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четверг, 12 ноября 2015 г.

Vienna: Impressions Cocktail

Just fancy! I used to say ‘I’ve never been abroad’, and beat around the bush talking about my real life experience about travelling, but 5 summer days rocked my world…
Why Vienna?
The city is ideal for strolling, as every major museum; the Hofburg Palace complex; Austria's grandest cathedral; and the top shops, restaurants and world-renowned Viennese cafes are all close together and easily visited on foot.
Vienna is also one the most beautiful musical cities in the world. Visiting Austria's capital therefore means experiencing the works of great number of composers and musicians who were born here or lived and worked here, such as Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Strauss and others.
A city of sausages and schnitzel, proud palaces and peaceful parks, – just wander amidst the maze of cobblestone streets and architecturally rich buildings…
Warm Hospitality: Altwienerhof Hotel
Altwienerhof offers 3-star accommodation in Vienna located just a few minutes from a subway station (which is a bonus after a day of walking). Reasonably priced place surprised us with huge rooms and good service. Everything is very comfortable and almost spotlessly clean. The staff is polite and attentive, friendly and helpful. Free buffet breakfast is excellent, fresh, tasty and plentiful, with a good selection of cheese, ham and bread, juices and teas. While having a breakfast you are enjoying soft classical music. 
It was a pleasure to talk to the hotel manager Panus, who spoke in English, and patiently helped us with directions and Internet access. We loved every minute of being here, because our stay in Vienna became more memorable due to this hotel. Highly recommended!
Austria’s architectural highlights
St. Stephen's Cathedral
A gorgeous and majestic building with mixed Gothic and Roman architectural styles is one of the city's most recognized symbols: a spectacular cathedral treasure with crowds of tourists coming and going... I can hardly be able to describe its unreal magnificence and impressiveness. This is a bit of wow moment, when you first see it.
Schoenbrunn Palace

We enjoyed spending about four hours walking around this really a royal place. I’ve got a taste of an over-the-top palace and garden literally fit for a king (and a queen). It's very peaceful and there's a good view of the city up the hill behind the palace. Just the photographer's delight! We didn’t visit the interior but decided to enjoy the sights outdoors walking along the gardens and maze. It was a fantastic day I would never forget.

Belvedere Palace

Unbelievably wonderful palace! You may walk between upper and lower Belvedere, visit both and enjoy the loveliest relaxing gardens with their awesome fountains and statues. Not to forget the Galleries where you can admire the work of the iconic Gustav Klimt and Van Gogh, but that's another story!


Hofburg - Imperial Palace
A breathtaking and huge place to wander around and check out the amazing architecture. You simply cannot avoid it walking through the city centre. Lots of things to see and learn of the Austrian royals. It almost feels as if you are in that period.
The Hundertwasser House
Wanna be different from the imprisoned, enslaved, standardised man who lives the next door? Welcome to the Hundertwasser House – the first house with window right. The Austrian artist designed eight window types, which are of varying height and width and which are mounted irregularly in the walls, so that one gets the impression as if the windows were dancing of their own free will.
Uneven floor, beautiful columns, colorfully decorated exterior facade and the hanging gardens are the contrary of the modern emotionless and cold buildings.
Green Vienna: delightfull walk
Stadtpark
Green lush meadows, flowers, plants, exotic shady trees to sit under & a large pond with ducks & swans swimming, make it an oasis in the center of the city. It was nice to see people relaxing, children playing & feeding the ducks.
Many monuments & sculptures of artists, composers & writers scattered throughout the park like the most photographed gold plated bronze statue of Johann Strauss playing his violin, along with Schubert, Hans Schindler & Bruckner etc. 

Stadtpark has two large playgrounds, one for younger kids and one for elder.
The park is a worthwhile place to relax & refresh in between visiting many surrounding attractions. Moreover, it’s free of charge. 
People's Park (Volksgarten)

Beautiful and well-kept gardens near the parliament building and Hofburg Palace. 

You would feel like you are in a different world. No noisy cars and traffic, just the rose garden, grass, fountains and monuments. 

There are chairs and benches everywhere to sit and enjoy the colours and smells.
Magical roses were in full bloom…
Vienna Woods
Just a few kilometers out of the city of Vienna, we took the tour that drives besides the woods with breathtaking landscape with little villages, monasteries, and churches. If you are visiting the Vienna Woods, you need to stop near an ancestral home of the Liechtenstein royal family. It is extremely photogenic from a distance. 

You are also very close to the Seegrotte, a beautiful underground lake with the crystal-clear water. The boat ride, taking you through the cave openings and passing a lovely fountain, is the highlight of the tour. It’s only +9 °C throughout a year in the mine, so dress appropriately or you can take a light blanket for €0,5 entering the mine.
Heiligenkreuz Abbey, the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monastery in the world, is located in the place filled with interesting history and picturesque artwork.
Kurpark, Baden near Vienna
Pretty flowerbeds and trees, cozy places for relaxing, a memorial to Mozart and Beethoven, lawn areas and paths to wander along, and gorgeous views over the town. You may test your luck in Casino Baden.
Tiergarten Schoenbrunn - Zoo Vienna
Vast range of animals; great; very roomy and natural enclosures made us love every minute in this picturesque zoo, that is wonderfully located near the Schoenbrunn Palace and is equally interesting for both children and grown-ups. The stuff takes care of the animals in a very adequate way. Take comfortable shoes, camera, and enjoy! 
Entry fee of EUR 16 is rather high, however worth it – mainly for seating in the cylindrical underwater viewing area in front of a lovely polar bear, seeing three relaxed Pandas eating the cane, visiting a marvelous tropical forest, penguin pool and aquarium.
 Great themed playgrounds in the zoo:
 Wonderland of fun: Prater
The place is a much bigger than I thought it would be, with a large selection of attractions and rides that took me somewhat back to my childhood, excitement at the fair. An old-fashioned Ferris wheel is its highlight. We visited Prater after getting dark, which in my opinion is be the best time as the attractions are lit up very nicely.
There are modern (like few roller coasters) and old school attractions, like the original wooden slide or the pony ride. 
I’m not a fan of thrill crazy rides, moreover, they scare me (by the way, most of them cost €4 or €5), however I find this park one of the best places for evening hangouts.
Viennese food
Traditional Austrian food and a brewery, affordable price and truly huge portions – it’s all about Salm Brau, extremely recommended if you are in the neighborhood of the Belvedere Palace. The service was excellent and the multilingual staff with English menus made it all very easy. 

Apple Strudel ("Apfelstrudel"), that gained prominence in Vienna, 
is a beautiful dessert: feel the satisfaction of sweet, 
baked apples in thin dough (buttery), served with whipped cream.
The drinks and food are reasonable in Biergartl im Stadtpark, however, my husband wasn’t satisfied with ribs served in 10 minutes (which we found a little bit suspicious) – not bad but not too good either. I guess you pay more for the location, that is really nice there.

Could you cope with this great dessert in Klostergasthof Heiligenkreuz?
Although small and with undistinguished entrance, restaurant Mini with European, Austro-Hungarian kitchen is just amazing. The portions were generous and the quality of the ingredients was excellent. It was a surprise to get a meatball on the house before our meal! 
A city of surprises/ Ready for Freddy
Vienna is incredible city. You can simply turn on the tap and enjoy mountain spring water. Make sure that trees are particularly respected there: most of them are numbered. It's ordinary in Vienna to see Russian street musicians, dog parks, bicycle parking, or have your haircut for €30. It was rather strange for me as a person who got used to annoyed crowd in Ukrainian subway that carries you on and out from the train, to face just the opposite thing: people in Vienna are quiet and easy, you can hardly see somebody hurrying up outside.
Crazy about cars? Just fancy: the most extraordinary hot Viennese cars are just in front of you!



It was really the most amazing gift in my life - I would like to thank my Honey for it!

















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