Vienna - Saturday
Apr. 16th, 2025 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeWe were awoken early Saturday morning to the sound of banging, the DIY in the hotel starting at around 7:40am. Fortunately for Wolfie, he was already up and in the shower, the previous night's early bedtime meaning he was up early. As for me, I didn't get the lie-in I particularly wanted so after another tea from the inappropriately named Coffee Point, we set out into the city, destination Schönbrunn Palace. We had tickets to do the main palace tour at 11am, which forced us to get up and out. On balance, this was a good thing as Vienna is a city of many museums, most of which close around 6pm. Wolfie's foot was a little better so he decided to risk taking public transport there. This meant we could pick up some breakfast at Hauptbahnhof, not fancying the extortionate price of the breakfast at the Premier Inn. The day before, we had picked up a hot dog at a place called Wiener Wald. This came in a huge baguette which was like a squirting time bomb of mustard and ketchup when you got halfway down. On Saturday morning, as there was plenty of time, we picked up a Leberkas from a food concession near the underground. Leberkas is ground beef, pork and bacon that's baked in a tin, so it's heavy and dense. It was very delicious and a great way to start the day. It had a crunchy yet stringy brown coating which was great to peel off too.
The weather was almost as good as it was on Friday, except there was a bit of bite to the wind. The U4 to Schönbrunn Palace was packed with tourists and once we got there, we noticed there was a huge Easter market taking place in the main courtyard. This was quite pleasant to walk around, particularly as we were about 20 minutes early. I climbed onto the sweeping steps at the front of the palace to take in the view over the courtyard and the city beyond - a view that was significantly better up at the Gloriette in the furthest reaches of the palace gardens. To save Wolfie's foot, we poised ourselves on a chair near the end of the tour and waited for our time slot. Once it got to 11am, it was all pretty effortless, while we picked up an audio guide so we knew what we were looking at. It was typical palace fayre, with grand and ornate rooms decorated in an ostentatious manner. We found out a little about court life, particularly about Ferdinand and his queen Sisi, who didn't much care for him or the royal roles in general. Outside, we got to see The Orangery, a huge space built to preserve exotic trees from the harsh Alpine winters, as well as the Privy Garden. We could only walk around a tunnel of greenery here although this didn't stop a couple of women from jumping over the fence and then lambasting their children when they had the audacity to run off. After this, we also had a pleasant walk through the gardens observing some of the follies including one that resembled a ruined Roman temple before climbing up to the huge aforementioned Gloriette. This was up a rather steep hill on a path that wound this way and that. Of course, the aforementioned couple just cut their own path up the steep grassy hillside, against all of the signs. Anyway, the walk was somewhat of a struggle but the views over the city were great, particularly those on top of the Gloriette itself. We had bought the Classic Pass which also gave us admission to The Maze, but we didn't really bother with this.
The walk up to the Gloriette must have taken about 25 minutes and fortunately there was an exit at this end of the palace grounds, meaning we could get a bus to another railway station. This was Meidling, an important suburb where Wolfie headed back to the hotel and I headed into the city. I had initially intended to go to the Beethoven Museum, but I didn't trust the heavy door not locking me in the courtyard. Instead, I went to the Albertina, dodging some sort of process or other en route. This involved a lot of people making noise and waving the Austrian flag, so I thought it was best avoided. I have already detailed my experience in the Albertina, suffice to say I found it so absorbing that I lost track of time. This meant I was pushing it for our evening meal reservation, which was at 5:30pm. This was far earlier than I would have liked, but it was the only real time the restaurant could have us. They were fully booked after 6:45pm and we were under strict orders to bugger off by then. Located at Stubentor on the U2, I walked the 15-minute walk there as quickly as I could and I was still earlier than Wolfie, who had got a taxi from the hotel. I had already found my seat at that point and I waved him over. The place was called Plachutta and specialised in Viennese dishes. It was a might spendy, and looking at the pictures of all their famous past customers, you can see why, but the food quality was good. The waiter also called me a lady, which I took as a compliant and which the rather large bearded fellow sat near us found amusing. We both ordered the Tafelspitz, roast pork in a vegetable-based broth. The idea is you are served the broth for starter and then fish the meat out of the dish once you've had it. It was served with creamed spinach, which was delicious, and a shredded potato gratin. The bread and butter on ice to accompany it was wonderful too while it came with two sauces, one of which being a creamy horseradish affair. We really enjoyed the meal, although there was way too much broth for both of us and I felt a little guilty leaving it.
After this, we made our way to Stubentor station, checking the old wall of the city which goes right through its entrance. From here, we were on our way to AmmutsØn Craft Beer Dive, which is where I started my Saturday entry.
The weather was almost as good as it was on Friday, except there was a bit of bite to the wind. The U4 to Schönbrunn Palace was packed with tourists and once we got there, we noticed there was a huge Easter market taking place in the main courtyard. This was quite pleasant to walk around, particularly as we were about 20 minutes early. I climbed onto the sweeping steps at the front of the palace to take in the view over the courtyard and the city beyond - a view that was significantly better up at the Gloriette in the furthest reaches of the palace gardens. To save Wolfie's foot, we poised ourselves on a chair near the end of the tour and waited for our time slot. Once it got to 11am, it was all pretty effortless, while we picked up an audio guide so we knew what we were looking at. It was typical palace fayre, with grand and ornate rooms decorated in an ostentatious manner. We found out a little about court life, particularly about Ferdinand and his queen Sisi, who didn't much care for him or the royal roles in general. Outside, we got to see The Orangery, a huge space built to preserve exotic trees from the harsh Alpine winters, as well as the Privy Garden. We could only walk around a tunnel of greenery here although this didn't stop a couple of women from jumping over the fence and then lambasting their children when they had the audacity to run off. After this, we also had a pleasant walk through the gardens observing some of the follies including one that resembled a ruined Roman temple before climbing up to the huge aforementioned Gloriette. This was up a rather steep hill on a path that wound this way and that. Of course, the aforementioned couple just cut their own path up the steep grassy hillside, against all of the signs. Anyway, the walk was somewhat of a struggle but the views over the city were great, particularly those on top of the Gloriette itself. We had bought the Classic Pass which also gave us admission to The Maze, but we didn't really bother with this.
The walk up to the Gloriette must have taken about 25 minutes and fortunately there was an exit at this end of the palace grounds, meaning we could get a bus to another railway station. This was Meidling, an important suburb where Wolfie headed back to the hotel and I headed into the city. I had initially intended to go to the Beethoven Museum, but I didn't trust the heavy door not locking me in the courtyard. Instead, I went to the Albertina, dodging some sort of process or other en route. This involved a lot of people making noise and waving the Austrian flag, so I thought it was best avoided. I have already detailed my experience in the Albertina, suffice to say I found it so absorbing that I lost track of time. This meant I was pushing it for our evening meal reservation, which was at 5:30pm. This was far earlier than I would have liked, but it was the only real time the restaurant could have us. They were fully booked after 6:45pm and we were under strict orders to bugger off by then. Located at Stubentor on the U2, I walked the 15-minute walk there as quickly as I could and I was still earlier than Wolfie, who had got a taxi from the hotel. I had already found my seat at that point and I waved him over. The place was called Plachutta and specialised in Viennese dishes. It was a might spendy, and looking at the pictures of all their famous past customers, you can see why, but the food quality was good. The waiter also called me a lady, which I took as a compliant and which the rather large bearded fellow sat near us found amusing. We both ordered the Tafelspitz, roast pork in a vegetable-based broth. The idea is you are served the broth for starter and then fish the meat out of the dish once you've had it. It was served with creamed spinach, which was delicious, and a shredded potato gratin. The bread and butter on ice to accompany it was wonderful too while it came with two sauces, one of which being a creamy horseradish affair. We really enjoyed the meal, although there was way too much broth for both of us and I felt a little guilty leaving it.
After this, we made our way to Stubentor station, checking the old wall of the city which goes right through its entrance. From here, we were on our way to AmmutsØn Craft Beer Dive, which is where I started my Saturday entry.
