Oh, Vienna

A short train journey on a fabulous German train took us to Vienna.  We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed straight to the old town to Café Diglas where Michael was once again able to have his Scheiterhaufen (a magnificent bread pudding topped with six inches of meringue).  He has talked about that cake for nearly 3 years. 

 

 We then spent the rest of the day wandering around the city and enjoying the sunshine.  It was very different from our last visit when all of the streets and parks were covered with snow.  This time, there were many outdoor seating areas at the restaurants and all of the city fountains were running. 

 

We found a lovely wine bar and tried some different Austrian wines followed by dinner at a restaurant recommended by the proprietor – Drei Hacken.  I naturally ordered the schnitzel, which actually turned out to be 2 of the most enormous schnitzels you have ever seen. We struck up a conversation with an American couple seated next to us and they told us about their travel plans.  Michael told them about our travels and how we sold our house and initially left Australia for 6 months and how, nearly 3 years later, we are still travelling.  They declared that we were the first homeless people they had ever met that they didn’t feel sorry for!

The next morning we headed to the Naschmarkt for breakfast.  The market has existed since the 16^th century and is approximately 1.5 km long and filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, bakeries and restaurants.  It is probably one of the best markets we have been to – up there with Viktualienmarkt in Munich and the Borough Market in London.

It was then time to resume being culture vultures, so we set of for the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, as I wanted to revisit the Last Judgement triptych by Hieronymus Bosch. We arrived as the gallery opened, as I wanted to beat the hordes of people I expected would be there.  Michael and I had the gallery to ourselves and we were able to spend ages examining the triptych up close.  It is a fascinating piece of work.  We also took our time looking at the other artworks on display including several by Rubens.

Michael wanted to see the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt again, so we walked over to the Secession Building.  Renovations were taking place however we were still able to view the frieze.  I must admit that I am slowly warming to Klimt’s works.

Next stop was the Albertina to revisit Albrecht Durer’s Hare.  The detail on this piece of artwork is extraordinary and it was lovely to once again see it up close.  Naturally we wandered around the rest of the gallery admiring the other artworks as well as the beautifully decorated rooms.

We spent the afternoon wandering the city and admiring the architecture.  Then it was time for another Scheiterhaufen followed by a beer in a leafy beer garden in Karlsplatz.  Vienna is such a beautiful and relaxing city.

The Belvedere was next on our list of museums so that Michael could revisit the artworks of Klimt.  We were especially lucky as there was a special exhibition of more of his works in addition to the ones that are on permanent display.  They are beautiful buildings to walk around and it was especially nice to walk in the gardens as the fountains put on a spectacular display.

One of the quirky things that we noticed when walking around Vienna are the traffic lights.  Some of the standard red and green men at the pedestrian crossings have been replaced to show support for same sex relationships.  Now there are two women holding hands, two men holding hands and just so that the heterosexuals don’t get upset, there are a man and a woman holding hands.  I wonder what Tony Abbott would think?

It was sad to say goodbye to Vienna as we had enjoyed our visit so much.  It really is a city that one should visit in both the winter and the summer, as there is a definite change in the city in the two seasons.  I really hope that we can return to Vienna and I would love to see more of Austria as well.

Michael and I took the fabulous airport train from the heart of Vienna to the airport.  The train takes just 16 minutes and the it looks brand new and is spotlessly clean.  I think it is even better that the Heathrow Express.  We boarded our Aer Lingus flight and touched down in Dublin, our home for the next two years.