Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Vienna

I'm back from Vienna, wgphich was wonderful, with a stinker of a cold which is not. It's been 4 hours now and my ears still won't pop back to normal, which is disconcerting, and there is the guilt at having passed on this horrible lurgy to my travelling companion- so that's back home with a bump.

This was my first visit to Vienna, although it's somewhere I've wanted to go ever since a teenage infatuation with Gustav Klimt. We were there for 3 days which was long enough to get a feel for the place, and know I want to go back to explore all the things we didn't have time for on this trip.

I like traveling in January, I don't mind the cold, or the relative dark - especially in cities, and appreciate the lack of crowds for big attractions. It's a while since I've been out the country which made this trip even more exciting. There's an element to every big city that feels familiar - the same big brands, and even the same kind of things you 'must see', but I'm always delighted by the things which are slightly different (in Ireland it's green letterboxes). In Vienna this was Spar shops, specifically the Spar Gourmet in the corner of 'our' street. It was housed in a beautiful Art Deco building, and was like a Waitrose (but better). It was infinitely superior to the English equivalent - the ubiquitous Tesco Metro.

Our hotel was in the heart of the historic city centre which meant everything we wanted to see was within easy walking distance, and whilst there might have been a few more sign posts for things we coped with a map. We went to the Belvedere to see the Klimt's (though due to a re hang not many of them were on show). There was a crowd around 'The Kiss', but nobody looking at anything else in the room - and if they were, only for as long as it took to focus a camera and click, which doesn't seem like the most satisfactory way to interact with a picture. The Belvedere itself is stunning, as are its views, and it's collection of medieval art was a surprise highlight (surprise because it's not what we'd specifically gone to look at, but the details are utterly absorbing.

We also went to look at Hundertwasserhaus, which stands out even more for being so crazily at odds with the sensible streets around it. We also found time to poke around a whole lot of streets and churches - Peterskirche, a baroque jewel which only got a passing comment in our guidebooks was the most impressive in a city that doesn't lack for impressive churches. We both wanted to see the Kaisergruft; the crypt where generations of Hapsburgs are buried in incredibly ornate sarcophagi. It's hard to describe the place, but it made both of us wish we had a rather better grasp of Austrian history.

There was also time for quite a lot of coffee and cake, though it would take a much longer stay to do the cakes real justice. When we were booking this trip a travel agent told us Vienna isn't a very popular destination, something that surprises me even more now I've been. It was easy traveling for us, flying via Birmingham. The city felt safe and friendly, it isn't stupidly expensive, there's a lot to do, as well as a lot of places to just sit and enjoy the view (which given how important cafe culture has been to Vienna is a tourist must anyway), people were friendly, and there's gourmet Spar. It's hard to imagine what else a visitor could want.









12 comments:

  1. Love Vienna. Would return there anytime. Glad you enjoyed it. Get well soon. X

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    1. Thank you. Still suffering, but on the mend. Vienna was stunning, and I'd love to go back.

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  2. Love Vienna. Great goulash, that wonderful little stone dog at the entrance to the pulpit in Stephansdom, and the sculptor's head popping up everywhere. Stayed at Neusiedl am see, when I visited Vienna - inter-railing many moons ago - sweet little town on the Hungarian border. The lake was mined when I was there - Cold War days.

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    1. We were remembering the Cold War on our trip - we're both in our mid 40's so it was the backdrop to our childhood - and saying how quickly you forget the paranoia that characterised those years, and also how quickly it feels like it's coming back at the moment. But maybe that was 'The Third Man' vibes we were picking up on.

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  3. Sounds like an excellent getaway! I found Vienna a bit cold and formal when I was there but the things I loved about it - the abundance of museums, galleries, and opera houses, not to mention cafes - definitely help to make it an attractive winter destination. I'd love to go back and see if I enjoy it more a second time around.

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    1. I get the gold formality, my friend had lived in Austria as a student and found it very stifling, and it certainly felt less mixed (much whiter) than the cities I'm used to, but the things you list make it a wonderful city break. There were bookshops everywhere too, so if I could read German it would have been great. I'd go back any time, there was so much we didn't have time for, but I'm not sure I'd want to live there.

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  4. I liked Vienna very much when I had a brief stay (including seeing the Spanish Riding School horse practice (they were the first thing I knew about Vienna in a horse mad (but horseless) childhood. Followed by cake...

    Not sure if you have read 'Night falls on the City' by Sarah Gainham,a great book set in Vienna a during WWII. it gives a really strong sense of the city and it's places as well as interesting history. It made me keen to return.

    And of course there is Mary Stewart's 'Airs above the Ground' too.

    Helen

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    1. I need to add both of those to my reading list now. It's a beautiful city and I really want to explore more of it. My childhood was the opposite of yours re horses - lots of them around but I prefer the, at a much safer distance...

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  5. I, too, have a passion for Klimt (and Schiele) but have no desire to go to Vienna for some reason. Glad you enjoyed it though. Get rid of that cold very soon.

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    1. The cold is hanging on and making me feel like death, but it can't last forever! The Klimts were magical, and worth the trip alone. I'm pleased I've finally seen a good body of Schiele's together, but found him less appealing/more uncomfortable to look at than I expected - which was the opposite of what I thought would happen. I expected to like the Klimts in the flesh, but they have much more presence and seem less tame than I anticipated.

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  6. I too love Vienna, and especially love the Belvedere Palace. I remember some tour groups just seemed to walk through the gardens, which are very nice, and not realise how nice it was inside the palace. I had plenty of cakes and plenty of schnitzels last time I was in Vienna.

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    1. and all the people who walk round taking pictures without really looking at anything! It's such a beautiful place to sit and look at what's around you. I really want to go back.

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