Beautiful Vienna

Monday, May 7, 2018

After moving our car from street parking to a lot across the street, we walked a short distance to a U-bahn (Metro) station and purchased 48-hour passes, good for all public transport in the city.  Then, it was into the center city to meet a morning walking tour in front of the Albertina Museum; once again, the assembled group was comprised of travelers from all over the world.    We also couldn’t help but notice that the area was full of tour groups, and as the day went on, the vitality of tourism in Vienna was obvious. 

Just across the street from the Albertina is the city’s Monument Against War and Fascism.  A series of sculptures commemorates the dark days of World War II and Nazi’s annexation of Austria in a small plaza marking the spot where 300 people in a shelter beneath a building perished when a bomb collapsed the structure.

For an hour and a half, that small spot was the only place we walked that was not once part of the Hofburg, the Imperial Palaces.  Begun in the 13^th century, each successive Hapsburg ruler added to the existing complex and the resulting interconnected buildings seem to go on forever.  The scale, decorative elements, and enormous interior courtyards with massive monuments make for a jaw-dropping display.  The establishment of the first Austrian republic after World War I meant the end of the monarchy and the Hofburg is no longer a royal residence.  A series of museums, churches, libraries, performance spaces, and governmental offices (including that of the president) now occupy the buildings. 

After a glimpse of some of the white Lipizzaner stallions in their stables, we left the Hofburg behind at its impressive gate on Michaelerplatz.  The Church of St. Michael is on the square, as are the excavated remains of part of the Roman wall and settlement here.

The tour headed over to the focal point of Vienna and largest church in Austria, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where we took in some aspects of its ornate Gothic exterior, notably its roof, steeply pitched and covered with about a quarter of a million colored tiles in bright patterns.  As part of a continual maintenance process, the exterior of the cathedral is being cleaned using a modern laser process – at the rate of about one five-inch square per hour!

We skirted the old Jewish quarter, site of the single synagogue remaining after the November 1938 Kristallnacht torching of Jewish places of worship.  We noted the presence of police and street barricades in the area, protective measures put in place after the 1981 bombing of a synagogue in the city.

Our group disbanded near the Danube Canal in the shadow of the oldest church in Vienna, St. Ruprecht and across the street from the site of the Gestapo headquarters, now an 
apartment block.

After lunch in a small park nearby, we took Tram 1, hoping to do a circuit of the Ring around the inner city.  Our understanding of the route led us to the Prater, so we had a look around that park before heading back to the inner city via the same tram.  Learning that the Ring Tram is currently offline for some construction, we opted to take the U to Stephensplatz, where we toured the beautiful interior of the enormous cathedral with audioguides.  

From the cathedral, we walked along the Graben, a pedestrian shopping street on the site of a ditch the Romans constructed for defensive purposes.  In the center of the street is Vienna’s entry in the Plague Column sweepstakes – a clear winner in terms of design and ornate decoration!  Speaking of ornate decoration, St. Peter’s Church, adjacent to the Graben, would hold its own in the ecclesiastical division of the competition!

We cut through the Hofburg and Heroes Square to the Volksgarten, one of the city’s beautifully maintained green spaces, to reach the Rathaus (City Hall).  Facing yet another beautiful park, the huge neo-Gothic building was bedecked with banners and flowerboxes at every window and balcony.  In the plaza below, preparations were underway for an upcoming concert.

From the Rathaus, we boarded the U to return to our comfy apartment, not far from the Prater.

Much of central Vienna seems to have taken its cue from the Hofburg, in terms of the size and design of the buildings.  The take-away impression is one of sheer monumentality wherever the eye lands; it’s as if a Hollywood set designer’s conception of a royal city has come to life.  We have another day to take more of it in tomorrow, when we expect some rain.  We’ll see how hardy we are!