Guten Tag Vienna!
Arts and architecture, that is what comes in my mind every time I think of Vienna. It was like a big city of Museum where most of their structures was artistically and architecturally sculptured. We spent the whole day walking around the city of Austria and the history of the City unfolds itself one by one through its street and people. The city is prosperous and elegant, as if you were back on those times when the King and Queen rules and everyone should look good and wear ball gowns (as I imagine). The weather was good for an outdoor tour, sunny but a little cold (we were there on the month of June). As what I learned from our visit, Austria is a German speaking country and most of its people are not yet good in English language. But the good thing was, directional signs for tourist spots were everywhere and since it was actually difficult to read and pronounce the language, each words has an equivalent English names.
Vienna was the first City that we explore on our month long Europe trip. We first visited the Schonbrunn Palace, one of the most important architectural and historical monument of the country. I can only show you the palace from the outside as cameras are prohibited inside the palace. We parked our car in a public parking area and went to train station going to Schonbrunn.
1 | S C H O N B R U N N P A L A C E
Me with my family :)
Front view of the Palace
Tourists from around the globe
There were three kinds of tour for the palace. We picked the cheapest and the fastest way which includes only the basic and most famous area tour. We only allotted few hours for the Schonbrunn so we will have more time to visit more tourist spots and considering the size of the palace, it will take you the whole day to see every rooms and spots.
The tour didn't need a tourist guide. There was something like a headphone with a little-seems liked a radio attached to it that was given to every tourists. Each room has a number which represents on what number you will press on your radio that has the recorded voice telling the history of each room. It has a two language selection, German and English. Amazing! That way, you didn't need to be always on a group to keep up on the story teller. You can stay longer on a room or make it faster and skip the areas you found uninteresting.
Once we entered the palace, the inner views were as lavish as it looks from the outside. The high ceiling and the wall were either white or cream and with a touch of gold everywhere. Rooms were bigger than what you can imagine. The furniture looks old but still beautiful and expensive, you won't dare touch it. My most favorite part of the palace was the large area where most of the king & queen's parties were held. It was said the it was also the first place where the little boy Mozart at that time played his classical piece. And while we were there, the background music of Mozart was played and I actually enjoyed it.
The Schonbrunn Garden
Gloriette
2 | C E N T E R O F V I E N N A
We went back to the train station and ride going to the Center of Vienna. And after the train ride, we started to walk around. Yes, we walked all through out the center.
St. Charles Church
Vienna State Opera or Vienna Opera House
Albertina - houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the World
The Butterfly House
Museum of Art History
Museum of Natural History
Museum Quartier
Making sure we were not lost..
Volkstheater or People's Theater
Vienna City Hall / Rathaus
I don't know to you but the City Hall looks like a Cathedral to me. I was actually surprised when I learned that it was Vienna's City Hall. I told yah, this city was full of arts.
It was a long walk so we needed to rest.
Burgtheater / Austrian National Theater
3 | T H E G R A B E N
The Graben is one of the most famous streets in Vienna's first district, the city center. The street was so alive. A lot of tourists around and shops, food hubs and restaurants are everywhere.
St. Stephen's Cathedral
Inside the Cathedral..
Stepansplatz - a square at the geographical centre of Vienna.
4 | T H E P R A T E R
Prater is a large public park / amusement park in Vienna's 2nd District. This is where the famous Wiener Riesenrad or Vienna Giant Wheel can be found. The Giant Ferris Wheel was one of Vienna's landmark.
What to see while on the Ferris Wheel..
Bird's Eye View of Vienna
And that's how our day ended. Though we spent only a day in the City, the tour was rich of eye candies and new learning. And I know there are still a lot to see and learn from Vienna and I can't wait to explore the City some other time. I also want to see what was outside of the City. I'd been eyeing the Hallstatt ever since. Those mountains, lakes, serene and rustic places of the country. One day I'll be back and I will take it off in my bucket list.
I hope you enjoy my photos, enough to convince you to pack your things and see the City yourself. Enjoy!