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Exploring The City Of Vienna, Austria

Posted on March 19, 2012

Last night I got some news that turned out to make today a little disappointing. I had booked a tour for today to get out of the city a little and see some of the surrounding countryside. However, it turns out that I was the only person booked on the tour today and the company cancelled it. I can hardly blame them and it would have been a good tour, but there is always time in the future for this. It did leave me a little on the spot for just what to do today.

I spent a little time on Google both last night and this morning to narrow down some extra spots to visit. I thankfully found a couple that looked interesting and I am surprised that there is still more to see.

Imperial Treasury, Vienna

I decided to make the first stop this morning at the Imperial Treasury. Here there is a large amount of rather expensive pieces to see. From gold to jewels and many priceless heirlooms of the nation of Austria. When I think of a treasury, though, I tend to think of banknotes, coins and maybe bullion. However, there is a whole lot more than these menial things to see here.

Heading Inside

The entrance way is nothing too special, but the treasury itself is located in a series of 21 rooms inside. The items that are stored here in the treasury number in the hundreds and cover hundreds of centuries of history. One of the earliest pieces that I saw, although there may have been earlier was an Agate Bowl dating between 300-400 AD.

The collection does include a rather wide range of items you might expect such as precious stones, golden jewellery and sceptres. However, there is also a range of gowns and robes, tapestries, paintings, porcelain, books and liturgy artefacts. There are two impressive crowns, one is the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and the Crown of the Austrian Empire. There is also the largest cut Emerald in the world (2680 Carats) along with the Gold Ewer and Basin, pictured below, which is used for Imperial Baptisms.

Even though there are literally hundreds of pieces in the treasury, I only managed a handful of photos. The problem is the lighting is very dim, and there is a restriction on the use of flash photography. One final piece that I will share with you has a link to the next spot I visited. The cupboard pictured below contains keys to over 100 coffins of the Hapsburg Family. These coffins are found in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church.

Kapuzinerkirche (Capuchin Church)

The very next stop for me was a considerable change to the gold and jewels of the Imperial Treasury. However, Kapuzinerkirche (Capuchin Church) has a very close link as being the location of the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt). For the importance of the church, the outside does look a little less important than you might think.

The Imperial Crypt located within this church is the final resting place for no less than 148 members of the House Hapsburg. The earliest burial within the crypt is from around 1618-19. They were the founders of the Capuchin Monastery and Crypt, the Emperor and Empress. The most recent burial was just last year.

KunstHausWien

After visiting my second crypt beneath a church in less than a week, I thought it might be time to visit something a little artsy. You know that you are in for something a little different as you approach KunstHausWien and I think you can see it from the picture below. Inside the experience is even more different.

KunstHausWien is a rather interesting and different step into the work of the artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928 – 2000). When you enter the building you become certain you are in for something a little different. It starts with the floor which is somewhat bumpy. The art around the building on the walls is very much an interpretive work through the eyes of the artists and the way he viewed the world.

The displays extend further than just art, though, there is an exceptional collection of architectural projects as well. Hundertwasser’s projects did explore many realms even as far as proposals for different flags for Australia and New Zealand. A range of different stamp designs, all of which have been used as intended. Along with a number of architectural projects or proposals for projects around Veinna. Including one building which is not far from the museum, Hundertwasser Krawinahause.

Farewell Vienna

Today is a great example of a day that might have started with one plan but end up completely different. Although I am disappointed with missing the tour I had planned, I am happy that I got to see the places I did visit. I did get a chance today to pick up a few postcards and a souvenir. But tonight I am heading back to the hotel to pack my bags. Tomorrow I will be continuing my journey in Berlin, Germany.

The time that I have spent in Vienna has been a great first visit to Austria. If the rest of the country is even half what Vienna is, I can be certain that there is plenty more to explore. I can say I definitely look forward to returning one day in the future.

Destinations

Exploring St Stephen’s Cathedral Vienna

Posted on March 18, 2012

Vienna - St Stephens Cathedral View across Vienna

I set out this morning with no plans and more than happy to just take things easy. Which is exactly how the day went in the end, a rather nice change after going fairly full on the last nine days.

I set out this morning on the Underground to visit on of the shopping districts a little out of Vienna. Mariahilferstraβe is an area with a lot of shops and just about anything that you could want to buy. At least that seems to be the impression I got while walking around the area.

After exploring Mariahilferstraβe, I headed back into the central area of Vienna to wander the shopping areas a little. In the end, though I did not find anything that I wanted to buy. With the remainder of the afternoon, I took some time to research what I might be able to do with my time in Berlin and New York. I have limited time in both cities compared to my time in Vienna.

With what I choose to do today, there was no real sightseeing. But I still wanted to share with you a little bit of my time in Vienna. So as promised earlier in the week, I will share about my tour of St Stephen’s Cathedral on Monday.

St Stephan’s Cathedral

St Stephan’s Cathedral is located in the centre of Vienna. The tallest tower can be seen from many locations around the city and stands above many surrounding buildings. So it can almost be used as a centre point to guide you around the city almost. The building is quite distinctive and is fascinating.

Tour Options

There are some different options offered when it comes to seeing the cathedral. You can walk into the church and see the interior without paying. However, you need to pay if you want to see the whole interior. There are some different options for tours varying from €4.50 up to €17.90. (updated April 2017)

The tour option I selected was the all inclusive option for €17.90. Included in this tour was an audio guide of the cathedral, a guided tour of the catacombs and access to both the north and south tour.

Cathedral Interior

As mentioned above it is possible to see the interior of the cathedral without paying. However, you are restricted to the back of the building. If you want to get up close to the altar and to see the many fine details of the interior you need to pay.

The first part of the tour around the main day to day area of the church is a self-guided audio tour. The audio guide runs about 45-minutes and takes you around the front and sides of the church. All of the interesting features are identified through the audio guide and a map. Including many interesting historical details of the church as it stands today.

South Tower

The second part of the tour I decided on was the go up the south tower. For those who are not great with stairs, this option is better as there is a lift. The lift is an interesting thing in itself; it is small and round holding maybe seven to eight people. Of course, the purpose of travelling to the top of the tower is the view.

There is another point of interest at the top of the south tower as well. That is the largest bell at St. Stephan’s Cathedral, weighing in at over 20 tonnes, and called The Pummerin.

The Catacombs

The third part of the tour, which was at a set time is the guided tour of the catacombs. Located below the cathedral, this is a rather interesting and eye opening experience. There is nothing that is trying to be hidden here, but also there is no photography allowed. The photography rule is in place for a good reason, because the catacombs are essentially a big extensive graveyard. Unlike a regular graveyard though the remains of the people buried here are very visible.

The burials below the cathedral range widely. From previous rulers of Austria who have been embalmed, the high priest from the church. Plus there are approximately 11,000 other people. The most eye-opening part is seeing all the burial chambers with the bones still as they lie.

North Tower

The final inclusion on the tour was a visit to the north tower. Unlike the visit to the south tower, the only way up the north tower is by the stairs. The north tower is also the taller of the two towers and to reach the top is a total of 343 stairs. The approach is not the easiest either with almost all the stairs in one continuous spiral staircase.

A Good Tour

The tour of this beautiful church is very much worth the price in my opinion. You get a real insight into the history of the church and the opportunity to see some great views as well. I would recommend allowing yourself at least two to three hours to see everything. If you are looking to visit the catacombs, I would be sure to check the timing of this guided tour as well. You can find more information at visits to St Stephans Cathedral on their website.

Destinations

Exploring Around Vienna Austria

Posted on March 17, 2012

When you spend more than a few days in a city, there is something that you have to keep a close watch. That is not getting complacent in how you spend your time in the city. At times you do not to take time out to relax and recharge, but I have found after almost a week Vienna is getting a little familiar. Although there is plenty more I want to see, I am also throwing time away a little.

In part, this is due to a late night yesterday. I had planned to attend a Couch Surfing event, which I arrived to find only myself and one other person came. So we still went out and got a drink, before continuing to explore the city by night and capture some photos. Meaning I went to bed late and woke up much later than I had hoped.

Exploring Vienna

Even with the late night though at least when I left the hotel this morning I had a plan for the day. I was to visit the Danube Tower, The Haus Der Musik, Mozarts House and Schloss Schoenbrunn Castle. However, with the late start, I did hope that I could fit all four into the day, aiming to be at the last stop by 4 pm.

Danube Tower

The day turned out to be a perfect sunny day with beautiful blue skies. My first stop was to be Danube Tower, I had attempted to visit this location yesterday, but it was closed for a function. But it turns out the morning visit is much better to get photographs over the city due to the direction the sun sets.

Even with the sun in a good spot getting photos over Vienna is not easy. There seems to be a great view but it is spoiled by what appears to be fog or smog, but I think the latter. The view is quite stunning in both directions along the Danube River, and you do get to see right across the city of Vienna.

Mozart Museum

After coming back down to Earth and crossing the Danube back to the city, I found my way to the Mozart Museum. The location of the museum is one of the residences that Mozart occupied in Vienna. Even though he died at a young age some of his achievements were quite remarkable. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed inside the museum, but I was able to get a photo of the exterior of the building.

Haus Der Musik

The next stop was another one related to music, just in a little more general sense. The Haus Der Musik (House of Music was in some respects a little disappointing. The range of exhibits was rather mixed with some great informative displays. However, there were also many interactive exhibits that were either not working or not explained well. I enjoyed parts of the visit, but much could have been done to improve the experience.

Schloss Schoenbrunn Palace

I made it with time to spare for my last stop at Schloss Schoenbrunn Palace. The palace and gardens are very extensive and rather grand. The palace itself consists of 1,441 rooms and sits on 435 acres of land. I choose to take the grand tour, which includes and audio guide and takes you through around 40 rooms. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed inside.

Once you get outside in the gardens, photography is another thing. There is quite a lot to photograph, and so much that is it just not possible to capture it all. In this case, I am going to let the photos share the story.

Schloss Schoenbrunn Palace.

One of some pathways from a fountain in the garden.

One of the numerous monuments in the gardens.

Part of a former building on the site.

Night Photography

On my way back to the hotel this evening I decided to capture a couple of photos at night. The first is a photo of the main bridge which crosses the Danube River. With the second photo of a church near this bridge, Franz von Assisi Kirche (St. Francis of Assisi Church). I included a daytime photo of this same church on my first day in Vienna.

Destinations

Exploring The City Of Vienna, Austria

Posted on March 16, 2012

Today got off to a great start, leaving the hotel a little earlier and having a plan for the day in mind. The great thing about the plan is that I managed to stick to it for the most part. I end up being quite surprised that the walk I took last night for evening photos turned out to be very close to my first stop this morning.

Danube Canal

Since I arrived most of my trips between the hotel and the city have been on the Underground. However, this morning I wanted to walk so that I could have a look and get a photo of the Danube Canal. There is nothing that stands out about the canal but still a beautiful spot to walk along.

Museum Judenplatz

My timing this morning turned out to be rather good, arriving at Museum Judenplatz just 5 minutes before it opened. The museum is located on the side of a square named Judenplatz, the location of a medieval Synagogues. What is left of the ruins of this Synagogue have been excavated and is now on display in a room under the square.

The museum does not contain a huge amount to see and to make it worthwhile you need to get the audio guided tour. Also located in Judenplatz is a memorial dedicated to those people who lost their life in the Holocaust.

City Temple

It almost seemed like a theme for the morning as my next stop was at City Temple, one of the cities Synagogues. There is a tour available here, which was absorbing and had some confronting aspects as well. Firstly in gaining access to take part in the tour is the most security for a place of worship I have seen. But this is not a problem considering I have nothing to hide and no ill intent.

The tour turned out to be more of a talk, but it did allow us to see inside a Synagogue. From the outside, the building looks just like any of the houses or apartments that surround it. However, once you are inside, there is a rather beautifully decorated room. I found this visit to be a fascinating and informative experience.

Votivkirche

My arrival at Vitivkirche (Votive Church) was the first of two mistimed visits today. I arrived and was not able to visit the inside of the church, which was a little disappointing. But these are the things that happen; maybe I will get to visit it again another day.

The outside of the church is still rather interesting. The site is one of the most important Neo-Gothic religious architectural sites in the world. A significant portion of the front of the building is covered for restoration works. However, the sides of the church still are very impressive in the construction and decoration.

Dr Sigmund Freud Museum

A short walk from Votivkirche is a museum dedicated to the founder of the discipline of psychoanalysis. The Dr Sigmund Freud Museum is located in the house that he occupied in Vienna. For him, it was both a home where he lived with his family and space that he practised psychoanalysis. There is an excellent overview of his life in the house with great artefacts and representations of his life.

Danube Tower

My arrival at the last stop for the day was Danube Tower and the second issue with timing. As I found out when I arrived there is a private function being held here today, and the tower is closed to the public. While this is a little disappointing, I still have a couple of days in Vienna and will give it a look again tomorrow.

There are just a few more days that I am in Vienna and I will be heading onwards to Berlin. While I have a couple of ideas on what to visit tomorrow, I am starting to run a little thin on ideas. The biggest problem has been some tours that I would like to do are not operating until the beginning of next month. However, I think with a little research I should have no problem filling my time through to Sunday. I hope.

Destinations

Exploring The Lights Of Vienna At Night

Posted on March 15, 2012

Today got off to a little bit of a slow start after a rather late night yesterday. Even still I managed to fit quite a lot in today including visiting two churches and exploring some other areas of the city.

Vienna Card

The first stop this morning was to collect the Vienna Card which I had pre-purchased. The card is similar to other city attraction cards that I have used in other cities. However, it does work a little different in that it offers much lower prices or discounts rather than included entry to everything.

For me, the public transport pass may be useful later on in the trip, as I have already purchased a weekly ticket. However, since it does not start until activated, I should be able to use this for the last day or so I am here.

Museums

Once I had the card, I set off towards Karlskirche (St Charles Church). The route I followed took me past a couple of the museums in Vienna. Pictured below is first the Natural History Museum, followed by the Arts Museum.

Karlskirche

My first destination was a visit to Karlskirche (St Charles Church). You may remember I included this earlier in a post with a photo of the church at night (below). I included it in the posts “Walking The Streets Of Vienna, Austria” when I passed here during the day.

Inside Karlskirche

My visit back here today was to go inside and have a look at this church. I opted for an Audio Guide Tour to learn a little more about the church. While it is not the best audio guide I have used as there was minimal detail, it still gave me a bit more insight.

Looking around the inside of the church is just a beautiful experience. While there is some scaffolding in place while there is some restoration works in progress. There is still plenty to look at it with it only detracts minimally from the appearance. I much prefer seeing a building slightly obstructed for a short period than in disrepair.

There is a small benefit from the scaffolding as well in that it currently provides an elevator to reach up into the dome of the church. With a further staircase to the top of the lantern of the dome for views of the city. Also allowing for a rather nice close up look at the fresco on the ceiling.

St. Michael Church

I had passed by St Michael Church earlier in the week and found that it was closed. However, when I passed by this morning, there was a sign out indicating that a tour of the church in English was scheduled for 3 pm. I made sure to be back here for that time and turned out I was the only person for the tour.

Even though I was the only person for the tour, the guide still was more than happy to show me around. While the tour was scheduled as 1 hour, we spent almost 1.5 hours looking around. I cannot be sure if the tour is usually as detailed, but I got to visit some areas I did not expect to. Even though I was here so long, I found that I do not have any photos because the interior was so dimly lit.

As with many of the other churches around Vienna I have found the interior of the church to be freezing. It is a result of the buildings using massive stone blocks that need a lot of sun to transfer any warmth inside. The result of an overcast day can easily make the interior of the church much cooler than the outside temperature.

Evening Photo Walk

I had made some plans to meet with some Couch Surfers this evening. However, it turned out that those plans fell through, and I had a little trouble deciding on what to do. In the end, I decided to head out and capture images of a few of the buildings around Vienna by night. Including the photo above of Karlskirche along with the collection of photos below.

Many buildings around Vienna seem to be rather nicely lit up at night. But many are also difficult to capture with a camera due to limitations of other buildings in the way. There is also the limitation that I had without having brought a tripod with me.

Destinations

Exploring The City Of Budapest

Posted on March 14, 2012

Budapest - View over Danube and the city

The day started off not quite as I might have expected. I knew that I was booked for a tour of Budapest, Hungary, but a lack of information caused me almost to miss it. The departure time was listed as 7.15 am with a request to be prepared half an hour prior. It turns out that the pickup was closer to 6.15 am, and I was not quite ready without breakfast. Even still I made it downstairs and grabbed something for breakfast in about four minutes.

Vienna To Budapest

Budapest is located a little over 200km from Vienna as the crow flies or around 243km by road. The drive takes around 2.5 – 3 hours and crosses the border between Austria and Hungary. The first hour of the drive is on the Austrian side of the border, and even though you can still identify the border, there is no need to stop. The result of the more open border policy within the European Union.

Although the countryside is rather beautiful with many sprawling green fields, it is also a little featureless. That is except for the vast number of wind turbines. You start seeing them not far from Vienna, and they dot the countryside for a significant portion of the drive. I would guess until around 60-70 km from Budapest. So I made use of the time to complete writing my post for St Stephen’s Cathedral and started on this post.

Budapest

The bus arrived in Budapest just before 10.30 am. The arrival into the city is the first part of the description of the city, as the tour guide describes it is, in fact, two cities, Buda and Pest. The arrival from the west brings us in on the Buda side, before crossing one of ten bridges to the Pest side of the Danube River.

Today though the two cities are not referred to individually. In 1873 the two names were joined to form the name we know the city as today Budapest. I suppose it is a little interesting fact for the tour, to get started.

Heroes Square

The first stop for the tour was a short photo stop at Heroes Square, which is located in City Park. The construction of the monument was started in 1896 and coincided with the millenary celebrations in Budapest. The dedication of the monument is to the seven tribes that founded Hungary.

Vaydahunyad Castle

Also in City Park is a rather impressive looking castle by the name of Vaydahunyad Castle, also built for the Millennia Celebrations in 1896. The building is a little unique in the number of architectural styles used in the one building. It may not be obvious, but there is a total of 21 different styles in this building.

In front of Vaydahunyad Castle is a large man-made lake, which is currently empty. It is used for two different purposes depending on the season. In the winter the lake is frozen over for ice skating, while in the summer you can rent small boats on the lake. It is currently between seasons at the moment.

Lunch In Budapest

The next stop I was very much looking forward to, which was lunch. The tour included lunch, but we had to cross back to the other side of the Danube, on the Buda side as the tour guide referred to it. The restaurant was named Rivalda Cafe & Restaurant. The meal was a Hungarian style 3-course lunch, starting with Goulash, with Paprika Chicken for a main and Chocolate Biscuit style dessert.

Budapest Walking Tour

The next part of the tour was with a local guide for a short walking tour around some landmarks. There was a little history of the Buda Castle District. Including landmarks such as The Royal Palace, Presidents Residence, Màtyàs Church (Mattias Church) and Fisherman’s Bastion.

Also from this location, there is a great view across the Danube River. One of the main buildings that stand out is the Parliament Building on the opposite Bank.

From here it was back on the bus and another time across the Danube River. Where there was a short driving tour to point out a number rather impressive buildings. However, for me, the point I was looking forward to was the free time that followed.

St Stephan’s Basilica

The first spot I visited was St Stephan’s Basilica, partially because this is where the tour guide left us. But also because I do very much enjoy visiting large churches. St Stephan’s Basilica was named after the most important Kind of Hungary. Although it does share the same name as the Cathedral in Vienna, there is not link for the naming.

The interior of the Basilica is beautiful. There is so much detail in the ornate decoration, and every surface is made of marble. It never ceases to surprise me just how much detail some of these craftsmen get into these churches.

Dohany Street Synagogue

One of the things I love about exploring a city without much planning is the places that you can discover. It was not until I walked close and realised it was possible to visit that I found myself visiting one of the world’s largest Synagogues. I believe it may be the first Synagogue that I have ever visited.

The Synagogue is mentioned as one of the largest in the world with a capacity of almost 3,000. There is seating for 1492 in the male gallery and 1472 in the female gallery. Inside the building is a lot more ornately decorated than most other Synagogues and honestly it does look very impressive.

In the open area behind the Synagogue building is a memorial to the Holocaust. Each leave on this metal tree holds the name of a person.

Returning To Vienna

The day exploring Budapest has been great and very much enjoyed the time here. Thankfully the bus is quite comfortable as the return journey to Vienna is just like this morning another 3 hours.

While I did find it enjoyable and there is still a lot more to see in the area, I am not sure if I would return or not to stay in the city. I just seemed to get a little bit of a different feeling about the city to other cities I have visited. I am not sure if that is a result of arriving through the tour and not having to navigate the airport and hotels. But time will tell if I am in the area it may be a spot that I will return.

Destinations

Walking The Streets Of Vienna, Austria

Posted on March 13, 2012

There was a rather slow start to the day this morning, as I had not exactly worked out what I wanted to do. The only fixed thing on my list was a visit to Stephansdom (St Stephan’s Cathedral). However, by the time I arrived there this morning, my timing coincided with mass. So I decided to leave that tour until this afternoon and take a walk through the Museum District today.

Museum District

I did not realise just how big the area is, or maybe this is just how I thought it kept going. There are just so many magnificent buildings through this part of Vienna. I cannot even remember all the buildings I saw, but there was a mixture of civic buildings, museums and churches. Including the State Library, Parliment Building, State Opera, Albertina, and many others. Along with some of the different views of the city and parks along the way.

Karlskirche

The first building that I came across was Karlskirche; this was more so an accident after heading the wrong way. Not being use to the Underground I have been taking wrong turns frequently when leaving the stations. I mistakenly thought it might have been the State Opera Building, but realised my mistake where I had gone the complete opposite direction.

One of the highlights of this building is the two beautifully carved stone columns. These two columns along with a couple of other areas of the building have rather detailed carvings. I will be returning here later in the week to take a look inside and the tour.

State Opera Building

Once I had checked the map and realised my mistake, I was able to get going in the right direction. Soon after finding the State Opera Building I had been initially looking for. The photo below is of the back of the State Opera Building because it is a much better angle to get a picture from. Especially once I found a courtyard above another building, I get a better position.

Sacher Torte

Not far from the State Opera Building I spotted a sign advertising “Melange & Sacher Torte” for €6,00. I had wanted to try a more authentic Sacher Torte while I was in Vienna so thought no time like the present. Sacher Torte is a dessert that is famous around the world. However, it is often not made entirely in the traditional way, and often just a plain chocolate cake. Traditionally the cake is made with a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam and coated in dark chocolate icing. The melange is very similar to a cappuccino, but usually with weaker coffee.

Neue Burg

Sometimes I find that I don’t quite keep going far enough. Yesterday I showed a picture of the Imperial Apartments and Spanish Riding School. Well if I had just gone a little further yesterday I would have discovered Neue Burg (New Castle). An incomplete palace wing built in the 19th century it now holds Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum collections, including armory.

Rathaus

The last building that I wanted to share today is the Vienna Rathaus, which translates to Vienna City Hall. Due to the size of the building, it is rather difficult to get a good image without some extra things in the photo.

Stephansdom

For the afternoon I took the time to visit and complete the tour of Stephansdom (St Stephan’s Cathedral). There is so much to this tour though that I would like to leave it for another day when I can dedicate a post to it. Which will probably be on one of the upcoming travel days.

The tour is rather comprehensive, including access to the main day to day areas of the church. Plus a guided tour of the catacombs and access to the top of both the north and south tour. I have plenty of photographs of everything but the catacombs where no photography was allowed. In total I think I spent around three hours here and the post will be worth waiting for.

Destinations

First Day Exploring Vienna, Austria

Posted on March 12, 2012

Vienna - Imperial Apartments and Spanish Riding School

Today is my first full day in Vienna, and there is nothing specific planned for the day. However, after getting a little lost yesterday afternoon, I do want to find my way around and learn a little about the city. A day like today is something I will not be able to allow in many cities I visit just due to lack of sufficient time. But since I have the time I am going to make the most of it here in Vienna. That being said I got to see a lot more than I expected today and have a much better appreciation of the city now.

The Danube River

The first stop for the morning was a short walk from the hotel to the Danube River. The river flows through Vienna, along with some other European Countries. Although the title of the song goes “The Blue Danube” the river itself seems to appear more green than blue. However, the grey skies over Vienna this morning might have had something to do with that.

Franz von Assisi Kirche

Not far away is a rather impressive church just back from the river. The church is called Franz von Assisi Kirche (St. Francis of Assisi Church). I did not stop to look inside, as being a Sunday I did not want to interrupt a service. But I think it is a place I will try and return during the week.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

While the above church may look rather impressive, it is very much dwarfed by the largest church in Vienna. St Stephen’s Cathedral sits in Stephansplatz and has its roots in a much smaller church built here in 1147. At the earlier date, a parish church was constructed and consecrated on this site.

From all angles, the building of St Stephen’s Cathedral is not just imposing but intricately detailed. It is rather difficult to take in all the different aspects and pieces that come together to form this building. I could imagine even dedicating weeks or months to exploring the church in detail may not be enough. Even within the smaller details such as the carving below, there is so much to see.

Vienna City Centre

I continued my walk through the city centre, through the area called as Graben, which is a pedestrian mall. It is rather interesting for a Sunday seeing the vast majority of the shops closed. However, there was still a vast number of people walking and sitting around the area. I am not sure just how busy it might turn out to be during the week, so it will be interesting to see.

Talking of interesting sights the next building I came across was also rather impressive. It was not a huge building, but it dominates the small square that it overlooks. On one side is the Imperial Apartments and the other side is The Spanish Riding School.

Part of the square in front of this building is fenced off and has been dug out to show some runs. The ruins are from earlier buildings that were on this site, but all were well below the present street level.

For the afternoon I had arranged to meet a couple of people via the Couch Surfing Website. It turned out to be one guy who is a local and a girl from Thailand. We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Vienna and enjoying some piano music in the foyer of Hause der Musik (House of Music). Along with visits to a couple of different cafes around Vienna. All up it was possibly the best way I could have spent the afternoon.

Destinations

Travel Three Days In Four Countries

Posted on March 11, 2012

I have arrived this afternoon in Vienna after spending the last three days travelling between four countries. I set out from Australia making stops in South Korea and England before arriving in Austria. The travel could have been completed in less time, but the staggered trip was quite good in the end. Having the two overnight stops along the way made it much less rushed.

Travel Day 1 – Brisbane to Seoul – 7,698 KM

It was an early start today, with a 4 am wake up to get last minute things prepared and get to the airport. The flight was scheduled to leave Brisbane at 8.20am, making it one of the earlier departures. As such besides a few people in the line to check-in, it was a very quick trip through the airport.

The airline I had booked with is Korean Air, in part for how they structure the flight from Australia to Europe. It is two flights like every other airline. However, instead of waiting in airports or back to back flights, there is a stop over in Seoul. As part of the stopover you are provided with a hotel room, and meals between flights.

The first of the two flights today from Brisbane to Seoul was a good flight. The flight turned out to be barely half full, and I had the whole four seats across the middle of the plane in my row to myself. I even at one point put all the arm rests up and had some sleep. I did not sleep much and managed to fit five movies in on the flight as well.

Travel Day 2 – Seoul to London – 8,881 KM

After a great nights sleep the breakfast buffet this morning was included. The flight today was not until just after lunch time which gave me some time to look around the area. I took a walk through the streets and found Incheon Central Park. If you would like to see the photo’s from this little walk, you can visit A Few Hours In Seoul.

There was a shuttle bus scheduled for 11 am to go from the hotel back to the airport. Getting through the airport today is a little different because technically the flight is a connecting flight. There was no need to check-in as my luggage was at the airport for my onward flight. However, my boarding pass for this flight was a window seat. I could have left it, but I very much prefer an aisle seat if possible, and went to see about changing it. In the end, I had two empty seats next to me anyway.

It was a reasonably good flight, although there was a short delay of 30-40 minutes before take off. I made good use of this time getting started on a movie and managed to fit in six movies in total. The drink and meal service was not quite as regular as other flights I have taken but was sufficient. Across the 12 hour flight, there were only two full meals and various snacks throughout the flight.

Would I fly with Korean Air again? I would consider it as an option. The stop over in Seoul and breaking the long trip up is a definite benefit. While the plane from Seoul to London was a little dated, it still had everything yo would expect.

Travel Day 3 – London to Vienna – 1,278 KM

In some ways, I have worked out a way that I avoid jetlag, for the most part. But due to a few factors, it was an early night last night, and I end up awake off and on from 4 am. I eventually got up around 6 am though and set about getting ready to leave the hotel. My next flight was at 11 am heading to Vienna, Austria.

I stopped at a cafe in the airport for breakfast and was happy to get a great meal for around 10 pounds. I had ample time to get from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 at Heathrow. So by the time I had checked in and made it through security my biggest challenge was just finding somewhere to sit. The terminal was full of people, so I spent most of the time between walking and leaning.

The flight from London to Vienna was rather uneventful and arrived on time. After catching the train into the city, I failed to find a reasonable map of the city at the station. Even still I thought my memory of the map from research would be suitable. In the end, it turns out my memory was somewhat right, but I still managed to get just a little lost. Eventually, as it was getting later, I found another hotel and asked for directions. In the end, they suggested a taxi as it was a little far to walk at this stage with the sun setting.

Anyway, the happy ending is that I got checked into the hotel and had a very comfortable room. I did head out to find dinner, with directions and a map in hand just in case it was needed.

Looking Forward To Tomorrow

So even though I had some unintended exploration of the city this afternoon tomorrow is a new day. The firs thing that will be good is no need to travel by plane for e few days. I expect to get in and see what the city has to offer and do so much easier with a map now. You can look forward to see a few more updates over the coming days about Vienna as I am here for a further nine days.

Destinations

A Few Hours Exploring The City Of Seoul

Posted on March 9, 2012

When I was looking at booking a trip to Europe, the travel agent suggested booking with Korean Air. The reason being that they offered an overnight stop in Seoul as part of the airfare. Of course, this sounded like a great idea to me. I had not been looking forward to the two flights with a few hours stop over somewhere in the middle.

Incheon

The hotel that was part of the stopover was located in an area known as Incheon. Even though the area shares its name with the airport, it was about 30 minutes by bus. The hotel does seem a little isolated, but it also appears to be a neighbourhood that is in development.

By the time I had arrived at the hotel and got settled it was dinner time and dark so opted to stay in. But this morning I did want to get out and see something while I was here. So for the first time, I headed out in temps below zero Celsius for a walk to Incheon’s Central Park, about 15 minutes away.

Walking around the area this morning it seems even more isolated than I thought. There are very few people walking around, which could be the result of not many buildings at all. It also seems much further as you are walking around than what it would seem on a map.

I did get some pictures and you can see some other buildings. However, I would take a guess that they are over 1 kilometre from the area. From this ever so brief visit to the area, I do think that one day I would like to come back and see a little more of South Korea.

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Imperial Treasury, Vienna

Heading Inside

Kapuzinerkirche (Capuchin Church)

KunstHausWien

Farewell Vienna

St Stephan’s Cathedral

Tour Options

Cathedral Interior

South Tower

The Catacombs

North Tower

A Good Tour

Exploring Vienna

Danube Tower

Mozart Museum

Haus Der Musik

Schloss Schoenbrunn Palace

Night Photography

Danube Canal

Museum Judenplatz

City Temple

Votivkirche

Dr Sigmund Freud Museum

Danube Tower

Vienna Card

Museums

Karlskirche

Inside Karlskirche

St. Michael Church

Evening Photo Walk

Vienna To Budapest

Budapest

Heroes Square

Vaydahunyad Castle

Lunch In Budapest

Budapest Walking Tour

St Stephan’s Basilica

Dohany Street Synagogue

Returning To Vienna

Museum District

Karlskirche

State Opera Building

Sacher Torte

Neue Burg

Rathaus

Stephansdom

The Danube River

Franz von Assisi Kirche

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

Vienna City Centre

Travel Day 1 – Brisbane to Seoul – 7,698 KM

Travel Day 2 – Seoul to London – 8,881 KM

Travel Day 3 – London to Vienna – 1,278 KM

Looking Forward To Tomorrow

Incheon

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