Sightseeing in Vienna

After a leisurely start including an overpriced but wonderful breakfast in a Viennese coffee house, we got to work on seeing the sights. We tried to avoid the historic centre, as we had signed up for a hostel walking tour later. This didn’t leave a whole lot! The main sight was the Hundertwasserhaus, an odd but beautiful architectural work of art from 1983.

Then we went to the Vienna International Centre, hoping to see some UN buildings. Alas everything, even the courtyard, was behind locked doors. We did see Donau city however; a slightly futuristic apartment/park complex. A quick jaunt back to the hostel with the subway and we began our walking tour of the ‘real’ Vienna with Wolfgang. Spectacular, and a lot of fun. Dinner was in a nice little Italian place... Afterwards we were a little exhausted from so much walking!

Viennese Danube-side artwork, and Matt 'reflecting' by the pool in Donau City

Modern architecture at Donau City
(click on the picture to see the Austrian expressions on the wall of the building)

The museums quarter

Historical Art Museum at Maria-Theresa-Square


Left to right: Balcony of the National Library (back then Hotel Imperial) at the Heldenplatz, from which Hitler gave his speech announcing the "Anschluss" of Austria; Goethe statue; Mozart statue. According to our tour guide Austria's greatest trick is to persuade people to think that Goethe is Austrian and Hitler is German. Nobody argues about Mozart.


The beautiful city hall with circus; Cafe Central, supposedly a hangout of Trotzky, Lenin and other intellectuals; one of Vienna's old street cars.


Vienna at night


St. Stephen's cathedral

Recovering from the journey

Just had a good and much needed nights sleep at the ‘Red Carpet Hostel’. They really do have a red carpet, and apparently we are all celebrities. Hence we received free glasses of pinkified sparkling wine.

Getting the bikes off the train went about as smoothly as could be expected, as did putting them back together. We were 20 minutes delayed thanks to our railjet breaking down in St. Pöltem... It must have just pushed itself too hard. Wien Westbahhof is under construction, and we had no map, but having looked at one in a store, we found the street we needed. Later, after a truly typical Matt & Birgit restaurant search, we found a lovely small, seemingly ‘local’, and (crucially), cheap place. Our first sights of Wien were truly spectacular... now I wonder what it will be like in daylight!?

Railjet Moaning (both me and the train)

The great 'high speed train of the Austrian railways' just limped its way through Linz. So far I'm not buying the 'bikes would delay our dwell time in stations' (more here, in German) argument. We were already 5 minutes late. I can assure OBB that getting a bike in a bike bag on (and I expect also off) a train is more burdensome than a bike with both wheels attached. Isn't this why we invented the wheel in the first place?

We're doing 200km/h, bumping along, but at least bumping along quuckly, the LCD screens that the train is plastered in proudly displaying the fact. Unlike the Germans, they don't try to hide their slower speeds... parts of the crawl out of Germany were at 90km/h. They may charge ICE prices, but this is no ICE. The only distinguishing features in that regard are the power outlets, refusal to take bikes and gratuitous screens. The smell of brakes and rock hard seats would at best allow one to call the railjet an IC in nice paint.

But! Enough complaining. We are on holiday, we're piercing onwards into Eastern Europe, and in less than 1 1/2 hours we'll be in Vienna.