.oebb.at
Schloss Schönbrunn - http://www.schoenbrunn.at
The Hofburg - http://www.hofburg-wien.at
Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) and the Art History Museum - http://www.khm.at
Opera tickets - http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at
Musikverein (home of the Wiener Philharmonika) - http://www.musikverein.at
Belvedere - http://www.belvedere.at/en/index.htm
Albertina - http://www.albertina.at
Spanish Riding School - http://www.spanische-reitschule.com/
Imperial Crypt - http://www.kaisergruft.at/
The Prater - http://www.prater.wien.info/
Other Interesting Restaurants We Didn't Try:
Duran - http://www.duransandwiches.at
Gasthaus Reinthaler - http://info.wien.at/article.asp?IDArticle=12752
Schnitzlplatz'l - http://www.schnitzlplatzl.at/Filialen/
Zum Bettelstudent - http://www.bettelstudent.at/Deutsch/bettelstudent.html
Accommodation Links:
(Double Room with Private Bathroom)
http://www.wombats.at
http://www.dostepinn.at
http://www.apartment.at
http://www.viennacityflats.at
http://www.netland.at/wien/apartment-vienna.htm
http://www.ari.co.at/privatappartements
http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/etp/3706/fiche_hotel.shtml
http://www.hostelruthensteiner.com/index.htm
http://www.gally.biz
http://www.pension5haus.at
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