Viennese Whirl

by Maxine Bates 

As part of an organised tour of Central Europe with Archers / Cosmos in October, fellow TravelSIG member Helen Bennett and I spent a day in Vienna. It’s amazing what you can fit into 24 hours if you try!

Arriving in the city at 12.30pm, we were dropped off in Schwedenplatz near the Donaukanal and made our way along Karntnerstrasse, the main shopping street. This led us to the Opera House where, as luck would have it, a guided tour in English was about to commence at 1.00 pm. For €5.00 we were taken into the auditorium by a very informative guide and also saw the elaborate adjoining rooms with busts of famous composers and artwork depicting their operas. The Opera House had partly been destroyed by fire many years ago and the areas unaffected were even more elaborate. We were amazed to discover the complexity of stage management - the practice sets are trucked in from the outskirts of the city each morning - and that the Opera House plan their performances up to seven years in advance!

Next stop was Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral). The medieval spire has dominated Vienna since the 14th century. The cathedral has an unusual mix of Gothic towers, Baroque altar and Romanesque facade. We took the lift up the North Tower for fine views of the city and a closer inspection of the colourful roof. Outside there are 'human statues' performing for your coins. With half an hour to spare before our coach departed for the hotel, we just had time to visit the Figarohaus on Domgasse where Mozart and his family lived and where he composed The Marriage of Figaro. Rather than furniture, the rooms now contain displays about the composer's life and headphones to listen to his music. Bizarrely, there were many photos of his family and friends, but very few of Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791) himself! 

In the evening we made our own way by tram and metro, passing Schonbrunn Palace en route, to Prater Park to ride the famous Reisenrad (Prater Wheel). Some of you may recognise this attraction from the film The Third Man. Built in 1897 it is one of the oldest and largest ferris wheels in the world. Originally the wheel had 30 wooden carriages but, due to its age, it was felt to be unsafe so every other one has now been removed. Before riding you may visit the exhibition depicting the wheel over the last century. It was one of the first things to be rebuilt after being bombed during World War II as the locals felt it was their symbol. There are also fairground attractions in Prater Park.

We purchased a "Kombiticket" for just over €9.00 for both the Reisenrad and Donauturm (Danube Tower), which is a metro ride away over (or rather under!) the river. The tower is 252 metres high with a viewing terrace and revolving restaurant. The food was good with some typical Viennese dishes on the menu and not too expensive considering the location. For the daring (or foolish?) there is the opportunity to do a bungee jump from the top of the tower! The Donauturm is quite a walk from the nearest metro station, but well worth a visit. 

At 9.00 am the following morning we were buying another "Kombiticket" for €14.50, this time for the Lipizzaner Museum and morning training session at the Spanish Riding School. Show tickets are sold out months in advance (see the website www.spanische-reitschule.com for available dates), but tickets for the training session can only be purchased on the day. The training sessions take place Tuesday to Saturday except in January, February, July and August. Though not a 'horse person', I found the museum interesting as it told the story of how the graceful Lipizzaner horses are bred, how they were moved to safekeeping during the war and how the famous Spanish Riding School is now run. At 10.00 am we entered the baroque hall to watch the horses training to classical music. Some of the riders looked most uncomfortable! How strange to see ornate chandeliers overhead and sand on the floor!

We left before the finish at midday in order to visit the nearby Sacher Hotel to try the famous and delicious Sachertorte. There have been legal wranglings over who can call their chocolate cake “Sachertorte” with the Sacher Hotel winning. The recipe is said to have been created by an apprentice chef, Franz Sacher, in 1814 for the Congress of Vienna. So an unhealthy early lunch that day before we departed the city at 12.30pm for our next destination. Like I said, it's amazing how much you can do in 24 hours!

First published in VISA issue 49 (January 2003)