Despite being 3.5 hours late, my NightJet from Hamburg finally pulled into Vienna Hauptbahnhof, and I emerged a little weary, but excited for the next stop. The last time I was in Vienna was in 2012, and so I figured this would be an opportunity to see if the city had changed much at all.
My comfortable couchette on the Nightjet from Hamburg
I dropped my things off at the apartment I was staying at, then immediately made my way down to St Stephensplatz, home to the enormous church that is one of Vienna’s main focal points. Famous for its multi-coloured tiled roof, the Cathedral was completed in 1578, making it almost 450 years old. It really has stood the test of time – and would have witnessed a few things in those eras gone by!
St Stephen’s Cathedral – one of Vienna’s most notable sights
Nearby was Hofburg Palace, an enormous former Habsburg residence, built in the 13th century and still serving an official capacity as the residence of the President of Austria.
The beautiful facade of Hofburg Palace
As the evening drew to a close, I happened to run into a group of Australian travellers who had met up earlier in the day – we stopped off at a bar for a beer and a chat, discussing our most ridiculous travel stories, and how life compared to back home – it was an interesting evening! I also came across an interesting piece of street art, known as Yellow Fog – this was a set of smoke machines and yellow lights coming out of the side of a building, and almost made it look on fire! A very clever piece by Olafur Eliasson!
Nighttime in Vienna, and the Yellow Fog street art!
The next morning, I nipped out to grab a sandwich and a coffee from a local supermarket (oh, and a Käseschnak, which quite literally translates to a cheese snack, which is a spiral pastry covered in cheese!), before making my way back into town. On today’s agenda was the Kunsthistorisches Museum, featuring cultural and historical artefacts from Greco-Roman times, all the way through to the Hapsburg Dynasty – and given I was able to get a student ticket, was totally worth the price.
The ceiling in one of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s galleries, and a few sights around Vienna from that morning’s walk
After the museum, I made a pitstop at a local doner shop, because if there’s one thing this part of Europe is known for, it is strangely the doner kebab (thank the migrants from Turkey and the Middle East for this!).
After a long day of just ‘strolling’ through Vienna, the sun began to set, and I headed over to Präter, to get a look at the Ferris wheel as it lit up. Honestly, this amusement park felt like something out of a post-apocalyptic zombie film, as there was pretty much nobody around, but the rides would randomly turn on and start making noises as you walked past! Spooky!
The illuminated ferris wheel in Präter
To cap it all off, I ended up heading to a student pub with some friends I had made to attempt a pub quiz, and play a game of pool (which predictably, went badly for me!). I’m grateful – Austrian pubs all sell 500ml bottles of alcohol-free beer relatively cheaply, which whilst they are improving, is not a guarantee at all pubs back at home.
This concluded my short trip to Vienna – a good opportunity to reacquaint myself with a city I’d last visited 13 years ago, but also a chance to recuperate a little after a rather hectic start to my trip. Oh, and the socialising was pretty good too!
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