Travel to Vienna, Austria – Episode 384

Barry Kramer

Hi Chris and Gerhard;

Episode 384 brought back wonderful memories of a trip my daughter and I made to Vienna a few years ago. We stopped in Vienna for three days while we were traveling by rail from a conference in Slovakia to Venice. We greatly enjoyed the many of the major palaces and museums Gerhard mentioned in the podcast. We also had a few other experiences that we thought your listeners might find worthwhile.

We loved the classical art in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Fine Arts Museum), but we also found the works of Gustav Klimt to be very exciting. Two museums featuring the works of Klimt we enjoyed greatly were the Secession Building which features Klimt’s famous Beethoven Frieze and the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere which is home to his famous work “The Kiss.”

Vienna is the home of the artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His style is very reminiscent of Antoni Gaudi, and his works can be found throughout the city. The KunstHausWien is a museum dedicated to his work that we greatly enjoyed and was within walking distance of his famous municipal apartment complex Hunderwasserhaus.

We found the late afternoon cruise we took on the Danube River to be a relaxing break from the city. Other travelers have had mixed reactions to these boat trips, but we definitely enjoyed the Danube Canal and the ride through a canal lock.

Of course, a highlight of our visit to Vienna was riding the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel, featured in the movie The Thin Man, in the Prater Amusement Park. In fact, we found the Prater Park itself to be a fun contrast to the historic and cultural sites of the city.

Lastly, no visitor to Vienna should leave until you have eaten a piece of the famous desert Sachertorte. It is advertised at different places throughout the city, but the place to enjoy “The Original Sacher Torte” is at Cafe Sacher Wien near the Hotel Sacher. The rich, dark chocolate cake is expensive, but has a taste that you will never forget.

Thank you for bring back such great memories of Vienna,
Barry

Barbara Cacao

I like the idea that you received insight from a local tour guide. There are many good ones around in Vienna but they are hard to find, such as Gertrude, with whom I visited the Sigmund Freud Museum a couple of weeks ago on a ‘Vienna 1900 and Sigmund Freud Tour’. You can get the whole story on http://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/sigmund-freud-museum.html