Vienna, Austria
We took a bus from Kraków, Poland to Vienna, Austria for a five-day visit on our way to Innsbruck and the Alps. The bus ride was 8 hours, but the scenery was beautiful as we drove the long way through Slovakia, with all the quaint, small ski towns along the way. Along the way, Jeff was kicking himself for not planning some time in Slovakia, as the countryside looked amazing for hiking this time of year. Only so much time though, so onwards to Austria!
Our first day there we had a wonderful tour of the city with our guide, Katherina. Along the way, we’ve learned that all of the guides have gone to school specifically to be a tour guide degree and it’s their profession. She guided us through many of the major sights in the city with 40 of our new friends!
We learned much about the history of the city ranging from the Habsburg Family Dynasty to the role that Vienna and Austria as a whole played in in the start of WWI and then WWII. Tons of history here. The Habsburg’s were in power for 600 years and they owned many of the grand buildings in the city. We also saw where Mozart lived and learned of his history and how he died a pauper. Our guide also pointed us to the best place to get wiener schnitzel. So, that’s where we headed right after the tour was completed!
On our second day, we arrived early to tour the most visited attraction in Vienna. The Schönbrunn Palace which was the former summer home of the Habsburgs. Note that it sits only a few miles from the city center and their winter home, but… It’s a baroque-designed palace with over 140 rooms. You need rooms for all your servants, of course!
Vienna is also know for their Kaffeehäuser experience. This made me very happy, and there wasn’t enough time to frequent them all! Zach and I went on a date to the historic, Café Central Coffee House. There was a pianist playing beautiful music and we read the New York Times while we waited for our coffee and hot chocolate. Jeff didn’t want to miss out, so he joined us later.
Throughout Vienna we saw the big impact that famous composers like Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss had on this great city! Mozart was on candy, plates, magnets and snow globes! You saw his face everywhere you turned in Vienna. It’s no surprise that Vienna is called the City of Music. It was a great musical history for Zach, and we enjoyed listening to several of these famous composers while doing math.
One night, Zach and Jeff visited the Riesenrad Ferris Wheel which was built in 1897. Besides being fun, it provides an amazing view of the city. Below are a few shots from above beautiful Vienna:
Going in, we knew almost nothing of Vienna. So happy we made a stop here as we found it to be a rich and beautiful city.
- Trish and Jeff
