Visiting Vienna Austria – Rich In Culture
Visiting Vienna Austria is the last stop on our Central European Capitals tour this go-round. I invite you to read more about our adventure in my previous posts. Prague and Budapest
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Visiting Vienna Austria
Arriving in the City
The train to Vienna was a bit late leaving Budapest, so we get into the Station, Wien-Meidling, closer to 7:00 pm. We find a cab and head to our final hotel.
This time we are staying at what most consider a “business hotel” – the Hilton Vienna Park. We have points, so this stay is “free”…Yay!
The hotel sits on the edge of Stadtpark, a major city park and just a couple of blocks away from the older part, the Innere Stadt, of the City. You can easily walk to Mozart’s home from here. As usual, we take a quick walk around the area outside of the hotel to get our bearings and see what’s what.
As we walk, we talk about the things we want to see in Vienna. High on my list is the Spanish Riding School. When I was quite young, my mother took me to see the beautiful Lipizzaner Stallions. I’ve never forgotten the experience.
For some reason, I thought the school was outside of the City. You can imagine my surprise and delight when we stumbled across the stables less than a mile from the hotel.
Day 9: Visiting Vienna Austria – SightSeeing
The Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaners (part 1)
After breakfast, I’m on a mission. I want to go back to the Spanish Riding School and find out how we can see the Lipizzaners. We find the office for the school and take a look at the performance schedule. There are no performances scheduled during our stay. I am bummed, to say the least.
However, the school also sells tickets to see the morning training sessions and guided tours of the stables. We are too late to see the training session today, so we book for tomorrow. Yay!
Tour Information
You can reserve tickets for the Guided Tour of the Spanish Riding School online for around 18€. However, you must book the Morning Exercise tickets at the ticket box office at the School. Morning Exercise tickets run 15€ per person.
Site Seeing in Old Town Vienna
With the number one essential item (the Lipizzaners) taken care of, we set off on foot visiting Vienna, Austria. Nearby are Habsburg Palace and the Museum of Habsburg, which houses the Imperial Treasury. On a whim, we decided to visit.
The museum houses room after room of jewels, crowns, and vestments covering nearly 1,000 years of royalty. Most of the collection comes from the time of the Habsburgs (aka Hapsburgs) dynasty that ruled this region from 1438 – 1740.
Tour Information
The Museum of Habsburg is open nearly every day and self-guided tours are available in several languages. You can purchase tickets to the Imperial Treasury Vienna online or at the museum itself. The cost is 12€ per adult.
Day 10: Visiting Vienna Austria – the Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaners (part 2)
Today, we get to see the morning training session of the Lipizzaners and tour the school. I’m quite excited. We get to the Spanish Riding School about 30 minutes before the training session starts. When you arrive, you are given a group number, and when called, you enter the venue with your group.
Morning Training Session
There is no photography allowed in the theater, and you are asked to keep silent so as not to distract the horses and trainers. The music (classical of course) begins, and the trainers and horses enter the stage. I did sneak a shot of the theater before the horses were brought in just for an overall view.
The morning exercises last a couple of hours; you can stay for all or part of the training. Since the guided tour is already booked, we watch the horses go through their exercises for over an hour. Then, we head down to meet up with the tour. During that hour, we get to see several riders and stallions go through the most extreme maneuvers. The Lipizzaners will always be a thrill for me.
Touring the School and Stables
The tour takes you through the Winter Riding School, the Summer Riding School, and the Stables. You are allowed to take photos as you walk through the grounds, and the guide provides excellent commentary on the history of the Lipizzaners. You might get lucky as you walk through the stables and actually see a stallion or two. We did, but again, unfortunately, no photography allowed of the horses.
A Traditional Dinner In Vienna – Tafelspitz
We tuck into Plachutta Wollzeile for dinner tonight to try a local Vienna classic, “Tafelspitz.” Tafelspitz is basically a pot of boiled beef. The Tafelspitz beef is from the rump. The meat is sliced and placed in a pan with onion, carrots, celery, parsley root, leeks, and water, then set to simmer.
Tafelspitz is brought to the table in a gorgeous copper pot, and the meal is served with brown bread, fried potato rosti, chive sauce (sour cream and chives), and horseradish with apple. Tafelspitz is served family style. A must-try when you are in town.
Day 10: Visiting Vienna Austria – Day Trip On The Danube
Wanting to see more of the Danube from the water, we booked Melk’s tour to see the famous Benedictine Abbey. Tours like this one are easy to find when you are Visiting Vienna, Austria. The concierge at the hotel provided us with several brochures. This outing sounds fun and is reasonable (around 80 € per person), so we give it a shot.
The trip starts on a bus from a central location in Vienna, promptly at 9:00 am. While we book an English-speaking tour, our guide speaks at least five languages that I could count. His language skills come in handy as there are many people on the tour for whom English is not their first language.
Driving & Sailing Through the Country Side
For the first part of the tour, we drive through the Danube Valley and eventually into Wachau Valley. Many small towns and villages dot the landscape as well as vineyards. When we reach the town of Spitz, we leave the bus and board a boat to take us up the river to Melk.
The river part of the trip is about 1 ½ hours long. The autumn leaves are in full color on the banks of the river, and the scenery flowing by is serene. We take a short coach ride up to the Abbey when we arrive in Melk.
Melk Abbey
This Benedictine Abbey sits above the town of Melk on a small stone outcropping overlooking the Danube. There has been an abbey here since 1089. The current Baroque Abbey is much newer, built around 1702. But even this building is not all original; the monastery caught fire in 1974 and underwent restoration from 1978 – 1995.
We spent about two hours with our guide, walking through the rooms, courtyards, chapels, and grounds of the Abbey, learning about the history of the Abbey and its connection to Melk and the surrounding area.
As the afternoon grows to an end, we all board the bus and make the drive back to Vienna.
Tour Information
Tours of the Wachau Valley, Danube, and Melk from Vienna are available nearly every day and in several languages. Depending on the season, you can add wine tasting! The cost (without wine tasting) is around 80 € per adult.
Day 11: Visiting Vienna Austria – Home of Mozart
Mozart lived in Vienna from 1781 – 1788. He spent his most productive years 1784 – 1787 (in terms of earnings from his work) living with his wife and children in this apartment. This apartment and the building are now known as Mozarthaus Vienna.
You start your tour on the third floor and move down through the levels while viewing and reading about Mozart’s time in Vienna, his music, and in particular, his operas.
Mozart’s apartment on the first floor of the building is outfitted out to appear as it would have when he lived here.
The apartment is grand by the standards of the day and includes four large rooms, two small rooms, and a kitchen.
Mozart was a musical genius and like most, a bit over the top at times. This lovely little museum helps me understand more about the man and the times in which he lived.
Tour Information
Mozarthaus is open daily, and a ticket will run you 11€. The museum is a self-guided tour. For an additional cost, there is an “audio guide” available.
Day 12: Our Last Day In Vienna
Today is our last day visiting Vienna, Austria, and here in Central Europe. Tomorrow, we fly back to London and then home to San Francisco. We spend the day doing rather mundane tasks. DH heads over to the “Turkish” neighborhood to get a haircut and shave. Ever since his first visit to a Turkish barber, he insists they are the best!
On my own for a few hours, I take a walk around the old town enjoying the sites and people-watching. I take a few more photos and stop by a pastry shop for one last decadent delight. Later we pack.
Final Thoughts
Prague, Budapest, and Vienna
Prague, Budapest, and Vienna are all wonderful examples of old-world Imperial Cities and now Central European Capitals.
Of the three, Prague is a quieter city and runs at a slower pace. Travelers are invited to slow down and enjoy the beauty surrounding them.
Budapest is up and coming. Having had maybe the most challenging road to travel of these three cities, Budapest is now standing up, brushing itself off, and showing its beauty to the world.
Vienna is still a significant capital city, welcoming the world at its bi-annual Trade Fair. The 21st-century hustle and bustle are felt here, but it all takes place in the grandeur of 18th-century palaces and architecture.
