Introduction
In typical style Easter and vacation came onto the doorstep of our 2017 timeline faster than anticipated. With nothing booked and fairly bankrupt for ideas the family named locations around Europe for a short break. For once we did not want to have another UK holiday as I want to introduce the family to camping and some proper walking in the summer of 2017.
Out popped Vienna as the destination of choice from one of the kids. A couple of hours later and flight and hotel were sorted and we went about the last few days of the working week knowing that there was a holiday at waiting for us at the weekend.
Vienna's architecture
Vienna has a very interesting history and culture seems very intertwined with German culture. Our break was just before the Easter long weekend and the weather in Vienna (Wien) was sunny and over cast although for most part quite cold. The last day was lovely sunny and warm as is always the case with holidays.
But that period of the year was quiet and whilst we saw tourists the place did not have the rambling hoards of tourist that you typically see across capitals in Europe during the summer. This did mean fairly easy entry into all the palaces and galleries
Our visit started with the Belvedere gallery where the big draw are paintings by Gustav Klimt. The gallery houses his most famous work "The Kiss" and whilst an endearing piece of work his painting of Marie Breunig caught my eye for the photographic quality of that painting.
We also spent time walking around the Opera house and the near by Hofburg Palace.
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| Vienna Opera House |
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| St.Stephens (Stephanspaltz) |
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| Belvedere Museum |
Sachertorte : the dispute of a chocolate cake
Wars have originated for a lot less than chocolate cake but two cafe's in Vienna have literally gone to war (or more correctly court) about the origins of the famous Sachertorte. I'm sure you can read about this issue but it does give to the classic chance to taste both and settle the war for yourself. On the first day we went to the Hotel Sacher and on the penultimate day it was at the Cafe Demel. For me Hotel Sacher won it but you can judge for yourself.
Schonbrunn Palace
The palace lies a short journey outside the city centre but without doubt is on par with the other great monarchical residences globally. The palace has a complex ticket structure given we had a whole day we bought an appropriate ticket and ran for the guided tour.
The guided tours are fine but if you miss out or the timings do not match the carry guides are good but impersonal. The palace is a sprawling complex and can take a whole day depending on you appetite for detail. Our family has a split appetite for detail so some of us rush through the rooms and others take their time. So for us the guided tours did not really match the nature of our family.
The palace has gardens and outbuildings which are worth a visit. All in all this is a big palace complex and the majority of interesting things so see are inside the building. The building is essentially the history of the Vienna royal family.
As you can imagine there are extensive gardens whilst the layout of the gardens was visible. the flowers were not in full bloom but you can imagine from the pattern of the gardens what it would look like in full bloom.
The library
Usually a library is a place you would go to ready books but the library in Vienna is a sheer work of art. The library in question is the State Hall of the Austrian National Library (Nationalbibliotek). Whilst an ordinary looking building from the outside the inside is ornate and detail is stunning. Its worth taking a quick hour to have a walk around the building. Some of my photos are below
The library has a lovely contemplative air so in my opinion worth a visit, thankfully its nestled around the main tourist part of the city.
Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg Palace is the key attraction in the centre of town, its primarily royal family apartments and a museum. The key attraction that we missed were the Spanish horse riding (primarily as we were a little delinquent with our timings). So if this interests you then keep any eye on the timings.
While walking about
Take time to explore the other churches as they have immense character and design. Around the centre of town we popped into St. Peter's Chruch (Kirche St. Peter)
If you have a sunny day a walk along the Danube is also lovely. The Danube is quite a wide river through Vienna. We were lucky that our hotel was on the Danube and our last day gave us a spectacular view of the river.
The city is excellent to walk around with lovely gardens and buildings around the Rathaus area which has the parliament and museums. We were there for 5 days and we did a day trip to Budapest to breakup our Vienna visit. The city can be covered in a couple of day and if you're an avid and detailed visitor a couple more days will be necessary.
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