Vienna

Wednesday 12th March

We had an early flight departing Heathrow at 7:05am and were in the city centre by 11:30am. Made our way to the apartment which was surprisingly cheap even for March. Expecting to leave our bags in the office until 3pm, we were told our room was ready. So quickly unpacked and headed out on foot walking east towards the river Danube.

The weather was warm and sunny for March, so no coats required. The city was remarkably clean – shame our towns and cities in the UK can’t follow the European example. On reaching the Danube we photographed a tower building I had previously seen on LocationScout (an app you can ready about in the Planning section of this site).

A closer look reveals our interest in photographing this building…

It was 3 miles from our apartment to the Danube and along route Vanessa’s sole of her boots started to come away from the leather. So naturally we had to shop for another pair of blue shoes as they wouldn’t have lasted the trip. She had previously tried and failed to find a new similar blue pair in the UK, I did consider this was part of her plan. The apartment was so cheap, she could blow the savings on a new pair of shoes – not so cheap at £101! But she’s worth it (just).

Heading back across the Danube there must have been about a dozen or more river cruise boats all moored up, some taking on passengers, so I guess the cruising season is about to start.

Back on the west bank, there was an interesting church, the St. Francis of Assisi Church.

We thought this would be an interesting subject at night, so we hung around the area in search of a bar. To my absolute amazement we couldn’t find one that was open (this was about 4pm!), so I relegated my passion for a beer to a coffee only to be told, sorry we are now closed! So clearly tourism hasn’t started in the outer city district. Resorting to Google, we did find a café on the river bank, so I left Vanessa there whilst I took the underground back to the apartment to collect my Canon camera and our tripods for the evening.

I’ve never captured light trails before, but the location of the church next to a major road made it difficult for an isolated image. These 2 images were each taken by combining two exposures – one for the street lamps and the other for the church which avoids the lights burning out with a 5 second exposure.

We now took the underground back to our apartment (which was a 2 minute walk from the station) to drop off our camera gear, but this image altered our plan.

We then walked 400m to the left of the Votive Church to the Café Restaurant Maximilian which we can recommend. I had one of the best seafood pasta dishes I’ve ever had and Vanessa’s burger was really tasty. We will be revisiting this before we go home on Sunday.

Thursday 13th March

The morning was forecast to be damp so we had a lazy start and left the apartment at approx. 10:30am and headed to the Rathaus (City Hall) but as on several locations the whole area was covered in heavy plant machinery and cranes, but I did manage to grab this distant image later in the day.

To the left of this is the Austrian Parliament building which like many of the buildings in Vienna looked very clean. So we think they must have been sand blasted during the last few years.

As you can see the weather has now significantly improved and we had sunshine and clouds for most of the day. However we needed our coats today as the wind chill factor kept the temperature down.

Walking east past the Hofburg building which was an ornate imperial apartment building we past the Spanish Riding School which our son had recommended, so we bought tickets for the Saturday performance. Continuing along Kohlmarkt street we had lunch in Nordsee, which was a sandwich and hot food bar. Like most food places we see, the food was well presented and tasty.

Nearby was the St. Peter’s Catholic Church (Peterskirche) which was magnificent inside. Despite a service in progress, they still allowed photographs.

Walking past the building there was a statue commemorating Mozart with a musical arrangement of flowers in the foreground.

At this point we were starting to feel the effects of the many miles we had walked over the past day and a half. So headed to the Karlsplatz subway to purchase a 72 hour travel pass which would cover the rest of our time in the city. This cost 17 Euro each which works out at approx. £5 per day and gives unlimited travel on all public transport throughout the city. There are 24 and 48 hour passes if preferred which work out slightly more expensive per day, but well worth considering.

Before taking the train, we were close to the St. Charles’s Church (Karlskirche) which unfortunately had scaffolding around one of the towers, but we may return another day when it rains to look inside.

Time to rest our legs, so we took the train from Karlsplatz out west to the Schönbrunn palace and gardens. The palace you can walk around, but this is chargeable, however the massive gardens are free. There is also a zoo adjacent to the gardens if you are interested. Before attempting to stroll around these gardens we had a rest in the café and enjoyed a slice of black forest gateau which is a favourite of ours, not often seen anymore.

I had intended to hang around here until sunset and the blue hour following, to take a photo of the Gloriette Schönbrunn which is lit up in the evening. The full moon would also be rising in the east, but as happens on many occasions we were disappointed as it had started to cloud over as you will see in the following images and the forecast had changed to show light rain in the evening.

After this we headed back to our apartment on the train and decided to eat in. Vanessa had a curry and I chose tortellini which of course had to be washed down with some wine. Unfortunately I couldn’t restrain myself, so the whole bottle was consumed.

Tomorrow we expect some rain, so another late start is planned and some sightseeing by tram.

Friday 14th March

Unfortunately the forecast was correct and we had rain all day, so we planned a few indoor locations and more cafés than usual. We also had the benefit of the 72 hour pass, so we could sightsee in the dry. The first stop was one we missed yesterday – the Justizpalast (City Courthouse) which only allows 25 people in per hour. So we joined the queue with approximately 28 other in front of us, hoping they weren’t too strict on numbers.

On the half hour the doors opened and the doorman clocked 25 people inside leaving 2 young adults, us and the remaining queue on the outside. We were just debating whether or not to wait the hour until the next session, when the very helpful doorman opened the door letting the 2 people in front of us in and said to us “I don’t like leaving the old people standing too long, so will try to get us in”, of course he was speaking to Vanessa at the time. A few minutes later he let us both in. You’ll love what came next…

The entrance inside was ultra secure with an open hatch and shelf through which we could pass all our baggage for inspection. We enter via a double door where the outer has to be closed before the inner one opens. Then they continue to inspect our possessions.

Belts, watches, wallet, phones, cameras etc were all inspected, but they confiscated one item in the photo to be returned when we left. I would have thought the water as they weren’t letting any drinks in. Have you guessed it yet….

[Click here] to reveal the item – my miniature Jobo tripod!

At least we were allowed entry and didn’t have to wait or return at another time. The public are only allowed entry into the main hall which was quite impressive and with only 29 people it’s not too difficult avoiding people in the photos.

I did get my deadly weapon back when we left and passed a queue of about 40+ people waiting to get in. Two stops down the line on the tram we found another Nordsee café for lunch before heading back to the Karlskirche. The inside was worth the £8 cost which all helps towards the cost of the external restorations.

Time for another coffee before heading of to the Russisch-Orthodoxe Kathedrale zum heiligen Nikolaus (Russian Orthodox Church).

I now realise that it is open to visitors, but closes at 2pm weekdays, so we might try and return again tomorrow or Sunday morning.

The next location we planned was outside, but at least the rain had eased a little. So back to the tram. There weren’t any obviously picturesque bridges to photograph, but the Zollamtssteg bridge looked interesting.

Time for yet another coffee, so I found another café nearby, but discovered when I went to pay that they only take cash! There was no warning on the door, so be careful and check in future as we don’t carry cash anymore. So I had to search out an ATM.

Just around the corner from the café was the Österreichische Postsparkasse (old post office) which also has a café. The building looks deserted but is now a museum devoted to architecture and the public are free to wander around inside. People are still working here, but otherwise have a wander.

…or this angle?

The rain was now easing off and the forecast improved for the evening, so we headed off to find an ancient clock in what appears to be the ‘old town area’.

Not too far from here was the Ankeruhr which in an elaborate, historic clock with copper accents & figures that move around on the hour.

The architecture around this area is definitely more dated than the rest of the city we’ve seen to date. Walking on to catch the tram back to base we pass an interesting cobble stone alley with old buildings surrounding the area.

We’ll explore this area again tomorrow as it’s only a few stops on the tram from our apartment. But first we have the Spanish Riding School performance to watch.

We headed back for our evening meal and to pick up my main camera and tripods as we planned to visit the Wurstelprater Vergnügungspark amusement park, thinking some ICM photos (in camera movement) would be worth a try with all the lights and motion. It was open, but as far as we could tell the only attractions open were indoors, so back we went to our apartment.

Saturday 15th March

Another damp day, but this time colder than yesterday, so we wrapped up well. We still had a leisurely start and headed off to the Spanish Riding School for our booked performance. Unfortunately they didn’t allow any photography, so nothing to show. However, we were unimpressed by the whole thing with three 10 minute routines and 5 minutes of introduction between each. Each routine was very repetitive, so we were pleased we didn’t book for the longer performance on the Sunday. Maybe ballet would have been more exciting (did I really think that?).

After this we headed back to our usual lunch venue at Nordsee, taking this image on the way which is the exterior to the Riding School (just to the left out of view).

The images below are from the Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church). It always seems to be the case that the old unkept church exteriors appear to have the best looking interiors.

Whilst I was taking pictures I think Vanessa sat down at a pew for a quick prayer or two. (She would need more than that to get back into his good books). Afterwards we carried on wandering through the streets when she suddenly realised she had lost her phone in the church. I could track it’s location and it was still inside, so we dashed back for it. It wasn’t where she thought she’d put it down and a kind person told her where he had seen it. No missed calls from the almighty though – what did she expect! So we carried on with our trek and came across the other end of a passage that we photographed yesterday, followed by another old church.

About time for a coffee and cake (at an establishment that takes credit card this time). After this, we headed out towards the University Campus but with a small detour to look at the inside of the Russian Church we visited yesterday. Unfortunately photos weren’t allow, but that didn’t matter as the inside was very dull. So onto the university and the Academic Department Building – why you may ask? I saw this building in LocationScout which I’ve already mentioned and was amazed with the architecture…

This wasn’t the only impressive site…

The day was drawing to a close and in the distance we could see the amusement park lighting up in the clouds, so we headed off for a quick look.

Trying our hand at ICM (in camera movement) I had these few shots. I would have preferred a darker sky, but to be honest we were getting quite cold by now, so kept our stint in the park to just 30 minutes.

Headed back to our apartment for our evening meal. Tomorrow being our last day in Vienna, but we hope to see a few more locations before we need to leave for the airport.

Sunday 16th March

All packed and with the bags left in the office, we headed off for our few last hours in Vienna. Back on the tram and making the most of our 72 hour ticket (which was well worth the expense) we head off south to Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace).

Vanessa wanted to look at St Anne’s church which had another colourful décor. The church was just behind the Opera House which we didn’t photograph before due to the rain. But today it was staying dry, so we grabbed a few images. You can only go inside as part of a booked tour, so we had to make do with the exterior.

Now off to Annakirche (St Anne’s), but unfortunately there was a service in progress, so we went next door for a coffee and shared cake and waited for the church to empty.

Returning back to collect our bags, we passed the Spanish Riding School building and stables…

…and our last photo of the holiday was the performing arts theatre Burgtheater. The trip back to the airport was very straightforward taking the U2 to Praterstern and changing to the S7 out to the airport. Eventually arriving home at 2030 to spend a few hours preparing the motorhome for our next trip tomorrow.