Exploring Around Vienna Austria

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.