Home to the greatest classical music composers and the Waltz, Vienna is my favorite European city. From our first visit in the rain, the magical essence surrounding this Austrian gem couldn’t be dampened.
Favorite Vienna Places
Michaeler Platz (St. Michael’s Square)
The first thing I noticed about Vienna was its abundance of sculptures all over the city. Mainly in a Baroque style, sculptures (my favorite art form) from Hercules to Roman soldiers to the Madonna can be seen. A walk around the inner first district (the city is divided into 23 districts) can save you the admission to an art museum as you can have your fill of sculptures and architecture for free. Be sure to notice the ornate Rathaus (City Hall) and the remains of an excavated Roman Empire house.
Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery of Vienna)
The final resting place of legendary musical figures like Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Wolf and von Herbeck, the Zentralfriedhof or Central Cemetery of Vienna is another exceptional gallery of sculptures. Strolling through the tree-lined paths and viewing tombstones that serve as works of art in their own right is the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There is even a section of the cemetery set up for classical music fans to leave notes and learn more about their favorite composers.
Sigmund Freud Museum
Remembered as the world’s most renowned psychiatrist and making historic achievements in the field of psychology, you can tour the home of Sigmund Freud before he fled to London from the Nazis during World War II. Most of the artifacts were provided by his daughter, Anna, who also went on to study and advance psychology. The lounge sofa so frequently associated with Freud, though, is missing as he took it with him on his exile and it now resides in the London museum.
Schönbrunn Palace
The summer home (the Hofburg Imperial Palace near Michaeler Platz was the winter home and current residence of the Austrian President) to the Habsburgs Dynasty, the Schönbrunn Palace is an extravagant destination with paintings, antique furniture and royal jewels. The gardens on the grounds offer a maze of color to explore.
Wiener Riesenrad
I love Ferris wheels. They’re my favorites at carnivals and amusement parks, so I was completely stoked to ride the Wiener Riesenrad (or Viennese Giant Wheel) at the Prater Amusement Park in the second district. This Ferris wheel built in the late 1890s features completely enclosed gondolas that you can walk around in while getting the best views of the city. You can even reserve special gondolas set with white-linen tables for a romantic dinner while you circle round and round (though we were warned against this tourist trap as the food is said to be pretty lousy). The famous landmark has been featured in movies like the classic The Third Man and more recently in Before Sunrise (love this series that is now 18 years in the making with the two sequels, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, coming out exactly nine years after its predecessor, respectively).
Music
Street musicians abound in Vienna. Walking down the street in any city you can come along the likes of guitar players, drummers and singers. In Vienna, though, you come across (what sounds like to me) professionally-trained opera singers, violinists (my favorite instrument) and cellists. There are plenty of ticket vendors all around selling nightly performances to classical music concerts and Waltz performances in ornate music halls. Walk through a residential neighborhood and you’ll hear a handful of kids and adults alike at practice on their instruments. Vienna is a great place to soak up the flow of notes.
Local Favorites
Other locations include the Kletteranlage Flakturm, an outdoor climbing wall on a former air defense towel; Badeschiff Wien, a pool and sundeck on a boat in the Danube Canal; VOLX Kino, free open-air cinema in the summer; Arena Wien, the former meat packing district now serves as the prime venue for concerts; and Vienna Capitals, the hockey hotspot for the city near the U1 stop Kagran.
Vienna Eats
With a typical German fare, Vienna does have its own take on many classics.The Wiener Schnitzel, the national dish, is a must have in Vienna with many restaurants serving up the deep-fried veal. The Mozartkugel, a chocolate-covered pistachio marzipan confection named after the classical composer, is also widely popular in the country and can be found at candy shops throughout Vienna (though it originates in Salzburg). The beer is more stout and comes with a frothier head in Vienna than in other Germanic regions.
The Schloss Concordia, located outside the gates of Zentralfriedhof, was our favorite meal in the city. Specializing in Eastern European fare, the restaurant provides a comfortable ambiance with a large wine selection. Wherever you decide to go, expect your meals to be the typical hardiness associated with German dining.
Some other recommendations from a local include Thali, a great Indian restaurant with delivery; Rita Brint’s, an organic and Eco-friendly vegetarian lunch spot that delivers by bike; Cafe Ansari, a quaint cafe in the cobblestone Praterstrasse in the second district; and Kolar, a cozy pub with dark beers and flatbreads,
Working in Vienna
Known for its high quality of life and superb public transportation system, Vienna hosts an abundance of job opportunities. The third headquarters of the United Nations employs approximately 5,000 people and more jobs can be found all around the city.
Along with supplying the local spots and tastes above, Alex Lackner gives us the inside scope on working in the City of Music and Dreams. A physiotherapist for an outpatient clinic, Ordination Dr. Malus, and a freelance Yoga instructor at the most centrally-located studio in the city, Bikram Yoga Schottenring, Alex is a native and lifelong resident of Vienna. He lives in the 22nd district and has a 40-minute commute into the city center for work, but he says it’s been made easy with the extension of the subway lines in recent years.
Living in a capital city, Alex says Vienna offers all the advantages of a big international city without the negatives typically associated with a large metropolis. “In comparison to other Austrian cities, Vienna offers more diversity by sheer size; with roughly 1.8 million inhabitants, Vienna has overtaken Hamburg as the second largest German-speaking city in the world after Berlin.” Unlike other large capitals, he says Vienna still preserves its relaxed and laid-back style, and with a lower unemployment rate than most European cities, Vienna faces very little civil unrest or crime.
Vienna is a city of early birds, with most residents beginning their commutes no later than 7 a.m. Alex typically arrives at the clinic by 8 a.m., many days after he’s taught a 6 a.m. Yoga class. Lunch is taken around midday either at a convenient cafe or delivered to the office where he eats in the breakroom, which, unfortunately in typical Austrian fashion, also serves as the smoke room. If he’s not also teaching an evening Yoga class, Alex likes to spend time after work at pubs or cafes or catching a movie with friends.
A variety of activities can be found on the weekends, such as concerts or festivals in the city parks. Alex also enjoys getting outside of the city with his girlfriend for some hiking, windsurfing or kayaking in the countryside surrounding Vienna.
Ranking Vienna
As my favorite European city, I give Vienna a 10. What international music capital would you most like to visit?
-Monica
