A Wonderful Weekend In Vienna

We flew into Vienna from Paris on a Saturday morning, early enough to feel like we would have a full day ahead of us. Once we arrived, we agreed that this is the only way to go.

For a major city, it isn’t a large airport and we were on the curb with our bags in minutes. After canceling an Uber that never showed up (and getting charged €8 on my Amex), we took a taxi into the city that cost around €40. The drive in was uneventful and not very scenic, but that was made up for once we entered Vienna proper and were immersed in broad, tree-lined streets, enormous, elegant buildings and what seemed like a forested park every other block. The streets were full of people walking and riding bikes and we knew immediately that we would like this city.

We had chosen the Hotel Bristol hotel but didn’t realize we would be directly across the street from the iconic, majestic Vienna opera house. The view from our balcony was gorgeous and it put us in the mood to see more of the city immediately. We started by getting our first wiener schnitzel at the Café Mozart, directly behind the Opera. It was an open air café right next to the Albertina Museum and a great spot for people watching. We saw barricades going up and asked the police why. We told that there were several marches planned for that day, including the Vienna Gay Pride parade as well as the March for the Family. While that sounded like a counter protest, the policeman assured us it wasn’t.

After lunch we continued to walk the city, with surprise and delight each time we turned a corner and saw grander buildings and more fascinating architecture. We were very impressed with both the outside and the gorgeous inside of St. Stevens church, a gothic masterpiece in the center of the city. There were horse drawn carriages outside but the temperatures were warm enough that we passed for the moment. So we shopped.

We went back to our hotel after just a few purchases (the shopping is remarkably good…every great fashion retailer is within blocks of the Opera House). After a rest and clean up that included watching the Vienna Gay Pride Parade from our perfectly situated balcony. The parade was split between those walking with banners and giant tractor trailers hauling moving “clubs” complete with dancing and thumping music. The welcome exception was what we called the “Abba truck” playing Dancing Queen and other hits.  We ventured back out for pizza (it was amazing) and to watch the Austria – Portugal game of the Euro Cup on the big screens at City Hall. As we approached the venue, however, we saw the giant metal fences and people standing in lines to get in and realized that the crowd was at the maximum allowed.

In Vienna, this isn’t a big problem, as there are an endless number of streets to walk and the well-lit architecture at night takes on an entirely different character than during the day. We strolled on our way back, feeling safe and enjoying a gorgeous evening in a beautiful city.

Burg Kreuzenstein

We decided to see what lies near Vienna for our second full day, so we rented a car from the Hauptbahnhof (main rail station). It was a two-stop metro ride from the station accessed directly outside the hotel doors, and we were in our car 30 minutes after leaving the Hotel Bristol. We had done our research and decided that Burg Kreuzenstein, located between the villages of Korneuburg and Stockerau, was the most interesting choice as it looked beautiful and was only 30 minutes away to the northeast.

We weren’t disappointed. While its owner, the uber-rich Polish Count Johann Wilczek, an aristocrat of the famous Hapsburg Empire rehabilitated the castle in the 1800s, the 800-year-old site felt very authentic. The castle is still in the family’s possession and has tours hourly, though only in German. Despite the language barrier, we more than recommend this castle, which Wilczek restored on the original foundations and added to with chunks of architecture from other parts of Europe. The interior of the castle is filled with medieval historical pieces like weapons and suits of armor. It was fascinating to see the pockmarked walls from World War II, when the castle came in the line of fire from the advancing Russian Army making its way to Vienna.

Before leaving, we had lunch at the beautiful outdoor café located next to the castle on the hilltop. The servers were in slightly cheesy Middle Age outfits but the food was good and the unfiltered local beer was excellent. On our waiter’s suggestion, we found our way to a car ferry across the Danube and crossed the river the old fashioned way, albeit with electric motors and cables pulling us through the rushing current of a river swollen by enormous amounts of recent rain.

Running in the Rain

With one more night in Vienna, we first took the horse drawn carriage ride we skipped earlier and it was amazing. We covered even more streets at twilight and had yet another perspective on the city. Afterward, we went to dinner at a Turkish restaurant and had excellent kebobs (kebaps in German). As soon as we made our way outdoors we realized that we were in a downpour. I ran with Catherine on my shoulders through the rain, something she enjoyed more than we expected. As the rain came down harder, we hailed a bike taxi but soon realized the mistake as we paid €15 for a three-block ride.

Vienna is a gorgeous city that is clean, friendly and incredibly elegant. It left us wanting to see more of Austria.