Vienna is the capital city of Austria and is the largest city in this country.. It is on the Danube River on the edge of the Alps. Austria was part of the Axis side during WW II. Hitler was born in a village near Vienna and tour companies will offer to show you the home he was born in. I wouldn’t put one foot on the sidewalk of that house. It has been nicknamed ’the musical capital’ because Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Hayden once lived here.
The First Time
This review is going to be hard for me to write as I have been to Vienna three times. The first time I was part of a group that visited ’Shadow Castle’ that had been turned into a transit Camp for Soviet Jews. The day we were there were three planeloads of Soviet Jews fleeing Russia. We arrived in the middle of the night, were met by Austrian Security, had no Austria Visa stamp on our passport and each of us had a Security Guard to follow us, (when 5 of us went for a walk there were 5 Guards Following us).
We had come from Israel and all were tanned. When we were checking into the Sacher Hotel a Lady asked me where I got my tan. When I told her she replied, ’Why would anyone visit that Country?’ A chill ran down my spine and although I was thankful to Austria for helping the Soviet Jews, (every non-Jewish person, including the staff, I met in Vienna were snobs), and I vowed never to return.
Many the Viennese are very rich farmers and I found Vienna to be the most expensive city in Europe. The center of the city is built in ’rings’. In the middle of the rings is the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Inside you will view the grandeur of the Austria-Hungary Empire.
The Belvedere Palace was built in the 18th century. They are located in the heart of Vienna, Austria. It is within walking distance of the Rings. This Palace ornate Baroque Style.
The Österreichische Galerie, (Austrian Gallery), is in the Belvedere Palace. There is a collection of sculpture from around 15th century to the end of The Gothic Age, Medieval & Baroque Art.
The Opera House is across the street from the Sacher Hotel, (where I stayed the first time I visited Wein, (Vienna). I went to see ’L’Africaine’.
We were taken to see the St. Stephens Cathedral in Cathedral Square. Off the square is the main shopping street is the Kärnter Straße. It is pretty with the cobbled stone streets.
We went to see the famous Lipizzaner Horses learning to prance at their training school.
The Schönbrunn Palace was the summer home of the Imperial Family. It is surrounded with lovely gardens and has a lot of fountains.
There are a million and one coffeehouses that serve delicious home that make pastry. Many try and copy the Sachor Torte and I have no idea why because I found it dry, too expensive and over rated.
The ceiling at the Art Museum over shadows the collections. Every room had a sculptured a hand painted ceiling that were designed to match the artwork in that room.
After the Opera we went to eat in the old Jewish area. I was dark and gloomy because there were no streetlights. The food at the Cafe we ate in was wonderful.
The Second Trip
I returned to Vienna for two days. We stayed at the Inter-continental Hotel on the edge of the largest rings. The staff here was much nicer than they were at the Sacher Hotel.
I was part of a Group going to see the infamous Mathauseen a ’work’ Camp that became a ’death’ Camp at the end of WW II. I will write a separate review on this trip later.
My Third Trip
I had to come back to Austria because it was part of the tour and we were here for 2 days. The Hotel we stayed at was the Baroque Palace Hotel, (it once was a Palace), and is over 300 years old. It is in the center of the city surround by parks. I couldn’t believe that we were staying in a five star hotel! The Front Desk Staff look startled when they saw MM and all her flowers. The sent a bellboy to carry them for her.
I did not take the day tour with the group as I had seen every place (and more), that they were visiting. I also did not go down for breakfast and ordered bacon, eggs and toast from room service.
I did eat breakfast the second day at the hotel. We were served a salty bun, (instead of the plan ones we had on the rest of the tour), that was wonderful.
The second day was a free day and we went to look at the shops. We couldn’t afford anything. We stopped at a Coffeehouse to have lunch of 5 different type of pastries, (each of us choice a different type and we shared). When we returned we opened a bottle of scotch, ordered tea and drank a toast to each other until we finished the bottle.
The first night dinner was at the Hotel and after dinner our friends joined us at a Nightclub in the basement of the Court House.
The second evening we had paid for the option of having dinner at a farmhouse. We were served veal, red cabbage and spatula, (a tiny potato dumpling). After dinner a band came to entertain us. ‘Chico’ was only around when he had to be.
SOME THOUGHTS
Vienna is a beautiful City. I am sure if you were not Jewish you would enjoy visiting here. I know that this is the last time I will visit Vienna.
©LL