Category Archives: Austria

Today’s agenda would be based on a simple idea: heat avoidance.  With temps due to hit the mid 30s (low to mid 90s for those who speak Fahrenheit) in a city with lots of marble and very little air conditioning, we would need a plan to not become puddles by the afternoon.

After an excellent breakfast of stackers (bagel, fried egg, ham, and cheese – yum!), it was time to head out for our first destination: the flea market at the Naschmarkt. Our AirBnB host gave us a tip that on Saturday mornings, the well known market adds to its usually stalls and restaurants by hosting an enormous flea market.  And so off we went.

One challenge today would be to dial back the walking pace and use more public transportation to keep the sweatiness at bay.  Unfortunately, we were born with two settings: still and power walk.  Neither of us came with the saunter, meander, or stroll settings that so many of our fellow tourists seem to (frustratingly) have.  We did our best approximation of a “wander” setting as we made our way through the vast collection of stands, tents, suitcases on the pavement and other manners of displaying wares. We did score some good stuff:  two albums (Melissa Etheridge and Lynyrd Skynyrd) and a new lens for Frank’s camera.  A lovely iced latte helped a bit with the temps but it didn’t take long for the sun and concrete to win. 

Next stop would be something from the list of “must do when in Vienna” so off we headed to the Belvedere Palace – another massive Baroque building that now housed an art collection and was most famous for Klimt’s “The Kiss”. Not especially a Klimt fan but art can be fun and art museums tend to be air conditioned so that seemed like a winning combination.  And apparently it was a popular thought with many other folks because the first timed ticket we could get was for 2 hours later.  I like art but I don’t like killing time in the heat waiting to see art.  We would not be checking that box today.

Instead we headed back toward the Hofburg Imperial palace to get some history instead.  The Sissi Museum is dedicated to the “tragic figure” of the Empress Elizabeth which for me trumps Klimt.  We bought our timed tickets online (ironically for the same time as the Belvedere tickets and yes see the logical fallacy there) and decided to grab some lunch. Being in the city centre meant there were a plethora of options so we found a lovely wursthaus and bierhall with cool seating in the shade.  Several beers (including the yummy GF beer I found in Prague) and two plates of currywurst later, it was time to learn some history.

One downside to history is that it isn’t always as climate controlled as art. 😦 The exhibit was fascinating but not well air conditioned so we didn’t stay as long as we might have otherwise.  We skipped some of the audio guide explanations – not sure I needed to know about her dental routine – but enjoyed the imperial apartments and the replica gowns and jewels on display.  Interestingly, the narrative breezed over a seemingly important but scandalous event in her life: her son Rudolph, heir apparent to the Habsburg dynasty, committed suicide.  This was mentioned briefly as a reason for her withdrawing from public life and starting to wear all black.  What was NOT mentioned was that it was a love affair murder suicide!  This is tabloid-worthy stuff.  Rudolph wasn’t a fan of his wife and started an affair with a 17 year old that apparently everyone knew about.  They were found in a hunting lodge, both shot with suicide notes and everything.  This seems worth knowing about!  Especially since the deeply Catholic family had to pull some major strings to allow such a sinner to be buried in hallowed ground.  Good stuff here that I had to learn via Wikipedia.  Missed marketing opportunity me thinks.

The burial part of the story is important because it was the focus of our second tip: the Capuchin Crypt.  Not far from the Hofburg Palace is a Capuchin Church. The crypt of this church hosts the remains of every Habsburg ruler starting with the empress Anna (who came up with the scheme) in 1648. There are 138 coffins in the crypt which being underground and housing human remains was blissfully cool.  It was fascinating to see the various tombs – the Empress Maria Theresa and hubby Franz I have the most impressive tomb.  Sissi and Franz Joseph are also here with Rudolph right next to them.  All in all, an excellent history lesson that didn’t make us sweat.

Now that we were thoroughly enlightened and very sticky, we decided to head back to the flat to freshen up and get ready for dinner.  We enjoyed our stop in the local Biergarden on Wednesday so much that we decided to go there again.  Also it was a short stroll from the apartment and didn’t require being downtown and surrounded by other tourists. Frank enjoyed the Austrian version of spare ribs (from what must have been an enormous pig!) while I had stuffed peppers.  We declared both to be excellent.  Then it was time for a saunter home (really trying out these new settings!) to start packing and catch up on the Olympics.

Data for today:

• Steps: 19,264
• Public transport options enjoyed: 6
• Public transport options with no AC: 3
• Number of cool showers enjoyed: 2

Today we broke the cardinal rule for holidays and set an alarm.  Our only fully day activity planned for this trip, we needed to be on the other side of the city centre by 8.30 to start our trip to the Wachau Valley to do some wine tasting.

Our group of 7 led by Miguel, the Spanish guide, traveled by subway and train to Krems, the largest town in the Wachau valley. Joining us on this adventure was a couple from Chicago who were here for a week before heading on a mission trip to Tel Aviv and a mother and two daughters from outside Dublin getting a few days away from wedding planning for one of the daughters. Excellent company for the excursion.

We got fitted for bikes and helmets and then started our cycling along the Danube.  The day was clear and warm with a lovely breeze as we pedalled along the bike path by the river, with vineyards and hills on the other side to complete the picture.

We made various stops along the way for Miguel to explain some of the history of the place, the growing conditions and geology of the valley and lots of other fun facts about the wineries and vineyards we’ve been passing.   Then to our first winery: Domäne Wachau – the biggest winery in the valley and a cooperative venture between hundreds of small growers in the valley.

We had a wonderful tasting where we learned about the different grapes (mostly Grüner and Reisling) as well as the classes of wines based on alcohol content: Steinfeder (up to 11.5%), Federspiel (11.5 – 12.5%) and Smaragd (12.5% and up).  Delicious!

Then more cycling to the historic village of Dürnstein where we had lunch – goulash and more wine! – and some time to wander and explore.  We opted to visit the abbey one of only two blue Catholic churches in the world.  It was absolutely fascinating with over the top Baroque styling and a beautiful view over the river.  There are even two sets of remains in class coffins from the 17th century.  We assumed that they were local saints but the docent explained that during the counter reformation, they helped to relieve the lack of burial space in the larger churches by shipping skeletons to smaller churches to be put on display.  Most of the time, the bones weren’t even from the same person!  Makes a lot of sense given our recent visit to the bone church.

Then it was time for more cycling, a short distance continuing up river before catching a ferry across the Danube to start our down river trip.  And guess what?  There was another winery!  We stopped at a small family run winery that also has a restaurant – a heurigen which means they can only serve cold food.  The Rehrl-Fischer winery is run by a mom and two brothers.  She is the boss and chef, on brother does the wine side (vineyards and winemaking) and the other is in charge of the restaurant and business side.  The wines were very good and we opted to purchase a bottle of Grüner Frizzante (a Steinfeder wine if you are interested) which was a particular favourite.

Finally it was time to pedal back to the shop and reverse our trip to Vienna.  We finally arrived back in the city centre about 19.30 and decided we needed some food.  A trattoria down a side street off  the square was just the ticket:  Veal Saltimbocca for Frank and a pork chop smothered in cheese for me.  Add a lovely Toscana to get some red wine in the diet and the day was complete. We returned to our apartment exhausted but content.

Data for today:

• Steps: 14,983
• Kilometers cycled: approx. 26
• Wines tasted: 14 or so

We awoke quite early today after an amazing night’s sleep. Being in a place with a comfy bed and windows that actually open and that you aren’t afraid to open means a lovely cross breeze that allows for great snoozing.

We had our Wednesday breakfast a day late – mostly because we couldn’t find a good avocado in Tesco in Prague but the Billa here had one that worked fine.  So scrambled eggs and avocado toast was our morning sustenance before heading out to see how many sights we could take in today. 

The weather was partly cloudy which suited us just fine.  It’s nice not to sweat so much you smell like a zoo animal before 10 am.  Our host recommended getting to the Schonbrunn Palace early to beat the crowds so we boarded the number 10 tram at 8.30 and headed out. To find the crowds were already forming.  The palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburgs and it is ginormous: more than 1400 rooms in the place and gardens to rival Versailles in scale.  Of course we hadn’t planned anything in advance so we stepped up to the ticket machine to purchase tickets to see all the lovely sights and were presented with 5 options:  from the “State Apartments” tour (roughly 25 minutes) to the whole shooting match (roughly 2.5 – 3 hours).  Well there is just too much to see in this city to spend even half a day here so we thought we would pick one in the middle – only to find out that we would need to wait 3 hours before we could start.  WTF?  We’re here at ten after 9 in the morning and you are telling me we can’t get in the building until 12.20?  I have no idea how that works but I did figure out that choosing the quicky tour meant you could go in right away. 

So we got to see the main 5 rooms (out of 1400+) for about £18 each.  For 5 rooms.  And they got the time right:  it took about 25 minutes.  Yes, even with the forming crowds and umbrella bearing tour guides, it didn’t take that long. Don’t get me wrong:  what we saw was absolutely impressive.  And I can imagine the same would be true for the rest of the place but because I didn’t want to wait, I don’t know.  So we wandered around the grounds and chalked up some of today’s steps.  We climbed up to the Gloriette, a beautiful building on a hill that seems to have no other purpose than a large dining room.  We didn’t climb up to the observation platform (costs extra, natch) but did spring for fancy coffee and cake at the cafe. 

Then it was off to see something at the other end of the tourist spectrum:  street art!!!!  There were a few pieces we learned about in Prague that we didn’t get to see so we weren’t going to miss the ones here.  We found a map showing about two dozen spots and took the U-bahn to an area with a concentration for murals.  Some were quite impressive BUT I have to say that street art is something Aberdeen does much better than Vienna.  I don’t think they actually give out prizes for such things but I know where I’d put my vote!

Then back to the typical tourist trail, stopping for the obligatory visit to St Stephens Cathedral.  Unfortunately, we go there during midday mass where the tourists outnumbered the worshippers about 4 to 1.  No matter how quiet people tried to be (and really, they didn’t try hard), you could barely hear the priest saying mass even with the mic.  Stupid tourists. 

We found a place down a side street with great reviews for their GF burger buns so off we went.  And boy were the reviews right!  I can honestly say it was the best burger I have had since I was diagnosed 16 years ago.  So I ate the whole damn thing.  And spend the rest of the day with a stodgy lump of meat in my tummy.  Still, it was worth it.

Time to walk off the mass of mince so we wandered around the main shopping area joking about the relative merits of shopping at Cartier versus Tiffany’s. (We might as well be comparing rock samples from Mars and Venus for all we know about high end jewelry!) We stopped by the Opera House, knowing there were no performances in July and August and hoping to get a tour.  But alas, it is restoration season there too so no joy. 

One last item on the “oh you have to visit” list from friends:  the Hofberg Imperial palace. It was the winter  palace for the Habsburgs because of course living in the same palace all year round wasn’t the done thing.  We found Austrian capitalism at work here again with various parts of the palace housing various exhibits and charging various fees.  Not really feeling the love at this place, we decided to go off the beaten path and so something crazy:  go see the Danube River!  Yes, we thought we should take a look at the body of water that inspired the trip so we jumped on the air conditioned bus (love the 3 day transport pass!) and headed north west. To find a wide, fast flowing river that nearly glowed green.  Not the Chicago-at-St-Paddys green but an unattractive sludgy colour.  Not something to inspire poets and song writers.

So a bit of an anticlimax.  One more thing to investigate before the evening repast:  the Nachtmarket.  We have the tip that on Saturdays it is more than a food and restaurant space – a flea market sets up there – and we have plans for that event.  But as we were recommended to get there early again, we thought we’d see what the evening held at the market.  It was interesting:  the usual keich plus spices, candy, and olives.  Lots of restaurants including the seafood spot we eventually dined at.  My turbot with scallops and mushroom risotto were excellent.  Frank very much enjoyed his king prawn (with the head on!), monkfish, and tuna with risotto.  Throw in some cocktails and a good Gruner and the meal is complete.

And then off to home and bed.  Tomorrow we are breaking the cardinal rule of holidays: no alarms!  But we have a big day planned that includes…. Wine!  So we’ll get a good night sleep and be ready to imbibe.

Data for today:

• Steps: 29,450 (and we felt them!)
• Number of trains, trams, busses: 6 (1 tram, 3 metro, 2 busses)
• Number of foreign plates spotted: 1 (poor lost German car!)
• Number of local wines tried: 2