Vienna By Day

Night Sale at the Mall

To actually enjoy all the sites that Vienna offers, one would require a month of travel if money were not a limiting factor. But for us (& most people) both time and finances are a limitation and so five days seemed appropriate for this occasion. Vienna certainly offers all the attractions that great cities such as Paris, Berlin, or even Toronto offer, but only a few of the 170+ attractions seem appropriately Viennese and within budget. Here is a summary of our week:

Loo's Public Loo

Day 1. Halloween day.

Walking tour of the shopping area around St. Stephanplatz. This area offers an excellent historic view of churches and landmarks that span eight hundred years, the oldest being the twelfth-century Cathedral of St Stephan, to the newer twentieth-century shopping centres that offered free wine samples to loosen up shoppers on their big sale day. One of the most unusual landmarks to see was Loos’ Loo, a 100-year-old public toilet found beneath the pedestrian road which rivals even the big hotels in luxury. We, like many pedestrians, paid the 50¢ euro just to pee in style.

St. Peter's Rococo Style

Day 2.

Demel's Chocolatier

Visit the Belvedere. This beautiful state building rivals many of the palaces in Europe, but now is the home to a comprehensive Gustuv Klimt exhibit. Klimt, the most influencial artist of the Vienna art movement in the early twentieth century, was comprehensively exhibited with masterpiece paintings like ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Judith’.



Day 3.

Klimt's "The Kiss"

Rob deciding on the next gallery visit.

Visit the Leopold Gallery. On this day, Rob had to patiently watch in silence as Beth methodically read and carefully listened to all of the information of the new ‘History of the Male Nude’ exhibit displayed at this gallery which traditionally displays mostly Viennese artists. The other more interesting exhibit there (to Rob's perspective) was the collection of Viennese expressionist artist Egon Schiele.

Day 4.

Schonbrunn Gardens and Terrace

Schonbunn and Distant St Stephan

Visit the Schonbrunn, residence of the Hapsburg crown. For this attraction, Rob and Beth paid 21 euro to see a fraction of the residence's interior. One could however enjoy the many kilometers of walking trails and garden views of the palace without any paid entry. Beth, in vain, enouraged Rob to go into the 100 year old hedge maze like that seen in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Rob without a wand in hand considered that the maze had lost its fun value especially since the fall leaf drop left many exposed and transparent passageways.

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