The European Sojourn Part 1 – Wandering Solo in Vienna

The European Sojourn - Part 1

Wandering Solo in Vienna

The intense planning began as soon as I had the visa. Hours of YouTube videos and tens of travelogues later, I had finalized the itinerary of the first four days of my first European city ? Vienna. I was really thrilled by the tapestry of experiences Vienna has on offer ? the opulent palaces, the vibrant coffee houses, the timeless architectures, and the initial thought was to include all places I get to find, on the plan. Then my passport and job brought me back to reality and I realized I needed to strike balance.

The apparently lucrative Vienna Pass now appeared to be less relevant and I made a rough itinerary of the places I really wanted to go to, while having enough time for myself to soak in the ambience of the city, and slow down occasionally.

Day 1 ? St. Stephens Cathedral, Opera House, Michaelar Platz, Burrgarten, Votiv Church
Day 2 ? Prater Amusement Park, Hundertwasser House and village, St. Charles? Church, Mariahilfer Street
Day 3 ? Belvedere Palace, the Austrian Parliament, Caf? Central, Stephanzplatz (for evening scenes)

Flight and Immigration
Fast forward, the D Day was there ? 21st September 2023. I headed to the airport early morning to catch my connecting flight to New Delhi. With the immigration checks done quickly, I was cleared for boarding and hopped on to the Air India flight to Vienna. The in-flight experience About 9 hours later, I found myself standing at the immigration queue in the Vienna airport. My initial impression was the airport was quite small and people cramped and queued up for the immigration (although my perception changed during the departure). I was met by an energetic and young immigration officer, who asked few basic questions and stamped my passport.

Getting in and around Vienna
One great thing I observed while in Vienna (and other European cities as well) is that people love to use trains and trams, both within the city and to reach the city as well. The infrastructure is built in such a way that it seems to be the more logical and convenient choice for people. While exiting the airport, I found the OBB (Austrian train company) counter to the right and bought a ticket to the Vienna main station, Wien Hauptbahnhof. While the City Airport Train (CAT) is more advertised as the faster and worthier option, it costs 16 euros, whereas the OBB train costs just 4.4 euros for 7 more minutes of travel time.
Getting around Vienna is super easy with many options. The city is extremely well-connected and you can literally reach anywhere by trams, underground metros or buses. My initial research revealed that Vienna also offers the Vienna City Card with unlimited travel along with other benefits, however it starts at 17 euros (1 day) and a 3 day card costs 29 euros. But I discovered that the day tickets cost 5.8 euros and offer unlimited travel on all modes of transport within the city. It was a no-brainer choice. I booked the day tickets through the Wien Mobil app. The best part about this app is that the train and tram timings were just a click away, and I could also find routes between two places. It was incredibly helpful to plan my commute for the day.

Staying in Vienna
Probably the most amount of time I spent during my initial research was on hotels and stay options. Staying at the centre of any European city has its own perks and Vienna was no exception. The most recommended districts to stay were Leopoldstadt, Neubau, and Innere Stadt. Innere Stadt is near major attractions and is always bustling with people across the globe. However I found that Favoriten with its cheap options and proximity to the Wien Hauptbahnhof station is a great place to stay. Hotels here start at 90-95 euros per night and I was able to find a good deal for the four nights of stay. As I checked in, it turned out, the place was quite comfortable to stay as well and had a great location. It was almost 9 pm, I freshened up and caught up on an early dinner and some beer at a restaurant nearby.

Day 1
Though I had my day planned ahead, I had also booked a city walking tour, as I thought it was a good idea to get to know the city a bit better. Ironically, I was not able to wake up early enough to catch the tour on time, following the exhaustion from the day of travel. I felt quite stupid but took the liberty to have an elaborate breakfast and set out for Day 1, starting with the iconic St. Stephens Cathedral. I had booked a Day ticket for the day. It was a bright and sunny morning, I walked to the Wien Hauptbahnhof station and took the U1 underground to Stephanzplatz. As I exited the metro station, there it was, standing tall in all its glory ? the St. Stephen?s Cathedral. Set in the heart of the vibrant Stephanzplatz, this cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece from the 12th century and its towering spire and intricate details are truly breathtaking. The cathedral was buzzing with tourists around the world, many of them on guided tours to know more about the history of the cathedral. The cathedral had access to its twin towers - the North Tower and the South Tower, which offers magnificent view of the Vienna skyline. I bought a ticket to the North Tower for 7 Euros, and to this date, am still enamoured by the spectacular view of the Viennese skyline.

After exploring the streets and lanes around, I started walking towards the Vienna Opera House. I didn?t fancy attending a concert there but just wanted to admire the beautiful architecture. But if you are a music aficionado, you must get the tickets to one. The tickets are sold right outside the Opera House.

A short walk from the Opera House led me to Albertina and then Michaelar Platz. Albertina is a must visit for the art lovers and plenty of exhibitions go on here. Michaelar Platz, a really pretty and vibrant square is the gateway to the Hofburg Palace, Sisi Museum and the National Library. Each of these places are architectural marvels and one could spend an entire day visiting these places. The entire premise is vast, and offers great perspectives of these places.

The exit from Michaelar Platz found be amidst the lush greenery of Burrgarten. This is a great place to sit down and recharge, take a stroll or to read a book in the shadows, admiring the sculpture of Mozart. Right opposite Burrgarten is MuseumQuartier, where one can find the museum according to their taste. The most notable one is the Museum of Natural History, which boasts an impressive collection of over 30 million specimens and artifacts, offering visitors a fascinating journey through the history of our planet and its diverse life forms.

My final stop for the day was the Votiv Church also known as the White Church. This neo-Gothic marvel, built in the 18th century, with its twin spires and beautiful stained glass, was awe-inspiring and is a testament to Vienna's architectural splendor. While St. Stephens Cathedral is bustling with people, I enjoyed the ambience of Votiv Church more and sat down for some quiet time. It was late afternoon already as I walked out of the church and it called for some scrumptious lunch at a traditional Viennese caf?. I tried some schnitzel (which I didn?t like a lot honestly) but the disappointment was made up by the Viennese coffee and the apple strudel.

I walked my way back to the hotel, observing life in Vienna and taking photos. It was late evening as I reached the hotel and it was time to call it a day after some dinner. The Wien Hauptbahnhof was a convenient place to catch on a dinner, it had outlets which offer cuisines of all types, at quite a reasonable price. Ironically, I was craving for some Thai food, and ordered a Thai chicken red curry for 10.4 euros.

Day 2
With some of the major attractions at the heart of Vienna checked out, it was time to move to the city outskirts on Day 2 with the Prater Amusement Park. I am a sucker for pretty skylines and the primary reason to visit this place was to take a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel and be spellbound by a magnificent vista of the Vienna skyline, although, I must admit that the atmosphere here was extremely lively and vibrant, full of fun and frolic and I suppose, it will be enjoyable for all age groups, especially kids. I had purchased skip the line tickets ahead from GetYourGuide for 14 euros to avoid the rush. The Vienna sky was a bit grey and moody, and served as the perfect backdrop to the yellowish autumn leaves.

Before coming to Vienna, I had heard a lot about the Hundertwasser House and was intrigued by its unique architecture. So I had made it a point to check out this place while in Vienna. This house was designed by the Austrian artist Freidensreich Hundertwasser and is a symbolism of organic forms and individuality and freedom. You would find no two windows similar, the building is a melting pot of vibrant colors, and the trees growing out of the balconies blend seamlessly with the architecture. Right across the house is the Hundertwasser Village, home to multiple shops from where you can pick up your favourite Vienna souvenirs.

After catching up on some food and rest, it was time to take the underground to Karlzplatz and visit St. Charles? Church. St. Charles? Church, with its grand Baroque architecture, stands as one of Vienna's most striking landmarks. I was admiring the majestic twin columns and the soaring dome from the outside and little did I know what was awaiting me inside. As I purchased the entry ticket for 9.5 euros and stepped inside, my jaws dropped. The breathtaking interior adorned with vibrant frescoes and intricate details is such a testimony to the exquisite artistic brilliance. As I climbed up the stairs to reach the top of the dome, I caught an unparalleled glimpse of Vienna's skyline. Probably these 9.5 euros were my best spend in Vienna.

My next stop was Mariahilfer street, one of the main shopping streets of Vienna and also amongst the longest streets of the city. This street is doted with the who?s who of the fashion brands and the best part is that the street is largely pedestrian, which makes window shopping enjoyable as well. I had also expected late September in Europe to be a bit colder, and had carried quite many winter clothes. It turned out, summer was far from gone, and I was running out of shirts to wear. But looking at the prices and the designs (or the lack thereof), I started loving my winter clothes more. The window shopping spree culminated into a nice evening at Aida Konditorei with some lip-smacking Viennese coffee and apple strudel.

Day 3
One of the top attractions of Vienna is its lavish palaces. The most visited one is Schonbrunn Palace, followed by Belvedere and Hofburg. I did want to sneak in some royal time on the final day in Vienna, but really didn?t want to go to Schonbrunn as it was a bit far from the city. I started the day a bit late and decided I?d go to the famous Belvedere Palace. Apart from being a brilliant example of Baroque architecture, it also boasts of its world-renowned art collections from eminent artist including Gustav Klimt. The fact that 24 of Klimt?s collection including ?The Kiss? was housed in the Upper Belvedere had me sold. The Upper Belvedere also offers stunning view of the Lower Belvedere from the first floor. Since I didn?t plan my visit, I had to buy the tickets at the venue at the earliest slot available was in 2 hours at 2:15 PM. I spent the time strolling the amazing gardens, and eating a traditional lunch at the Art Corner caf?, right across the street. Tickets of Upper and Lower Belvedere can be purchased separately or as a combined ticket. I purchase one only for Upper Belvedere for 19 euros and had a memorable time.

By the time I stepped out of Belvedere, it was later afternoon. For some reason, there were no trams to be seen for almost 40-45 minutes and there was a huge crowd waiting to board the next one. I decided to walk towards the Austrian Parliament. This architectural masterpiece is inspired by ancient Greek style and are adorned with magnificent sculptures. How do people work out of such beautiful offices?

No visit to Vienna is complete without visiting the iconic Cafe Central, so naturally it had to be the icing on the cake for my stay in Vienna. This coffeehouse with its rich heritage of almost 150 years is definitely the go-to place for classic Viennese dishes, traditional coffee specialities and sweet treats from the in-house patisserie. I soaked up the historic surroundings as I sampled Caf? Central?s mouth-watering choice of culinary creations.

On my way back, I wanted to check out the evening vibes of Stephanzplatz and hear the sweet symphony of the Pummerin, the bell atop the St. Stephen?s Cathedral. It was 7 PM and the sound of the Pummerin echoed, captivating scores of tourists at the square. I quickly visited an Exchange shop to cash in some euros for Czech Crowns for my upcoming trip to Prague.

As I was packing my bags and reminiscing my time in Vienna, I was excited to think what Hallstatt had in store for me.

(To be continued)

PS - I had earlier documented my visa experience here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...rope-trip.html (How I cracked the Schengen Visa Code for my solo Europe trip)