Grüß Gott aus Wien, Österreich!
Written: Jul 07 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful city 'voll mit Kultur', excellent food, and friendly people.
Cons: Expensive
The Bottom Line: Vienna is an important city to visit. Great musical history happened here. The city is full of culture that anyone would want to take in.
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| bsproles's Full Review: Vienna |
I've decided to kick off my trip to Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe with a review of Vienna (or Wien "auf Deutsch".)
Wir müssen das Hotel finden! (We have to find the hotel!): Our first real sight of Vienna was attempting to find our hotel. The first thing I was reminded of when seeing the layout was New York City - only with thinner streets and a seemingly closed-in geography.
There is a series of Ring Straßen (Ring Streets) which take you in a big loop around the city, and unless you know where you're going, it could take a few trips around before you find what you're looking for. We ended up having to stop at a hotel and ask directions - luckily for us, our hotel was not far from the one we stopped by, so we were able to check in soon thereafter.
Die Stadt besuchen (Visiting the city): Since we were really only there for about 2 days, there's no way I can go into a full blown description of everything, so I'll talk a bit about various places we went.
Das Beethovenhaus (Beethoven's House): Walking up a thin ivy-covered walkway, we came to a small home with a plaque above the door, reading:
Beethoven - Wohnte in diesem Hause wiederholt 1804 bis 1815. (Beethoven lived in this house on and off from 1804 till 1815.)
It goes on to say that he composed Symphonies 4,5, and 7, as well as Overture #3, piano concerto #4 and even a violin concerto in this house.
There appears to be an original Klavier (piano) in the main room of the home, covered partially with plastic. The home (really only about 4 or 5 rooms) is now a mini-museum and shows photos of his musical scores, and even a place to listen to some of his works. The cost is 2 euros, and is well worth the admission price to see such an important piece of musical history.
In die Staatsoper gehen (Going to the Vienna Opera House): The Vienna Opera House offers tours several times a day, but only 2 times per day in English.
We learned about how the extravagant materials used when it was first built put a great hardship on the country's finances, as well as the fact that parts of it were destroyed during World War II. You can see a marked difference between the reconstruction (which used much cheaper materials) and the original ornate marble and other fine accoutrements.
Directly across the street from the Opera House is the Sacher Hotel, famous for its Sacher Torte. The top of the slice is made from a solid piece of rich chocolate, with the hotel's emblem embossed into the chocolate itself. It's certainly worth the 5 or 6 euros per piece.
Im Rosegarten (In the Rose Garden): There is an absolutely beautiful rose garden quite near to the national library, which is enclosed by a tall, ornate black gate. There are walking paths throughout the grounds, and when we were there, a newly married couple were taking photos.
Das Essen in Wien (Food in Vienna): When it was time to eat, we stopped at one of many local tavern-type of restaurants which are scattered around the city. The staff was very friendly and were happy to converse with me in German when I ordered. Since I was in Vienna, I had to try the Wiener Schnitzel. Most of you have probably heard of it, but if you don't know what it is, it's basically like a large veal cutlet. And absolutely outstanding, as was pretty much all of the food we had on the trip. It came with a pretty standard side order of Kartoffelnsalat (Potato salad), which I can't comment on, as I don't eat it :)
Multi-cultural experiences: I managed to locate an internet cafe not far from our hotel (Holiday Inn.) What was so unusual about it, however, was that it was Chinese owned, operated, and Chinese were the primary users there as well.
I began talking with "bartender/manager", and realized that she spoke no English at all. I was able to say a few things to her in Chinese, but I basically conversed with her about various things in my limited German (I had been learning only 7 months at that point.)
It was really nice to be able to talk, and for the most part understand, what she was saying, without being able to use my own native language.
Pros: The people I met in Vienna were as friendly as could be, totally willing to speak with me in German (even though I was still in the process of learning), and just generally made our trip to one of the most beautiful cities in Europe just that much more special.
Cons: In the stores, the prices on touristy goods was a bit on the steep side, but overall pretty standard for Europe from what I could tell along the way.
If you have the chance, visit Vienna - very important musical history happened here, as well as a delightful European culture which, while somewhat similar to Germany, has its own flavor as well.
Servus!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
bsproles
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Member: Bryan Sproles
Location: New Orleans, LA
Reviews written: 67
Trusted by: 67 members
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