Vienna, Austria’s imperial capital, located east side on the Danube River, known for its famous music legends including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud.
Austria is always a part of my childhood, having watched Sound of Music and fallen in love with the musical just like every child and adult.
I have 48 hours in Vienna and I hope to see as much as I can in this little time. Getting around is super easy, and a 24hrs public transport ticket cost €8 ish. It is mid October and I have just arrived Vienna from Prague this evening and decide to take an evening walk in the city center. I expect to do lots of walking around the city center, so I am wearing very comfortable shoes but also warm as the weather is about 8 degrees Celsius.
1. Stephansplatz, a Square in Vienna’s center named after its most popular building, the Stephansdom or St Stephen’s Cathedral, Seat of the archbishop of Vienna and one of the tallest churches in the world. Amazing architecture, I was in awe staring at this worship place and looking at the decor inside the cathedral.
Stephansplatz
2. Vermählungsbrunnen or Wedding fountain at Hoher Markt Square is a short walk from st Stephens cathedral. Vermählungsbrunnen was to become an actual fountain and the basins were made from marble from the town of Adnet in Salzburg (a traditional source of marble for Austria till date). There is a total of four basins, embracing the statues of Mary, Joseph and the High Priest. It is a wedding scene of Mary and Joseph, a very unusual motive in art. Four angles on each corner of the Vermählungsbrunnen hold the columns that built up to a baldachin made of brass. The statues were made by the Venetian artist Antonio Corradini.
The Hoher Markt Square is one of the oldest squares in Vienna – in a sense, as it is known to even predate the city of Vienna. It was part of the Roman army camp Vindobona.
Vienna Opera House holds concerts featuring the works of Mozart, Beethoven and many more. I love opera and if you are in Vienna when there is a concert, it is good to see one.
4. Watch moving figures at the Ankeruhr or Anker clock every hour with music. It’s also called the musical clock. It is kinda eerie at night but very interesting to watch 😑.
The interesting part of this clock is that there are 12 celebrity copper figures from Vienna′s history and each hour, one of the figures (or couples) become visible and on that hour, a musical tune matching the figure is heard. The clock’s musical show starts at noon and all the figures with their respective tunes make a round.
1-2: The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius 2-3: Karl der Große (Charlemagne) 3-4: Duke Leopold VI (The Glorious) and his wife Theodora 4-5: Walther von der Vogelweide, Medieval minstrel singer 5-6: King Rudolf of Habsburg and his wife Anna von Hohenberg 6-7: Meister Hans Puchsbaum 7-8: Emperor Maximilian I 8-9: Mayor Johann Andreas von Liebenberg 9-10: Count Rüdiger von Starhemberg 10-11: Prince Eugene of Savoy 11-12: Empress Maria Theresia and Franz Stephan of Lorraine 12-1: Joseph Haydn
The Hundertwasser house is colorful apartment building built by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I think the paint is wearing off but it is a beautiful piece of architecture and holds quite the history.
6. Karlskirche: According to wiki, The Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus, commonly called the Karlskirche (English: St. Charles Church), is a baroque style church located on the south side of Karlsplatz – a town square – in Vienna, Austria. It is widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one of the city’s greatest buildings. In 1713, one year after the last great plague epidemic, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers. The church is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, one of the great counter-reformers of the sixteenth century.
7. Majolikahaus von Otto Wagner is an apartment building which shows some of the most classic details of Art Nouveau style of “Viennese Secession” in the 20th century. The Majolikahaus is Adjacent to the Naschmarkt, a market area famous for sorts of luxurious and gourmet food and produce. If you like food like me, then you better head there!!
8. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – You cannot go to Austria and not have Mozart all up in your face (It’s like Elvis Presley in Mississippi). He was born in Salzburg – which I plan to visit when next I’m in Austria or in Munich as it is about 2 hours by train – and he is definitely one of Austria’s pride. He has a marble statue from 1896 at the Buurgaten garden, in front of flowers laid out in the shape of a clef. You can also visit the Mozarthaus Vienna, a museum that includes Mozart’s original preserved apartment.
9. Maria-Theresien Platz is a public square that joins Ringstraße with the Museumquartiers. In the MuseumsQuartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists. The Naturhistorisches Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum as well as the square adjoining them were built in 1889. At the center of the square is a large statue depicting Empress Maria Theresa, whom the square is named after.
10. Prater – If you are into Ferris wheel, amusement rides, French fries and hotdog stands, then this is definitely for you, and me of course 🤪. They also have a Madame Tussaud’s Wien at Prater, trust your girl to hop in and spend some time with waxed boyfriends. I have a thing for visiting Madame Tussaud’s in any city with its presence.
My time in Vienna is short time which means there’s much more to see but I can’t on this trip. If you do visit which I highly recommend, then you should also see the Schronbunn Palace, Belvedere palace, Danube Tower and do a cruise on the Danube river.
Vienna is also 3.5 hours by bus from Prague, 3 hours from Budapest and 1 hour from Bratislava. The buses are very comfortable, have moderate leg room and decent WiFi. It’s always advisable to combine these locations with a trip to Vienna if you want to go for a mini Euro tour.
Auf Wiederschauen.…
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