Campo Family Travels: { Vienna }

{ Vienna }

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Aug 8-10, 2013 -- After surviving Budapest traffic during rush hour, Vienna's Ringstrasse proved to be a manageable challenge. We arrived with fairly low expectations because most of the people we spoke with back in the States ranked Vienna among their least favorite cities. Researching the city ahead of time proved difficult as well; it seemed like Vienna's tourism was much more informal and relaxed (no waiting in three hour lines at the Louvre or the Colosseum). While Budapest and Prague have ample museums and city walks to keep tourists busy, Vienna is much more a city where you can spend an entire day walking down random streets and admiring the beautiful architecture. It seemed like every time we turned a corner there was a magnificent church or palace in front of us. I think this ultimately contributed to our enjoyment because it felt like we were discovering the city naturally.

The picture below is one of my favorites from our visit - just a random picture of the Viennese skyline as we walked through Volksgarten park.

The only real hitch in our visit was dealing with the weather. A heat wave hit the entire continent in early August and we had prepared ourselves for 99 degree weather (nothing we hadn't experienced back in Portland, right)? The temperatures ultimately hit 104 degrees, which combined with the humidity to create an awful environment! I still think this would have been more manageable back in the States because Americans appreciate ICE water and ICED tea. We spent two hours searching for iced-anything before finding a McDonald's (notice the American company saved the day). Although it felt a bit hypocritical after spending the past two weeks judging other Americans for eating there, I have to hand it to them. Never has an iced tea and soft serve ice cream tasted so good!

Long story short, we survived the heat wave with nothing more than an iced tea and an oscillating fan. It turns out we also earned bragging rights because August 8 reached 104 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Vienna. The accountant in me has to provide evidence (click here).

We didn't let the heat prevent us from having a great time. All four of us really enjoyed the city and Sarah and I hope to return soon. Again, our pictures are worth a thousand of our words. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Jon & Sarah.

Our first steps on the Viennese streets

The Votive Church. Constructed in 1879 as a show of gratitude to God
following the failed assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph.

One of the many fountains scattered throughout the city

Door knocker

Vienna's impressively high-end shopping district surprised all of us.
Although it started to make sense after spending two days walking
past the opera houses, museums and palaces.

Sarah was pretty happy after finding Christian Louboutin

Pestsäule. German for "plague fountain," the column was erected as a
plea to end the plague epidemic that hit Vienna in the 17th century.

One of the typical "American Tourists" we spotted walking through the city.
We understand why Americans have a bad reputation over here.

Admiring the sites and sounds of Vienna

The famous Sachertorte was created by Austria's Sacher family in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich. We decided to go straight to the source and stop by the Sacher hotel. We spotted several different restaurants claiming to offer the 'original' Sachertorte (the cafe where Franz Sacher worked and supposedly invented the recipe; the Sacher hotel where his family first started serving the dessert, etc.). Regardless of the source, they are pretty delicious!

One of the many espressos we enjoyed in the city.

Stephansdom, or St. Stephen's Cathedral. Originally erected in 1147. Very impressive architecture, both inside and out. The ceiling tiles seen in the picture below show a continued trend of covering every inch of a building with ornate detail.

A close-up view of the ornate roof tiles on St. Stephen's Cathedral

Inside St. Stephen's Cathedral

The vaulted nave inside St Stephen's Cathedral

The Vienna State Opera house

Josefsplatz Square. Connected with the Hofburg Palace
grounds and home to the Austrian National Library.

The riders' entrance to Vienna's Spanische Hofreitschule
(Spanish Riding School) where the famous Lipizzan horses
are trained for classical dressage.

A view inside the Spanische Hofreitschule. We took a great backstage tour of the
facilities that left us with a good appreciation for the school and its horses.

Sarah and I sat through a morning practice session. Apologies for the blurry photos,
but we had to sneak these pictures since photography is not allowed
(again, they didn't trust our ability to take no-flash photography)

More horses. During the tour we learned the riders dedicate their entire
lives to the sport and only ride with their individual horse.

We learned that this was one of the biggest "facilities" in Vienna at the time so
the Hofburg family often used it for other events like operas, holiday balls and plays.

The horses. Sarah's discrete picture-taking resulted
in a crooked photo, but they didn't catch us!

The bridle room. The saddles are custom made for each horse,
with separate saddles for practices and performances.

A close-up view of the practice saddles.

The main entrance to the Spanische Hofreitschule

A side entrance to Hofburg Palace. The Hofburg family
really left a footprint on the city, with palaces, residences,
the Spanische Hofreitschule, multiple museums, etc.

Hofburg Palace, now home to the sitting Austrian President

In front of Hofburg Palace

A statue in the Heldenplatz ("Heroes' Square") which sits in front of Hofburg Palace

Huge doors

The Palace entrance

Just a routine day in Vienna with Ferraris parked in front of the palace.

This building was originally erected to house the Hofburg family's extensive art collection, but now serves as the Hofburg Natural History Museum. Not pictured is a replica of this building directly across the courtyard (apparently their collection was too large for one building) and now serves as the Kunsthistorisches Museum, or art history museum.

Michaelertor, the original entrance gate to Hofburg Palace.

The Austrian Parliament Building.

I feel bad saying this, but all of the buildings start to run together
after three days of site seeing. Wish I could remember this one!

Lions at the Gate

When the city was excavating several years ago they uncovered these ancient ruins under Michaelerplatz square. A plaque near the ruins described them as unearthed remains of a Roman house and remains of the former Burgtheater. The ruins are now exposed and can be seen from street level.