A couple of months back we did a big rail trip across Europe to visit Switzerland and Austria. I have already posted about Zurich and a bike ride in Salzburg, but I still have a lot of photos from that trip.
From Zurich we took a train through the mountains with spectacular scenery. We had to change in the ski resort of Innsbruck where I was slightly concerned that there was only five minutes to get on the next train, but we just had to walk across the platform. Our hotel was tucked down a back street near the spectacular Rathaus (city hall). The Hotel Graf Stadion was basic, but adequate. It is obviously fairly old as it had a tiny wooden elevator/lift. Our room was furnished with what looked like flat-pack furniture and there was no view as we just looked out to a service area at the rear. This was part of the Interrail package, so we knew it would not be anything fancy. It was okay as a place to sleep and fairly quiet as well as being close to the city centre.
On the first evening we walked over to the Hofburg which was the winter palace of the Habsburg ruling dynasty. It is massive and now houses various public offices such as the president's offices and the national library. It seemed to be a popular space for people to wander around, which was probably not allowed when it was a palace. Around the back is the famous Spanish Riding School and you can see their white horses in their stables. We did not go to their show or into the palace. We only had a couple of days, so had to be selective.
Near the palace is a park with hundreds of rose bushes. Most of these have plaques where people have remembered loved ones. Some were quite touching. I can read enough German to translate them, but some are in English. My other half was disappointed that they seemed to lack scent. There is a memorial to Empress Elisabeth, aka Sisi, who was quite a royal celebrity. There was a recent Netflix drama about her that my other half watched.
We did a walking tour with Maria that was very good. She gave us a few tips on what to do.
One thing we wanted to experience was the Demel cafe that has been there for over 200 years. It is a grand place with a big range of cakes.
We went for the classic apple strudel and Sachertorte. The latter was a little disappointing, but the overall experience was nice. One of the joys of holiday is that you are allowed plenty of cake.
Of course Vienna is famous as a place where Mozart spent much of his life. We visited one of his apartments, but he was not in. We wanted to go to a concert and our guide recommended the one in St. Peter's church. They had a string quartet who played a nice selection of pieces. In other places the orchestras dress up in period costume, but we were not so bothered about that.
The place was pretty busy as it does attract a lot of tourists. One evening there was a concert at the opera house, some sort of party at a gallery and masses of young people in evening dress assembling at the Rathaus. We assume there was a ball, but we did not find out what the occasion was.
As well as the Hofburg the Habsburgs had Schönbrunn Palace for the summer. We took the subway there. We bought the Vienna City Card that gives you free travel and discounts for various attractions. Actually we could have ridden the subway and trams anyway as there were no barriers and nobody was checking tickets. It seems the locals can get a yearly pass very cheaply, so I guess most people have one.
Schönbrunn is huge with very ornate rooms and massive gardens. They were setting up for the big annual free classical concert. You can see the weather was good.
Of course we had more cake at the cafe in the grand building that looks down on the palace gardens.
Later we went over to the Prater amusement park. This is a big place that you can wander around for free. They have some beer gardens and we had lunch in one. We could have ridden the famous ferris wheel, but my other half wanted to try this thing. She is not normally one for scary rides, but off we went. I have been on other swing rides, but this one goes up 117m. The view over the city is spectacular, but I did not look down.
Within the park is this odd spherical building with the address of Antifaschismus-Platz (anti-fascism square). This is the Republic of Kugelmugel which was created by an artist.
Dinner was at a place near the hotel called Centimeter. They serve a pizza-like dish that you order by length. We managed to order too much really. I had a veggie burger and the other half went for pasta plus some fries that were big portions. We could not eat it all. I did enjoy my beer. I was sticking with the local brews.
We ended the evening with another walk around the palace and then drinks at the palm house. That was an opportunity for another local beer.
We really enjoyed Vienna. We could go back and see lots more. Unfortunately we just missed a Hive meetup there. I know there are a few Hivers in town. Maybe I will see some on our next visit.
