Vienna, Austria

Our stop is Vienna was too short. We really should have given ourselves a couple extra days here. The list of museums and palaces to visit was too large for the two days we had allotted ourselves. Even with our limited time, we managed to see quite a lot.

Vienna was the seat of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and later the capital of the Austrian Empire. It remains the capital and the most populous city in Austria to this day. The Hapsburgs who ruled Austria for almost four hundred years, created some magnificent palaces that you can visit today as museums.

The Military History Museum is housed in one of the older palaces and was later the city arsenal. There is a great collection of military history like weapons and uniforms. Their World War I exhibit is well put together and Steve was very excited to see the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in, which led to the chain of events that started WWI. Even if you aren’t a huge military history buff, the building is still incredibly beautiful to look at. Also they have a tank museum but it is only open on Sundays and we weren’t able to fit that into our packed schedule.

Vienna also has flak towers from WWII that you can visit for all you history fans. There are six towers in three locations. I believe there are one or two that have been turned into museums but the ones we visited were turned into a charming park. Under one tower was a dog park fenced off for the puppies to play together and the other tower had children’s play equipment and a basketball court. The towers are huge and I can’t imagine what the guns that had been located on top must have sounded like when they were firing.

The Hofburg Palace is located in the old town area and houses a number of museums, like the National Treasury, Albertina art museum and the Sisi museum dedicated to the Empress Elizabeth. We opted to visit the National Treasury and were impressed by the astounding amount of gold and jewels on display. The Hapsburg family were definitely not afraid to flaunt their wealth. A church near the palace also houses the Imperial Crypt which showcases the extravagant coffins of the family.

Schönbrunn Palace is Austria’s Versailles. The lavish gardens and gigantic palace are overwhelming. An entire day should be planned for exploring here if you want to see it properly. We of course didn’t have that time available, so we came here to see the Imperial Carriage Museum, which did not disappoint. These over the top vehicles made you want to take a carriage ride around the city and pretend you were part of the Imperial family. We had purchased a combo ticket to see this museum and the Treasury so it saved a little bit of money but they are in two very separate locations so take that into account.

The final Hapsburg palace we visited was the Belvedere, which was just down from our apartment hotel where we were staying. The Belvedere has three art museums there which are the Upper Belvedere, Lower Belvedere and Belvedere 21. The 21 has the contemporary art and the lower has Middle Ages art. We visited the Upper Belvedere to see the Gustav Klimt collection housed there which includes “The Kiss”. It is not a huge museum but it has some great pieces to see.

No matter what palaces you choose to visit, the incredible painted ceilings in all of them will delight. I spent half my time staring upward to take in their magnificence. Steve had to keep me from tripping or running into other people.

Vienna is often called the “City of Music” for how many composers lived and worked here. You will find concerts you can go to all over the city, and run across street musicians everywhere. We chose to attend a performance of “The Phantom of the Opera” while we were there. The performance was in German but they had screens with English subtitles. It was a great show and even Steve enjoyed it, though he was skeptical that he would, being the sports guy that he is. The Raimund Theater is a smaller venue but still beautiful and gives you a closer view of the show.

The public transit system is Vienna is easy to use and utilizes a combination of subway, trams and buses. The tram system in Vienna dates back to the 1800’s and is very extensive. It was all very easy to use. We purchased a 48 hour pass and once validated at the stamp machines it was usable everywhere. You will only have to show it if asked by an inspector but keep it on you just in case.

Vienna was a delightful city to visit. The food was tasty, whether you were having the traditional dishes like Wiener Schnitzel or having dessert like the Sacher Torte. Try it all, you won’t be disappointed.