Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: Vienna, Austria

October 31- November 2, 2014 ---- I didn't know much about Vienna other than that it's the capital of Austria where Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand works as an ambassador. After a visit to Vienna I learned a lot about its history and charm that I'll never find anywhere else in the world.

Day 1

Nathan and I took a morning train from Munich Hbf and arrived at Wien Westbahnhof around 1 p.m. We decided that, in order to save time, we would store our luggage in a locker at the train station. It was only €2.50 for 24 hours (prices range from €2 to €4.50). Then we bought a 3-day ticket for all transportation ( €16.5) and hopped on a tram line 58 to Schonbrunn Palace located 10 minutes from the train station.

At Schonbrunn Palace we bought Sisi Ticket which included a grand tour with audioguide of Schonbrunn Palace, the Imperial Apartments - Sisi Museum - Imperial Silver Collection with audioguide at Hofburg Palace, and the Imperial Furniture Collection. The grand tour included 40 staterooms and it took about 50 minutes. I learned a lot about the empress Maria Theresa and loved the plain but elegant decoration of Schonbrunn Palace. After the tour, we went to the garden behind the main building of the palace and walked uphill to get a good view of Vienna. I wish the weather were better, but it's still breathtaking on a cloudy day.

Then we took the tram back to the train station and switched to a subway (U3) to the Imperial Furniture Collection. I just learned that in those days all palaces outside the city were empty and they had to transport furniture there whenever the emperor and the empress wanted to stay in palaces outside the city. I think the Austrian-style furniture looked more modern than those imperial furniture in the same period in other countries and it's more like what popular nowadays...plain but elegant.

In the evening we checked in at our hotel and got a quick Turkish sandwich on the way to see the orchestra at Musikverein. It was my first time seeing the orchestra, and I was glad that I picked to see/listen to it in Vienna. What a beautiful performance we got!

Day 2

The second day in Vienna was fabulous. It was a nice, sunny day, and we did our City Walk with Rick Steve's free audio guide. We started at the Vienna State Opera, one of the most famous opera houses in the world. There were people selling show tickets for Romeo and Juliet, which was playing at the time. Then we proceeded to the Monument Against War and Fascism built right on the concentration camp and where hundreds of people were buried alive during the WWII.

The audio guide took us to many interesting places, and my favorite one was Kaisergruft or the Imperial Crypt where we found the empress Maria Theresa, the emperor Franz Josef and his empress Elisabeth (Sisi) and their son Rudolf buried. Normally you have to pay an entrance fee to visit Kaisergruft, but November 1 was All Saints' Days and entrance was free.

We walked through Kärntner Straße, the most famous shopping street, and Neuer Markt, where the Donner Fountain situated. When we reached Stephansplatz, we saw the stunning St. Stephen's Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, standing prominently there. The Gothic-style cathedral was serverely damaged during WWII and was reconstructed later on. The tower has 343 spiral steps where you can pay €4 and climb up to the view point. Nathan and I did it, but I felt disappointed with the view because we only got to see the view of Vienna through tiny windows instead of from a circular platform like the one at St. Peter's Church in Munich.

At the time we visited St. Stephen's Cathedral, there was a mass performed by a bishop, so we weren't allowed to go through the barrier gate till after 1 p.m. Nathan and I just walked around the church, climbed the tower to the view point, and had lunch before went back in the church after the mass. We also listened to Rick Steves's free audio guide about the Cathedral while waiting to get inside. Normally we are supposed to pay to visit the interior, but it was free on All Saints' Day.

Then we walked through Graben, one of the most famous streets in Vienna, and visited Plague Column, built by Emperor Leopold I when Vienna had a big plague epidemic. We also went inside St. Peter's Church, and I really admired the oval painting on the church's ceiling. After that we walked to Kohlmarkt and we popped into the famous Demel Bakery where the Habsburg family got their sweets. Everything looked good, but I didn't eat anything because I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted.

Finally we got to Hofburg Palace, the major tourist site of Vienna. Here we used our Sisi tickets and went in the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and the Imperial Silver Collection. The audio guide was included. I especially loved the Sisi Museum because I really learned a lot about this beautiful empress. I like it when the museum only focuses on one person instead of an entire family because I have no background knowledge about the Austrian royal family and it was confusing when the audio guide referred to many names, often different people with the same name...

After all the tours in Hofburg Palace, we went to Naschmarkt and hoped to have interesting Austrian dinner there. Unfortunately the market was closed due to the holiday, so we just went to a Chinese restaurant and got a quick dinner.

Day 3

The last day in Vienna was a little disappointing. The weather was bad...foggy and cold. We started the day at Albertina Art Museum which houses over 60,000 drawings and almost a million graphic works since the Late Gothic era to present days. I liked the Habsburg Staterooms but less on the exhibits and art galleries.

Then we went to Belvedere Palace and visited the Upper Belvedere which is like an imperial painting gallery. I liked most of the art pieces there, especially the Realism Collections. We also strolled through the garden and went down to the Lower Beledere but didn't go inside. Later we took a tram to Vienna City Hall and found that they were preparing for a Christmas market.

Overall, our trip to Vienna was wonderful. We learned a lot about the royal family, listened to beautiful music and saw some great art. Vienna is really a hub of European arts and culture, and I think everyone should visit once if you are in Europe.