Vienna - Friday
Apr. 9th, 2025 12:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeThis time of year has always been my favourite as the weather is getting warmer, the nights are getting lighter, and we are still a long way from the peak summer tourist season. I tend to use April and May as months where I go travelling and this year is no exception. Indeed, the bin fire that is surrounding the global economy right now, I am more determined to do the things I had been putting off for a while. One of these was going on a night train and another was visiting Vienna. I had visited a car park at Vienna Airport back in 2010 when transiting en route to or from Belarus (I can't remember which). As I crossed the border, I considered this having visited Austria, but of course that was really stretching it. Last weekend, to celebrate our 18 anniversary, Wolfie and I decided to put that right.
The overnight train was a might spendy, but we did go the whole hog and get a cabin with an included shower and toilet. At €465 per person return, this was steep, but then it was two nights of accommodation plus travel rolled into one. The train left Berlin at 19:20 on Thursday (albeit slightly delayed by about ten minutes) and arrived at Vienna at the ungodly hour of 07:00. We were told by our cabin attendant that they wanted to serve us breakfast at around 05:00, which is often the time I go to bed, let alone wake up. Still, after a few hours on the train, things had settled into a monotony and with little to see out of the window due to it being dark, going to bed was a decent option. Those first four hours as we trundled through Germany were great though. We largely just relaxed, drinking the free bottle of Sekt we were given and purchasing a beer too. We also snaffled the complementary bird feed and chewy gummy sweets we had been given in the Nightjet welcome pack. We ordered our breakfast, which turned out to be a decent selection of continental meats and cheeses, while I largely spent the time reading furry smut. Wolfie worked on his VRChat world and we just let the train take the strain. Getting to sleep did prove to be difficult though, while the shifting movement of the train kept waking me up, so I didn't feel particularly refreshed once we were arisen through the intercom alarm system for our breakfast. I did manage to sneak another hour of napping in before we arrived in Vienna, only for us to sit at the platforms dedicated to cars before being allowed onto the main platforms at around 07:15.
The weather was to be unseasonably warm and as our hotel was right near Wien Hauptbahnhof, we made our way over there to drop our bags off. We weren't allowed to check in, but we were told that we could from 10:00 if we were willing to pay a €15 supplement. In the end, this is what we did as Wolfie needed to rest his aching foot by mid-morning and we were both feeling exceptionally tired. However, strolling out that morning and looking at the sights was wonderful. Our first port of call was Belevedre Castle. We had booked a tour of this museum on the Sunday, but the grounds were en route to the city centre so we thought we might as well walk it. It was great being with only joggers at that hour, the tourists still slumbering, so we got to take in the wonderful Baroque architecture of both the Upper and Lower castles. Built in the early part of the 18th century, Vienna is full of wonderful buildings like this, highlighting the wealth of the ruling Habsburgs and the opulence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The grounds were nicely coiffured too and it was a rather pleasant early morning stroll. As we headed towards the city centre, we also caught a few other sights including a majestic fountain outside the Russian War Memorial at Schwarzenburgplatz. We just stumbled across this, but it is very typical Soviet architecture with a patriot solider on a plinth surrounded by a semi-circle colonnade in the Greek style. Unveiled in August 1945, it commemorates the 17,000 Red Army soldiers killed in action during the Vienna offensive in World War II.
Our next port of call was Cafe Sacher, where the famous Sachertorte was invented. This is something that was on the top of my hit list before coming to Vienna - I had done loads of research and had even spoken to my sister, who had visited the city 15 years ago - but we were told bookings were essential. I tried to do this on their website, but it wouldn't let me. Figuring that Friday would likely be the least busy day of the three we were there, and noticing it opened at 08:00, I thought we'd chance it by going early. It was around 08:30 by this point and I was delighted to see it was around two-thirds full. This meant getting a seat was easy, while the nice waitress even suggested we sit by the window for a better view of the main street. We ordered our Sachertorte - a chocolate sponge cake covered with apricot jam and chocolate glaze - as well as a specific blend of tea that is created just for the cafe. Both were delicious and it was a fantastic way to ease ourselves into Viennese culture. Upon going to the bathroom, I noticed the upstairs with its red velvet walls was far more opulent than the cafe we were in downstairs, but just to have experienced this was truly special.
As part of my research, I stumbled on this website detailing self-walking tours of Vienna. These turned out to be very useful as it was an efficient way of seeing most of the downtown sights. The first was the opera house, which was directly opposite Cafe Sacher. Opened in 1869, it was hard to see its full grandeur as it's sat on the main road. We did walk around it though and noted they offer guided tours. Alas, there are so many things to do in Vienna that we didn't have time to check it out, although the place is world-famous for the operas and concerts it hosts.
The next stop was the Albertina, perched on a slight hill with an impressive equestrian statue beckoning you in. The building dates back from the 1740s and used to be the home of some archdukes. Now it's a very impressive museum, which I had the fortune of visiting on the Saturday. Wolfie's foot meant he frequently had to go back to the hotel and rest, so we agreed that during this rest period, I could go out and look at some museums. I had initially wanted to go to Beethoven's house but I didn't trust the heavy door, which looked like it would lock me inside. Consequently, I skipped that and went to the Albertina. This was a good choice as although I didn't get chance to see absolutely everything, I did see the wondrous artworks on display. The likes of Monet, Renoir and Picasso are all displayed there and the exhibition charts you through these movements. I have always been a big fan of Impressionism in particular and the works by Sissay I found particularly striking. I did grab an audio guide, which meant I could hear about all of the most popular works of art. The first thing I looked at though was the 'Leonardo – Dürer: Renaissance Master Drawings on Colored Ground' exhibition. I found this particularly fascinating as it detailed the history of coloured paper and how techniques in its creation changed art by how it interacted with the pencil or paint with which the pieces were drawn. There was a large tour group here who I had to keep dodging, which I found a wee bit frustrating, but I did get to see all of the art I wanted to. There were loads of Renaissance classics there too, including from the likes of Raphael, Titian, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Baldung Grien and Hans Holbein the Elder. Leonardo's Apostles or Dürer's Praying Hands were also on display and it was wonderful to see. Almost as wonderful was the hen party I saw walking out of the Dürer exhibit. It wouldn't be my first choice for a celebration, but the gaggle of about 10 of them, in full pastel pink paraphernalia, certainly seemed to be having a good time.
On the Friday, Wolfie and I walked around the foyer bit outside the museum, taking in the monument against war and fascism by Alfred Hrdlicka in the square below. Built in 1988, it sits on the site of the Philipphof building. In March 1945, many people died here when hiding from a bombing raid, using its basement as a bomb shelter. There are three parts to it - a large stone with an excerpt from the Austrian Declaration of Independence in April 1945, a bronze statue of an elderly Jew scrubbing the street which highlights the evils of anti-semitism and the “door of violence”, which honours those murdered in Nazi concentration camps and prisons.
We entered a narrow street after this, down which sits Augustinerkirche. Built in the 14th century, this was once the main church of the Habsburgs and a large number of their family were married here. Even Napoleon Bonaparte was hitched here, although in absentia, which was apparently quite common at the time. There is also a plaque on the wall dedicated to Jan Sobiesky, the Polish king who took mass here on 13 September 1683 after lifting the siege of Vienna by defeating Ottoman forces.
The narrow road opens out onto a glistening white courtyard, Josefplatz, which marks the boundary of the Hofburg complex. The square is dominated by the equestrian statue of Emperor Joseph II, whose posture mimics that of his Roman predecessors. On the base of the statue, there are black reliefs detailing the various achievements of the monarch's life. The medallions of a similar colour point to important milestones in his life including his birth and marriage. Opposite this is the Palais Pallavicini, built in 1784 in the neoclassical style. It is guarded by scantily clad ladies which were quite a sensation at the time. This area is also where a film called The Third Man was shot - it's not one I know so had no real relevance to me.
The entrance to the aforementioned Augustinerkirche is also on this square and we popped in for a few minutes, not least to gaze at the 1805 Canova memorial for Archduchess Marie Christine, who died in 1798. This feels very futuristic, a marble pyramid with a dark door through which a number of people are being led. Next to this is one of the architectural highlights of Vienna, the Prunksaal or State Hall of the National Library. We had initially wanted to avoid museums and just see the main sights and get our bearings, but the opportunity was too great and I was sorely tempted. It didn't disappoint. Dating back to the early 18th century, this baroque library is replete with books, many dating back to that time. The ceiling frescoes add to the grandeur of a space which is 80m in length and over 14m in width. It has a domed ceiling towering almost 20m with columns leading up to this central space. Here stands the statue of Emperor Charles VI, who commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to build it, in a pose reminiscent of Hercules. The shelves are of dark brown and are full of books, while there are hidden chambers behind some of them for even more storage. As the building was made of stone, it has a constant ambient temperature, while there are also celestial and terrestrial globes on display. We bought a guided tour, one involving a QR code to scan to our phones, while I was also interested in the temporary exhibit inside the library that detailed the last 100 years of Austrian politics using contemporary newspaper and magazine covers as its focus. It seemed apt for the library.
If this was wondrous, then the Hofburg was even more so. I will detail more later, as we only had a quick look through it on Friday as by lunchtime, Wolfie's foot was starting to hurt. He said he needed to head back to the hotel and I was feeling somewhat tired myself, with things getting particularly giddy when I was sitting down. I therefore thought it wise to head back with Wolfie. We hopped on tram route D, which took us largely back the way we had walked, and by 12:30pm we were back at the hotel. We opted to pay the additional €15 for early check-in and soon we were in bed catching a nap. I felt a little bad about wasting such a good part of what was a warm spring day, but soldiering on was probably unwise. In the end, I managed to ignore the heavy drilling outside and in the lift and grab a couple of hours, waking up at around 3pm which was one hour later than I had wanted. I wanted to go out and do more sightseeing, aware that nearly all of the museums shut at 6pm and Vienna is a city of many museums, but Wolfie needed more sleep and his foot was still bad. We decided that I should go out and he stay in the hotel, which is exactly what we did.
While Wolfie was sleeping, I ended up looking around the Wien Museum Mozart Apartment. This was situated in the centre of the city and I hopped on the U-Bahn to get there. Earlier in the day, we had taken the D tram back to the hotel but realised getting a 24 hour ticket was much more expensive and the 72 hour tickets weren't available at all. We ended up getting a 72 hour ticket in the machines at Hauptbahnhof as I had done my research and knew they cost €17.10. This meant we had to grab a single for the tram, which was an annoying expense, but at €2.70 it wasn't a high one. Wolfie had needed to rest his foot so it was also a price worth paying. Anyway, getting to the Mozart Apartment was easy enough and soon I was exploring the various rooms with a handy audio guide that I could just download to my phone (but for which I had to pay €5 for). Mozart moved a lot and this apartment is one of the only ones remaining where we know for certain he lived. The first floor was probably the most interesting as it detailed the living space in which he would have resided. Some of it was conjecture as there is no historical record of which room was used for what, but it is clear where the kitchen was and you could work your way from there. The top two floors were more about Mozart's life and relationships with various patrons and musicians in the Vienna scene at the time. This was interesting enough, but it became a little repetitive, which information I could have just read online. I did enjoy the museum and was glad I went, but I do wonder whether I should have gone elsewhere instead.
One advantage of going to the Mozart Museum was its central location, which meant that I got to see a lot of other sights too. The imposing mid-13th-century Stephansdom was one of them and when I realised I was at the tail-end of one of the walking tours, I thought I'd just follow it backwards. This Gothic cathedral with Baroque fittings was truly wonderful, but the queues to get in were lengthy, probably because it was time for Mass. Indeed, nearly all of the churches I was about to visit were conducting services which often meant the congregation seated behind a metal gate with most of the building shut off to visitors. Still, I did get to live some of the grandeur of these buildings before heading off.
I walked up Bognergasse and onto Graben, one of the main shopping thoroughfares. On my way, I spotted some wonderful Jugendstil buildings, particularly the Engel Apotheke and the Zum Schwarzen Kameel café and restaurant. The former had a really nice mosaic of angels holding up a cup in the Jugendstil. Graben is basically where many of the high-end shops are, but the main feature is the 17th century plague monument. Erected in 1690, the Pestsäule plague column drew inspiration from the tradition of Marian or Holy Trinity columns and was built to ward off the plague. Initially a wooden structure, Emperor Leopold I committed to building a stone one once the plague had retreated. The design involves three vertical layers: human, angels, then the Holy Trinity itself. The Pestsäule has three wings, nine large angels and three bronze scrolls too. The focus on three relates to the Holy Trinity, while the Emperor himself is also featured. It is a bit of a hotch-potch motley mess really, like a huge disfigured walnut whip in marble and gold, but it was certainly quite a unique structure.
Behind this is the domed 18th century Peterskirche church, which again was having a Mass when I was there. This meant its baroque interior wasn't really accessible to me, but it was a powerful yet peaceful place to be. Moving further on, I ended up at Am Hof, which is where Vienna was initially founded by the Romans. There was a market going on and I ended up buying a popular chocolate and pastry dessert. Traditionally served with vanilla sauce, sadly this had sold out and so I had to have it with raspberry jam. It was very filling, but I did enjoy sitting on one corner of the square, looking at all of the political posters for the forthcoming Vienna state election, which takes place later in the month. I saw one later in my trip at Meidling station that read 'More police instead of asylum seekers' and I already knew the candidate was an arse. Getting back to Am Hof, the Mariensäule column which commemorates Vienna being ignored by the rampaging Swedes in 1667, was largely hidden by the market. The 14th-century Kirche am Hof church could easily be seen on one side, but again there was a Mass going on and I didn't want to intrude. One thing I did see, however, was the Palais Collalto, where a six-year-old Mozart gave his first-ever performance in Vienna. Apparently, when he had done this, he jumped into the Empress's lap and gave her a kiss.
Tucked behind this is Judenplatz, which is where two important memorials are. The first is a statue of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who was a leading writer in the German enlightenment. A statue of him was erected here in 1935, but it was destroyed by the Nazis just a few years later. The statue here dates from 1981. Rachel Whiteread’s Holocaust memorial sits opposite this, unveiled in 2000. It bears the names of the concentration camps where Jews were murdered and resembles a box with closed doors on the outside. Interestingly, when this was constructed, remains of the old synagogue were discovered. There are also a number of other interesting buildings in this area too, many belonging to Jewish merchants. It's interesting to note that this area also saw the first major expulsion of Jews from the city in 1420 and 1421.
Walking up Freyling, things got a little busier, with a charming little market taking place. There was cheese and fish concessions, as well as a place serving glasses of wine. Near here is Cafe Central, the other main cafe to try apart from Cafe Sacher, and the queue at this hour was quite long. Palais Niederösterreich is also here and there was a small exhibition going on in one of the rooms off the main courtyard. Alas, there were two fat men loudly laughing in the doorway and I felt a little intimidated so I turned around and continued my exploring. Interestingly, both Beethoven and Liszt once performed here. This area was where many of the merchant houses were built, with huge villas and palaces being the order of the day. The orange coloured Palais Kinsky is one such example, Field Marshall Count Daun building this sumptuous Baroque palace in the early 18th century. From here, I walked up to the university near the Ring, which is when I started to become aware of the time.
By around 6:30pm, when (frustratingly) all the museums had shut, I realised that I hadn't arranged with Wolfie as to our dinner plans. I had booked a place at a local restaurant for 9pm, but as he had stayed in the room when I went out mid-afternoon, I realised that I hadn't discussed things with him. He had been asleep and I didn't really want to wake him. I also needed a poo and not fancying a trip to a public toilet, I hopped on tram line D, which took me past the Belvedere and to a stop to the east of Hauptbahnhof. It was then a short walk back to the hotel, down the path where we had seen all of the strewn tampons before. The DIY work in the hotel had fortunately abated - we had been warned about it before our stay, but it proved to be a bit of a bane, not least when it woke me up at 7:40am on the Saturday - so I awoke Wolfie up by getting him tea from the coffee point on the floor of our hotel. This was a communal area with a hot water tap, some teabags and supplies, but oddly no coffee. Anyway, we had some English Breakfast Tea and with his foot feeling better, we decided to honour our food reservation. Alas, Wolfie's foot was still causing him issues though, so we decided to Uber it there to preserve it for a heavy weekend of touring.
The restaurant was Huth Gastwirtschaft in an area that seemed replete with bars and restaurants. I would have preferred an earlier sitting, but there were none available, hence why we were there so late. Still, the food was worth it in a setting that I would describe as contemporary. We ended up having minced lard on warm bread, which could have been a bit more strongly flavoured, but the Wiener Backhandl, like a schnizel but made with chicken and marinated in yogurt and lemon, was really good. The potatoes were the stars though, all herby and buttery, and we left feeling very satisfied. We had wanted to go to Mama Kraft, their craft beer bar underneath the premises, but they were sadly closed due to a private function. We were turned away by a pleasant enough bouncer. We had wanted to go here partly to save Wolfie's foot, but I realised there was another half-decent craft beer bar just three blocks away. We hobbled down there and managed to snag a seat outside, although we were told they were closing the outside area at 11pm and it was already 10:15pm. This was fine with us as we were tired and I was starting to feel quite bloated. The bar, called 1516 Brewing Company, had some decent enough beers and sitting outside on a lively street after five months of winter was certainly a thrill. The inside was rammed though so once we finished our drink, we declined another, grabbed an Uber and were back in the hotel by 11:15pm, having driven past most of the very same sights we had seen earlier in the day.
The overnight train was a might spendy, but we did go the whole hog and get a cabin with an included shower and toilet. At €465 per person return, this was steep, but then it was two nights of accommodation plus travel rolled into one. The train left Berlin at 19:20 on Thursday (albeit slightly delayed by about ten minutes) and arrived at Vienna at the ungodly hour of 07:00. We were told by our cabin attendant that they wanted to serve us breakfast at around 05:00, which is often the time I go to bed, let alone wake up. Still, after a few hours on the train, things had settled into a monotony and with little to see out of the window due to it being dark, going to bed was a decent option. Those first four hours as we trundled through Germany were great though. We largely just relaxed, drinking the free bottle of Sekt we were given and purchasing a beer too. We also snaffled the complementary bird feed and chewy gummy sweets we had been given in the Nightjet welcome pack. We ordered our breakfast, which turned out to be a decent selection of continental meats and cheeses, while I largely spent the time reading furry smut. Wolfie worked on his VRChat world and we just let the train take the strain. Getting to sleep did prove to be difficult though, while the shifting movement of the train kept waking me up, so I didn't feel particularly refreshed once we were arisen through the intercom alarm system for our breakfast. I did manage to sneak another hour of napping in before we arrived in Vienna, only for us to sit at the platforms dedicated to cars before being allowed onto the main platforms at around 07:15.
The weather was to be unseasonably warm and as our hotel was right near Wien Hauptbahnhof, we made our way over there to drop our bags off. We weren't allowed to check in, but we were told that we could from 10:00 if we were willing to pay a €15 supplement. In the end, this is what we did as Wolfie needed to rest his aching foot by mid-morning and we were both feeling exceptionally tired. However, strolling out that morning and looking at the sights was wonderful. Our first port of call was Belevedre Castle. We had booked a tour of this museum on the Sunday, but the grounds were en route to the city centre so we thought we might as well walk it. It was great being with only joggers at that hour, the tourists still slumbering, so we got to take in the wonderful Baroque architecture of both the Upper and Lower castles. Built in the early part of the 18th century, Vienna is full of wonderful buildings like this, highlighting the wealth of the ruling Habsburgs and the opulence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The grounds were nicely coiffured too and it was a rather pleasant early morning stroll. As we headed towards the city centre, we also caught a few other sights including a majestic fountain outside the Russian War Memorial at Schwarzenburgplatz. We just stumbled across this, but it is very typical Soviet architecture with a patriot solider on a plinth surrounded by a semi-circle colonnade in the Greek style. Unveiled in August 1945, it commemorates the 17,000 Red Army soldiers killed in action during the Vienna offensive in World War II.
Our next port of call was Cafe Sacher, where the famous Sachertorte was invented. This is something that was on the top of my hit list before coming to Vienna - I had done loads of research and had even spoken to my sister, who had visited the city 15 years ago - but we were told bookings were essential. I tried to do this on their website, but it wouldn't let me. Figuring that Friday would likely be the least busy day of the three we were there, and noticing it opened at 08:00, I thought we'd chance it by going early. It was around 08:30 by this point and I was delighted to see it was around two-thirds full. This meant getting a seat was easy, while the nice waitress even suggested we sit by the window for a better view of the main street. We ordered our Sachertorte - a chocolate sponge cake covered with apricot jam and chocolate glaze - as well as a specific blend of tea that is created just for the cafe. Both were delicious and it was a fantastic way to ease ourselves into Viennese culture. Upon going to the bathroom, I noticed the upstairs with its red velvet walls was far more opulent than the cafe we were in downstairs, but just to have experienced this was truly special.
As part of my research, I stumbled on this website detailing self-walking tours of Vienna. These turned out to be very useful as it was an efficient way of seeing most of the downtown sights. The first was the opera house, which was directly opposite Cafe Sacher. Opened in 1869, it was hard to see its full grandeur as it's sat on the main road. We did walk around it though and noted they offer guided tours. Alas, there are so many things to do in Vienna that we didn't have time to check it out, although the place is world-famous for the operas and concerts it hosts.
The next stop was the Albertina, perched on a slight hill with an impressive equestrian statue beckoning you in. The building dates back from the 1740s and used to be the home of some archdukes. Now it's a very impressive museum, which I had the fortune of visiting on the Saturday. Wolfie's foot meant he frequently had to go back to the hotel and rest, so we agreed that during this rest period, I could go out and look at some museums. I had initially wanted to go to Beethoven's house but I didn't trust the heavy door, which looked like it would lock me inside. Consequently, I skipped that and went to the Albertina. This was a good choice as although I didn't get chance to see absolutely everything, I did see the wondrous artworks on display. The likes of Monet, Renoir and Picasso are all displayed there and the exhibition charts you through these movements. I have always been a big fan of Impressionism in particular and the works by Sissay I found particularly striking. I did grab an audio guide, which meant I could hear about all of the most popular works of art. The first thing I looked at though was the 'Leonardo – Dürer: Renaissance Master Drawings on Colored Ground' exhibition. I found this particularly fascinating as it detailed the history of coloured paper and how techniques in its creation changed art by how it interacted with the pencil or paint with which the pieces were drawn. There was a large tour group here who I had to keep dodging, which I found a wee bit frustrating, but I did get to see all of the art I wanted to. There were loads of Renaissance classics there too, including from the likes of Raphael, Titian, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Baldung Grien and Hans Holbein the Elder. Leonardo's Apostles or Dürer's Praying Hands were also on display and it was wonderful to see. Almost as wonderful was the hen party I saw walking out of the Dürer exhibit. It wouldn't be my first choice for a celebration, but the gaggle of about 10 of them, in full pastel pink paraphernalia, certainly seemed to be having a good time.
On the Friday, Wolfie and I walked around the foyer bit outside the museum, taking in the monument against war and fascism by Alfred Hrdlicka in the square below. Built in 1988, it sits on the site of the Philipphof building. In March 1945, many people died here when hiding from a bombing raid, using its basement as a bomb shelter. There are three parts to it - a large stone with an excerpt from the Austrian Declaration of Independence in April 1945, a bronze statue of an elderly Jew scrubbing the street which highlights the evils of anti-semitism and the “door of violence”, which honours those murdered in Nazi concentration camps and prisons.
We entered a narrow street after this, down which sits Augustinerkirche. Built in the 14th century, this was once the main church of the Habsburgs and a large number of their family were married here. Even Napoleon Bonaparte was hitched here, although in absentia, which was apparently quite common at the time. There is also a plaque on the wall dedicated to Jan Sobiesky, the Polish king who took mass here on 13 September 1683 after lifting the siege of Vienna by defeating Ottoman forces.
The narrow road opens out onto a glistening white courtyard, Josefplatz, which marks the boundary of the Hofburg complex. The square is dominated by the equestrian statue of Emperor Joseph II, whose posture mimics that of his Roman predecessors. On the base of the statue, there are black reliefs detailing the various achievements of the monarch's life. The medallions of a similar colour point to important milestones in his life including his birth and marriage. Opposite this is the Palais Pallavicini, built in 1784 in the neoclassical style. It is guarded by scantily clad ladies which were quite a sensation at the time. This area is also where a film called The Third Man was shot - it's not one I know so had no real relevance to me.
The entrance to the aforementioned Augustinerkirche is also on this square and we popped in for a few minutes, not least to gaze at the 1805 Canova memorial for Archduchess Marie Christine, who died in 1798. This feels very futuristic, a marble pyramid with a dark door through which a number of people are being led. Next to this is one of the architectural highlights of Vienna, the Prunksaal or State Hall of the National Library. We had initially wanted to avoid museums and just see the main sights and get our bearings, but the opportunity was too great and I was sorely tempted. It didn't disappoint. Dating back to the early 18th century, this baroque library is replete with books, many dating back to that time. The ceiling frescoes add to the grandeur of a space which is 80m in length and over 14m in width. It has a domed ceiling towering almost 20m with columns leading up to this central space. Here stands the statue of Emperor Charles VI, who commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to build it, in a pose reminiscent of Hercules. The shelves are of dark brown and are full of books, while there are hidden chambers behind some of them for even more storage. As the building was made of stone, it has a constant ambient temperature, while there are also celestial and terrestrial globes on display. We bought a guided tour, one involving a QR code to scan to our phones, while I was also interested in the temporary exhibit inside the library that detailed the last 100 years of Austrian politics using contemporary newspaper and magazine covers as its focus. It seemed apt for the library.
If this was wondrous, then the Hofburg was even more so. I will detail more later, as we only had a quick look through it on Friday as by lunchtime, Wolfie's foot was starting to hurt. He said he needed to head back to the hotel and I was feeling somewhat tired myself, with things getting particularly giddy when I was sitting down. I therefore thought it wise to head back with Wolfie. We hopped on tram route D, which took us largely back the way we had walked, and by 12:30pm we were back at the hotel. We opted to pay the additional €15 for early check-in and soon we were in bed catching a nap. I felt a little bad about wasting such a good part of what was a warm spring day, but soldiering on was probably unwise. In the end, I managed to ignore the heavy drilling outside and in the lift and grab a couple of hours, waking up at around 3pm which was one hour later than I had wanted. I wanted to go out and do more sightseeing, aware that nearly all of the museums shut at 6pm and Vienna is a city of many museums, but Wolfie needed more sleep and his foot was still bad. We decided that I should go out and he stay in the hotel, which is exactly what we did.
While Wolfie was sleeping, I ended up looking around the Wien Museum Mozart Apartment. This was situated in the centre of the city and I hopped on the U-Bahn to get there. Earlier in the day, we had taken the D tram back to the hotel but realised getting a 24 hour ticket was much more expensive and the 72 hour tickets weren't available at all. We ended up getting a 72 hour ticket in the machines at Hauptbahnhof as I had done my research and knew they cost €17.10. This meant we had to grab a single for the tram, which was an annoying expense, but at €2.70 it wasn't a high one. Wolfie had needed to rest his foot so it was also a price worth paying. Anyway, getting to the Mozart Apartment was easy enough and soon I was exploring the various rooms with a handy audio guide that I could just download to my phone (but for which I had to pay €5 for). Mozart moved a lot and this apartment is one of the only ones remaining where we know for certain he lived. The first floor was probably the most interesting as it detailed the living space in which he would have resided. Some of it was conjecture as there is no historical record of which room was used for what, but it is clear where the kitchen was and you could work your way from there. The top two floors were more about Mozart's life and relationships with various patrons and musicians in the Vienna scene at the time. This was interesting enough, but it became a little repetitive, which information I could have just read online. I did enjoy the museum and was glad I went, but I do wonder whether I should have gone elsewhere instead.
One advantage of going to the Mozart Museum was its central location, which meant that I got to see a lot of other sights too. The imposing mid-13th-century Stephansdom was one of them and when I realised I was at the tail-end of one of the walking tours, I thought I'd just follow it backwards. This Gothic cathedral with Baroque fittings was truly wonderful, but the queues to get in were lengthy, probably because it was time for Mass. Indeed, nearly all of the churches I was about to visit were conducting services which often meant the congregation seated behind a metal gate with most of the building shut off to visitors. Still, I did get to live some of the grandeur of these buildings before heading off.
I walked up Bognergasse and onto Graben, one of the main shopping thoroughfares. On my way, I spotted some wonderful Jugendstil buildings, particularly the Engel Apotheke and the Zum Schwarzen Kameel café and restaurant. The former had a really nice mosaic of angels holding up a cup in the Jugendstil. Graben is basically where many of the high-end shops are, but the main feature is the 17th century plague monument. Erected in 1690, the Pestsäule plague column drew inspiration from the tradition of Marian or Holy Trinity columns and was built to ward off the plague. Initially a wooden structure, Emperor Leopold I committed to building a stone one once the plague had retreated. The design involves three vertical layers: human, angels, then the Holy Trinity itself. The Pestsäule has three wings, nine large angels and three bronze scrolls too. The focus on three relates to the Holy Trinity, while the Emperor himself is also featured. It is a bit of a hotch-potch motley mess really, like a huge disfigured walnut whip in marble and gold, but it was certainly quite a unique structure.
Behind this is the domed 18th century Peterskirche church, which again was having a Mass when I was there. This meant its baroque interior wasn't really accessible to me, but it was a powerful yet peaceful place to be. Moving further on, I ended up at Am Hof, which is where Vienna was initially founded by the Romans. There was a market going on and I ended up buying a popular chocolate and pastry dessert. Traditionally served with vanilla sauce, sadly this had sold out and so I had to have it with raspberry jam. It was very filling, but I did enjoy sitting on one corner of the square, looking at all of the political posters for the forthcoming Vienna state election, which takes place later in the month. I saw one later in my trip at Meidling station that read 'More police instead of asylum seekers' and I already knew the candidate was an arse. Getting back to Am Hof, the Mariensäule column which commemorates Vienna being ignored by the rampaging Swedes in 1667, was largely hidden by the market. The 14th-century Kirche am Hof church could easily be seen on one side, but again there was a Mass going on and I didn't want to intrude. One thing I did see, however, was the Palais Collalto, where a six-year-old Mozart gave his first-ever performance in Vienna. Apparently, when he had done this, he jumped into the Empress's lap and gave her a kiss.
Tucked behind this is Judenplatz, which is where two important memorials are. The first is a statue of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who was a leading writer in the German enlightenment. A statue of him was erected here in 1935, but it was destroyed by the Nazis just a few years later. The statue here dates from 1981. Rachel Whiteread’s Holocaust memorial sits opposite this, unveiled in 2000. It bears the names of the concentration camps where Jews were murdered and resembles a box with closed doors on the outside. Interestingly, when this was constructed, remains of the old synagogue were discovered. There are also a number of other interesting buildings in this area too, many belonging to Jewish merchants. It's interesting to note that this area also saw the first major expulsion of Jews from the city in 1420 and 1421.
Walking up Freyling, things got a little busier, with a charming little market taking place. There was cheese and fish concessions, as well as a place serving glasses of wine. Near here is Cafe Central, the other main cafe to try apart from Cafe Sacher, and the queue at this hour was quite long. Palais Niederösterreich is also here and there was a small exhibition going on in one of the rooms off the main courtyard. Alas, there were two fat men loudly laughing in the doorway and I felt a little intimidated so I turned around and continued my exploring. Interestingly, both Beethoven and Liszt once performed here. This area was where many of the merchant houses were built, with huge villas and palaces being the order of the day. The orange coloured Palais Kinsky is one such example, Field Marshall Count Daun building this sumptuous Baroque palace in the early 18th century. From here, I walked up to the university near the Ring, which is when I started to become aware of the time.
By around 6:30pm, when (frustratingly) all the museums had shut, I realised that I hadn't arranged with Wolfie as to our dinner plans. I had booked a place at a local restaurant for 9pm, but as he had stayed in the room when I went out mid-afternoon, I realised that I hadn't discussed things with him. He had been asleep and I didn't really want to wake him. I also needed a poo and not fancying a trip to a public toilet, I hopped on tram line D, which took me past the Belvedere and to a stop to the east of Hauptbahnhof. It was then a short walk back to the hotel, down the path where we had seen all of the strewn tampons before. The DIY work in the hotel had fortunately abated - we had been warned about it before our stay, but it proved to be a bit of a bane, not least when it woke me up at 7:40am on the Saturday - so I awoke Wolfie up by getting him tea from the coffee point on the floor of our hotel. This was a communal area with a hot water tap, some teabags and supplies, but oddly no coffee. Anyway, we had some English Breakfast Tea and with his foot feeling better, we decided to honour our food reservation. Alas, Wolfie's foot was still causing him issues though, so we decided to Uber it there to preserve it for a heavy weekend of touring.
The restaurant was Huth Gastwirtschaft in an area that seemed replete with bars and restaurants. I would have preferred an earlier sitting, but there were none available, hence why we were there so late. Still, the food was worth it in a setting that I would describe as contemporary. We ended up having minced lard on warm bread, which could have been a bit more strongly flavoured, but the Wiener Backhandl, like a schnizel but made with chicken and marinated in yogurt and lemon, was really good. The potatoes were the stars though, all herby and buttery, and we left feeling very satisfied. We had wanted to go to Mama Kraft, their craft beer bar underneath the premises, but they were sadly closed due to a private function. We were turned away by a pleasant enough bouncer. We had wanted to go here partly to save Wolfie's foot, but I realised there was another half-decent craft beer bar just three blocks away. We hobbled down there and managed to snag a seat outside, although we were told they were closing the outside area at 11pm and it was already 10:15pm. This was fine with us as we were tired and I was starting to feel quite bloated. The bar, called 1516 Brewing Company, had some decent enough beers and sitting outside on a lively street after five months of winter was certainly a thrill. The inside was rammed though so once we finished our drink, we declined another, grabbed an Uber and were back in the hotel by 11:15pm, having driven past most of the very same sights we had seen earlier in the day.
