If I were to describe Vienna in one word I would use the word 'elegance'.
Having returned recently, the city left me with many moment sto remember and many things
to do next time I visit.
The city screams culture and art everywhere and unlike many other capitals that have all the beauty
and outside the city there is a different world where the beauty vanishes, Vienna does not lose its touch or beauty outside the city.
The architecture although being a mixture of culture works well and the buildings are so beautiful, clean and well preserved. Although it is a hollyday suitable for families, friends or couples the city cannot hide it's romantic nature maybe because of the so many palaces, Danube river and cafes which surround the city.
You need to deffinitely sit back and take in all the culture and history as it is everywhere!
I can now understand why people watching in a cafe is said to be one of the things you must do!
Of course Vienna is famous for its historic cafes like 'central' located. behing the Hofburg palace which is also a must see. The 130 year old cafe
was favoured by Freud, Hitler Trosky and many other famous men and you can feel a powerful energy when sitting there. Not to mention the selection of desserts and sweets which I will not even try to describe as I have no words for this pleasurreable experience.....
Vienna is rich in art history as it was home of Mozart, Bethoven, Strauss and an interesting visit in their homes can be a quite wonderful experience in order to see where some of the most famous masterpieces of classsical music were composed and learn about the composers' life. Because of its history in music, Vienna is the place for concerts in the opera or in one of the other many venues which is not as formal as you may think which is something that can easily be done after a long day walking around the city.
It is a must do when in Vienna as it offers not only a plethora of live concerts, some of which are accompanied by ballet numbers and duets.
It is safe to say that Vienna has so many things to see and do that time is never enough. The city is full of activities, museums and shows that there is always something new to do. Ofcourse there are the wonderful palaces like the Hofburg which you can visit but be sure to have some time in your hands as it is a quite big palace with lots to absorb and learn from the audio guide. For instance within the Hofburg museum which is located close to the Parliament, museum quarter and risgstrasse, has a whole area dedicated to the collection of porcelain, silver and dining collection of the palace which takes a while to see. The 'silver room' which has the 'imperial silver collection' reopened in 1995 includes 7.000 pieces (out of 150.000). This is the silver alone. The section is home to sections on porcelain desert service, 'old service centerpiece' 'Millan table centerpiece' and many more collections. To be honest although this is an impressive selection of porccelain, silver, gold and many more it can get overwealming and tiring as there is a large area of centerpieces and it can get too much before you even go in the imperial appartments.
The imperial appartments where luxurious and also need a while to go see as they in the other palace, the Schonbrunn palace. The inside can be also overwhelming by the luxury and wealth. Having said that it must be noted that the work that has been put into those rooms is magnificent with the carvings and paintings. What may be dissapointing is that in both palaces you cannot take pictures, only frorm the outside and in the schonbrunn palace gardens which is also a huge area but really nice to walk. It may be a better season to visit in the spring of summer as in February there are no flowers or greenery which does dissapoint a little. Having said that it must be noted that both palaces are really close to a metro statio (5 mins walk) and that the schonbrunn palace has a cafe with a lovelly selection of desserts and coffee.
Being home to many personalities, while visiting Vienna there is bound to be someone you would love to visit their home. For me unfortunately time was not enough as on Mondays many museums close. Mozart and Freud were the two personalities I had the pleasure of discovering their home. Mozart's last house is just behind st Stephens cathedral. Unfortunately photos were not allowed.
In Freud's house which most of the things have been moved to his last home in London, photos were allowed although it is a little furter from than the city centre but quite eassily accesible by metro no more than 20 minutes away near the purple line.
If you are a more 'dark' peronality you may enjoy the krypt also close to st Stephens platz where you can see the graves of royalty like Sisi and Joseph and it is only a short visit where you can take fotos. To be honest this is more impressive than it sounds as the deign of the coffins, as macabre as it may sound are quite artistic and magnificent.
Vienna is not just architecture, art and museums. It is also home of Prater. I came across Prater when was on a hop on-off bus and was amazed. There are refferences of Prater way back to 1162. Being a hunting ground for the aristocracy, Josef the 2nd donated it to the public. It is home to the first cinema in Vienna if I recall correctly adn it is open 24-7. Now what is prater today? a Huge theme park where you can visit free of charge. Visiting in February around 4.30pm I was so excited as it although it is open it looks abandoned as there were hardly any visitors and the rides were closed. Since Im into abandoned places especially theme and fun parks this was a highlight of my trip to Vienna amongst ofcourse others.
This is deffinitely a must see not just for kids but I think adults will enjoy a day there too. It is easily accessible as you can get there by the metro and get off exctly opposite the park. There are place to eat and drink as well as purchase souvenirs although you cannot tell they are open from the outside. I imagine during the summer it must be flooded.
On a final note about Vienna, I have to mention the impressive politeness of people and how willing they were to find on their google maps where streets and sites were when we asked for directions.
I was quite concerned about being able to communicate as I thought they may refuse to speak English like other nationalities do. But they were more than willing to communicate in English. I must say though I was quite surprised that they didnt know places like Mozarts house or city centre streets were. Even so the people of Vienna were more than happy to help us. Even though I though it would be quite expensive, it was not as much as the portions served in drinks, desserts and food were more than enough like in schnitzel dishes.
Of course one more memorable thing would be the coffee selection available. Forget capucino or latte you have to try a number of different coffees.
One thing is for sure. Vienna to me is the equivalent of elegance, art and history.
You will not be dissapointed.
sites: http://www.palaisevents.at/en/cafecentral.html
http://www.hofburg-wien.at/en.html
http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en.html
http://www.prater.at/GeneralInformation.php?LI=1
Having returned recently, the city left me with many moment sto remember and many things
to do next time I visit.
The city screams culture and art everywhere and unlike many other capitals that have all the beauty
and outside the city there is a different world where the beauty vanishes, Vienna does not lose its touch or beauty outside the city.
The architecture although being a mixture of culture works well and the buildings are so beautiful, clean and well preserved. Although it is a hollyday suitable for families, friends or couples the city cannot hide it's romantic nature maybe because of the so many palaces, Danube river and cafes which surround the city.
You need to deffinitely sit back and take in all the culture and history as it is everywhere!I can now understand why people watching in a cafe is said to be one of the things you must do!
Of course Vienna is famous for its historic cafes like 'central' located. behing the Hofburg palace which is also a must see. The 130 year old cafe
was favoured by Freud, Hitler Trosky and many other famous men and you can feel a powerful energy when sitting there. Not to mention the selection of desserts and sweets which I will not even try to describe as I have no words for this pleasurreable experience.....
Vienna is rich in art history as it was home of Mozart, Bethoven, Strauss and an interesting visit in their homes can be a quite wonderful experience in order to see where some of the most famous masterpieces of classsical music were composed and learn about the composers' life. Because of its history in music, Vienna is the place for concerts in the opera or in one of the other many venues which is not as formal as you may think which is something that can easily be done after a long day walking around the city.
It is safe to say that Vienna has so many things to see and do that time is never enough. The city is full of activities, museums and shows that there is always something new to do. Ofcourse there are the wonderful palaces like the Hofburg which you can visit but be sure to have some time in your hands as it is a quite big palace with lots to absorb and learn from the audio guide. For instance within the Hofburg museum which is located close to the Parliament, museum quarter and risgstrasse, has a whole area dedicated to the collection of porcelain, silver and dining collection of the palace which takes a while to see. The 'silver room' which has the 'imperial silver collection' reopened in 1995 includes 7.000 pieces (out of 150.000). This is the silver alone. The section is home to sections on porcelain desert service, 'old service centerpiece' 'Millan table centerpiece' and many more collections. To be honest although this is an impressive selection of porccelain, silver, gold and many more it can get overwealming and tiring as there is a large area of centerpieces and it can get too much before you even go in the imperial appartments.
The imperial appartments where luxurious and also need a while to go see as they in the other palace, the Schonbrunn palace. The inside can be also overwhelming by the luxury and wealth. Having said that it must be noted that the work that has been put into those rooms is magnificent with the carvings and paintings. What may be dissapointing is that in both palaces you cannot take pictures, only frorm the outside and in the schonbrunn palace gardens which is also a huge area but really nice to walk. It may be a better season to visit in the spring of summer as in February there are no flowers or greenery which does dissapoint a little. Having said that it must be noted that both palaces are really close to a metro statio (5 mins walk) and that the schonbrunn palace has a cafe with a lovelly selection of desserts and coffee.Being home to many personalities, while visiting Vienna there is bound to be someone you would love to visit their home. For me unfortunately time was not enough as on Mondays many museums close. Mozart and Freud were the two personalities I had the pleasure of discovering their home. Mozart's last house is just behind st Stephens cathedral. Unfortunately photos were not allowed.If you are a more 'dark' peronality you may enjoy the krypt also close to st Stephens platz where you can see the graves of royalty like Sisi and Joseph and it is only a short visit where you can take fotos. To be honest this is more impressive than it sounds as the deign of the coffins, as macabre as it may sound are quite artistic and magnificent.Vienna is not just architecture, art and museums. It is also home of Prater. I came across Prater when was on a hop on-off bus and was amazed. There are refferences of Prater way back to 1162. Being a hunting ground for the aristocracy, Josef the 2nd donated it to the public. It is home to the first cinema in Vienna if I recall correctly adn it is open 24-7. Now what is prater today? a Huge theme park where you can visit free of charge. Visiting in February around 4.30pm I was so excited as it although it is open it looks abandoned as there were hardly any visitors and the rides were closed. Since Im into abandoned places especially theme and fun parks this was a highlight of my trip to Vienna amongst ofcourse others. This is deffinitely a must see not just for kids but I think adults will enjoy a day there too. It is easily accessible as you can get there by the metro and get off exctly opposite the park. There are place to eat and drink as well as purchase souvenirs although you cannot tell they are open from the outside. I imagine during the summer it must be flooded.On a final note about Vienna, I have to mention the impressive politeness of people and how willing they were to find on their google maps where streets and sites were when we asked for directions.
I was quite concerned about being able to communicate as I thought they may refuse to speak English like other nationalities do. But they were more than willing to communicate in English. I must say though I was quite surprised that they didnt know places like Mozarts house or city centre streets were. Even so the people of Vienna were more than happy to help us. Even though I though it would be quite expensive, it was not as much as the portions served in drinks, desserts and food were more than enough like in schnitzel dishes.
Of course one more memorable thing would be the coffee selection available. Forget capucino or latte you have to try a number of different coffees.
One thing is for sure. Vienna to me is the equivalent of elegance, art and history.
You will not be dissapointed.
sites: http://www.palaisevents.at/en/cafecentral.html
http://www.hofburg-wien.at/en.html
http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en.html
http://www.prater.at/GeneralInformation.php?LI=1
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