Vienna, not just a Billy Joel song.

We stayed in Vienna, Austria for a very quick 3 nights. One of our wonderful stops to break up our train ride from Croatia to Berlin. Vienna is simply delightful. I would definitely like to return. Not that I’ve met a place I wouldn’t like to visit again… scratch that, have you ever been to parts of Montana? No offence Montanians, but I wasn’t super into your lil towns and don’t get me started on that accent. What I’m saying is my experience in Vienna was way better that my experience with Montana. Wien > Montan.

Vienna, not just a Billy Joel song, but it’s also a Billy Joel song.

What do you even do in Vienna for 3 days? Well, I’m glad you asked because I have a list for you with pictures.

1. Go to one of the many art galleries or museums in the Museum Quarter. We chose the Leopold Museum. It holds an extensive collection of work from local boys Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. I wasn’t a big Schiele fan before heading to this gallery, but figured “when in Rome.” After going through the exhibit I found a new appreciation for his work and got to see a very different side to his paintings.

 

2. Check out the Palace. We went to the Hofburg Kaisserappartements. It was very cold, but I would love to return in the summer when I can walk around the park and gardens! You’re not allowed to take photos inside, but I got a couple photos of the staircases. The website has pictures and a virtual tour. We went through the silver collection, the Sisi museum, and the Imperial Apartments. It was eye opening to see into the tragic life of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) from childhood to her death. She is also the only Empress I know who had a personal gym inside her bedroom. Crazy lady.

(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)

3. Christmas Markets! Vienna’s Xmas markets are off the hook. We checked out two of them, one in the Museum Quarter and one at Rathausplatz. The Rathausplatz market was probably the most magical thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a huge area (normally a park) full of huts that have xmas drinks, tasty pastries, ice skating, crafts, bright lights, and everything smelled of berries and cinnamon. It was actual magic.

I particularly enjoyed the beverages. We had Kirsch wine… I think. The women who served us were dressed up in costume and would dip these adorable mugs right into the cauldron of juice or hot wine and then dump a bunch of berries in the mug after. Ending in a delicious, but sticky mess to walk around with.

I made John hold my sticky mug constantly, so I could take all the pictures.

(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)

My list is a bit short since we were in Vienna so briefly, but I had a killer time. A few other things we enjoyed, but did not photograph is: some chicken shawarma, traditional viennese pirogies, a yummers Turkish/Viennese pita sammich (fladen), beerz, the downtown, and the very efficient transit system.

(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)

 

I made a map of some of the places we went to and included a few places we didn’t make it to.

When I dredged up “Vienna” the song, I also found this interview with Billy Joel about his song and why Vienna was used as a metaphor for the rest of your life. I enjoyed his description of Vienna. If you like to take a listen he answers the question “why Vienna?” pretty quickly and then sings it.

 

 

~B~