Visit the Elegant Vienna

One word that came up when I tried to describes Vienna, Elegant. The influence of prosperous Austrian Empire ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, later became Austro-Hungarian Empire, made this city rich of magnificent historical buildings, beautiful gardens, and now developed becoming a modern artistic city. Here I would share my experience in this elegant city when I visited it with my wife in June 2014.

When you arrived (at the airport)

Just like in many European major cities, as soon as you arrived at the airport, you can rely on sophisticated public transportation to reach the city center. To get into Vienna city center, we can use bus, public train (they call it S-Bahn), City Airport Train (CAT), or Taxi. I always chose public train for two reasons: first, it usually the most economically friendly. And second, to avoid unnecessary traffic jam.

At the airport, the S-Bahn platform is located downstairs on the west side. To go to the city center by S-Bahn, we have two choices:

1.      Buy a one way ticket that cost €4.40

2.  Buy a multi-day Vienna transport ticket (24, 48, and 72 hours) and an additional ticket to the city center for €2.20.

We decided to do the second choice because we would need the public transportation within the city for our trip. We bought the 72 hours ticket that costs us €16.50. Like all the multi-day tickets available, it already includes Tram, Bus, and U-Bahn (subway) that cover the whole Vienna. Here you can check more detail about Vienna Airport Transfer and Vienna City Transport

Must see buildings

The first building that amazed us was the Stephans Kirche, or the Church of St Stephan. This is Vienna’s cathedral built in 1147. The exterior color of the cathedral was originally white, but because of its age and air pollution, it became blackish in some part. This natural ageing effect made the cathedral more majestic and elegant. The other element that made this cathedral looks special was the roof. It covered by colorful mosaic tiles. At one side the mosaic formed the Habsburg Dynasty’s emblem, the double headed eagle.

The main tower is almost 140 meters tall and took more than 60 years to build.

Unlike many cathedral I have seen, this one is well illuminated inside. Natural light comes in from gigantic windows and glass ceiling, created dramatic rays of light.

The chapels inside face toward the main altar not toward the side walls like other churches I have seen. Occasionally, the church houses classic music performance. The entrance to this cathedral was free, except for the music performance.

Blackish ageing effect of the cathedral wall

Still magnificent at night

Bright interior

The main tower that hard to be fully captured and the Habsburg dynasty emblem on the roof

The second amazing building was Peters Kirche, or Church of St Peter, that located only two blocks away from the cathedral. This was the oldest church in Vienna dated from the middle age as a Roman Church. The original building was no longer stood. The existing building was built in early 1700s. This church is much smaller than the cathedral. However, its interior was amazing. The altar, the organ pipe, and the ceiling were so elegant. The gold colored interior and the ceiling reminds me of Vatican’s St Peter, in much smaller scale. The entrance to this church was free.

The main chapel of St Peter Church

The balcony and the organ pipe on the second floor

The third must see building was the Hofburg Palace. The palace complex is really HUGE and houses a lot of attractions including Imperial Library, Imperial Chapel, the Sisi Museum, Imperial Silver Collection, Imperial Apartments, Spanish Riding School, and many more. All buildings elegantly show how wealthy the Habsburg Dynasty was. They were huge, spacious and beautifully artistic. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside of most of them. However, you must take tons of pictures outside of every buildings.

I visited the Sisi Museum, the Imperial Silver Collection, and the Imperial Apartments. All three were built in the honor of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi. These attractions exhibit Sisi’s history since she was born in 1837 until assassinated in Geneva in 1898. She was the most beautiful empress at her time. She was also known as the Empress who encouraged Austrian empire to “rescue” Hungary. The empire then became Austo-Hungarian Empire in 1867.

The entrance was €11.50 including audio guide and covering all three attractions. The tour in the palace was around 3 hours long. You can find more detail here.

One of the building at the Hofburg Palace complex

The fourth and the most important building to see was the Schonbrunn Palace. It was the head to head competitor of Versailles, seriously. It was a royal hunting lodge and transformed into a palace in 1630s. The Schonbrunn Palace complex has a HUGE garden that houses a maze, zoo, and the Gloriette where you can see the view of the Palace and the city of Vienna. Again, the Habsburg Dynasty shows how wealthy they were.

The are several tickets available, each with different features and benefits. I am suggesting the €21.5 Classic Pass Plus ticket. This ticket includes most of the main attractions except the Zoo. In addition, we can attend the how to make Apple Strudle show. I took around six hours for us to visit this palace. Here you can find more info about the Classic Pass Plus ticket.

In front of  Schonbrunn Palace

The garden at the center of the park and the Gloriette on top of the hill

On of the garden at Schonbrunn Palaece

Schonbrunn Palace and Vienna seen from the top of Gloriette

Sight Seeing

If you prefer to spend your time sightseeing, besides the Hofburg Palace complex that houses a lot of magnificent beautiful buildings and gardens, I suggest you to visit the old town, the Belvedere garden and the Stadtpark.

Our first destination in most of our journeys was always the old town. In Vienna, do not expect an old town like in Barcelona’s Barrio Gotico, or Rome’s Municipio I. It seems that Vienna decided to modernize its old town. Most of the buildings still look European but already modernized. Here you could explore the Cathedral, St Peter church, Wiener Pestsaule (Memorial statue for Plague Victims), the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna Opera House), and many more. Prepare your camera for the elegant Vienna.

Wiener Pestsaule

Belvedere garden is part of the Belvedere Palace. It used to be the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1660-1736), a French prince that became Austrian military leader. The palace houses the Belvedere Museum that exhibit master piece paintings collections range from the middle age. Since I am not a big fan of paintings, I decided not to enter the museum.

The garden was amazing. It was built following the Versailles garden style, in a smaller scale. There were mazes, fountains, and a lot of colorful flowers. This place is perfect for relaxing after a full day of walking tour. The cost to get into the garden was free.

Belvedere Garden and Belvedere Palace

The Stadpark (City Park) was the favorite for locals. I was there in the summer, and people were act like they were at the beach. They were sun bathing, playing Frisbee, having a picnic, etc.

There was a beautiful concert hall and some statues of famous people in the park like Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss.

Satdtpark and the concert hall

Gastronomy

Because of my Halal Food diet, I eat in only in halal restaurants. There were a lot of them in the city center ranging from a modest food stall onto fancy restaurant. Some of them also serve local food such as Wiener Chicken Schnitzel. One that I could suggest is a restaurant called Turkish on Goldshmiedgasse right infront of the St Stephen Cathedral. The employees said that they use halal meat.

Another local food I tried in Vienna was the Sacher Torte. Honestly, I have never heard about this cake before I came to Vienna. It’s a chocolate cake that created by Franz Sacher. He was a cook apprentice that created the cake to be served at Prince Wenzel von Matternich’s party in 1832. The cake, later known as Sacher Torte, became famous because of good reviews from the guests and the Prince.

There were two options where you can try this cake; both claim themselves as “The Original Sacher Torte”. One was Sacher Café at Sacher Hotel, and the other one at Demel Bakery, both located at the old town. I decided to go to Sacher Café. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of chocolate. But this one, I do not like it. The chocolate taste was sort of okay, but the apricot jam in the middle ruins the chocolate taste. The misfit taste together with the almost €6 price for a small portion of cake was not worth it to me. I’d prefer the cheese cake. Please confirm to the waitress either the cakes use alcohol products or animal gelatin or not for those who has specific diet preferences.

Sacher Torte and (the better) Cheese Cake

The legacy of the Habsburg Dynasty seems to be the main offering for those who want to visit Vienna. However, for those who do not interested that much with history, Vienna is perfect for sightseeing. Most of the main attractions were in walking distance except for the Schonbrunn Palace that a bit far away from the city center. I was there in the summer of 2014, and unlike what I was expected from many touristic city, Vienna was not crowded by tourists. It was very nice.

Last suggestions and notes:

1.     During  summer, a lot of classic music performance in the parks, churches and concert hall. Some are free.

2.   Use the multi-day transportation ticket. Even though the attractions were relatively close to each other, the hot summer or the cold winter would make you exhausted. And the sophisticated transportation system would save your time.

3.    Find a place to stay that close to the old town or, at least, close to any subway (U-Bahn) station.

4.    A lot of stores were closed on Sunday, including Supermarkets.

For more pictures of Vienna, please check my Facebook album.