Fifteen different views of Vienna

I blame Before Sunrise for not having visited Vienna before this year. I know it’s a lot of people’s favourite movie, but it left me tepid. And that, subconsciously, must have seeped into how I felt about visiting Vienna. However, Austria’s capital is steeped in history and art and is one of those great European cities which has to be experienced at some point. We took the opportunity to do so as part of a train journey that also took in Prague and Berlin. I expected elegance, history, and great architectural beauty from Vienna, who doesn’t? But even with a Slow Travel guide to hand, the city still managed to come up with some surprises. Instead of sharing the big hitters, even AI can outline what those are, I’m going to, mostly, turn the focus on fifteen different views of Vienna that intrigued and delighted or, at least, put smiles on our faces.

Diversity-themed traffic lights

This one nearly got me run over as I lingered on crossings too long to take photos of same-sex couples displayed on traffic lights. The initiative was introduced in 2015 prior to the Eurovision Song Contest and Vienna Life Ball and has proved so popular that it is now a permanent feature. Ironically, the diverse pairings are designed to make people pay attention to the signals. I have to admit to being distracted by them, and the time allotted for pedestrians to cross Vienna’s wide avenues is far too short for hanging around on the tarmac admiring the little people.

Cool hot streets

Vienna’s authorities should be applauded for their approach to sweltering summer weather. As well as cubicles dispensing free, chilled drinking water, there are lots of places where fine misty sprays help keep body temperatures pleasantly low. A favourite is the street fountain outside Praterstern Train Station, which is especially magical when lit up after dark. It’s weird walking through a curtain of water without actually getting soaking wet.

Space Invaders

It always pays to look up. Mostly that’s so we don’t miss architectural treasures. In Vienna, it’s to keep an eye on sneaky Space Invaders. Back in 2006 and 2008, the artist known as Invader (who describes himself as a UFA (Unidentified Free Artist) installed fifty-six little aliens and their friends around Vienna’s streets. I spotted my first little blighter while enjoying kaffee und kuchen at Joseph on Naglergasse.

Oh Vienna

On my Vienna tick list was to stand beside a sign with an endless German word on it so I could post it on the socials with the line ‘This means nothing to me’ (the oldies are the best). I failed (aka forgot). Second choice was to get a shot of me emerging looking all moody à la Midge Ure from the arch at Michaelerplatz. Unfortunately, the place was being dug up … and there were too many people … and it wasn’t misty anyway.

Cigarettes and alcohol

Austria lags behind many European countries when it comes to smoking laws, with up to a fifth of the population still in the clutches of the white sticks. As a former smoker, I try to be empathetic, it is an addiction after all, but goodwill goes out the window when I’m eating in a cloud of someone else’s cloying fug. Saying that, I was well impressed with the service for smokers at some bars like Café Else, where customers were served a glass holding a handful of cigarettes along with their beer.

Hundertwasser Village

It attracts plenty of people, but Hundertwasser Village to the west of the old centre is still a multi-coloured surprise, a residential area that should be mundane yet is the housing equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The brainchild of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the ‘village’ is a former tyre factory transformed into artistic apartments. There’s also a small shopping centre, all wonky shapes, mosaics, and brightly coloured facades. In a way, it’s like Austria’s version of Barcelona’s Gaudí architecture. The village draws the biggest crowds, but there are two similarly designed building nearby.

The Third Man and the big wheel

Another on my tick list was to do a The Third Man and take a turn on the Reisenrad Ferris Wheel at the Prater funfair, itself feeling like a throwback to the 1950s. The Ferris wheel is tame compared with today’s funfair rides, but that’s not the point. Its wooden cabins hark back to the days when cigarette-smoking men in trench coats did dodgy deals in the city. For fourteen Euros per person, we got to slowly rotate, really slowly, as Vienna’s skyline unfolded before us and the people having a romantic dinner in the next cabin along wondered how long it would be before the rotation was complete and they could get a wine refill.

Spaghetti and what?

After a monster of a Weiner schnitzel, a sweet slice of apfelstrudel, and a lot of kaffee und kuchen, I felt I’d pretty much exhausted the best of traditional Austrian cuisine. Forays into Asian fusion and creative fish and seafood disappointed with their lack of flavours. Sheltering from a storm at Schesch Besch, a Middle Eastern restaurant, provided the most satisfying dining experience of our visit, and a meaty croque monsieur at le Pic, showed how they were the inspiration for Porto’s francesinha. Oddest offering spotted was spaghetti ice cream at Zanoni & Zanoni. My German niece-in-law insists this is delicious.

Down a dark alley

I like cities you can traverse by following narrow alleys. These tend to not only save time in getting from A to B, but they’re also usually atmospheric and can hold secret hideaways. Trouble is, after having discovered some good ones, finding them again. An easy one to remember runs from Lugek, where Zanoni & Zanoni is located, passing shops, coffee houses, tea shops and restaurants before emerging at the rear of St Stephen’s Cathedral.

Danube and dope

A cool way to cross the blue (sometimes brown) Danube is walking under the Reichsbrücke (Imperial Bridge) which has both pedestrian and cycle lanes tucked in below the road surface. When we crossed it, a cycle tour group blocked the pedestrian lane at one point, forcing us onto the rather fast cycle lane – cue gnashing of teeth and narky remarks. On the approach to the bridge is an impressive cannabis grow shop, basically a huge dope farm, which is a shock to see on a main street in a European city. Equally cool is to return by jumping on a train from a U-Bahn stop in the bridge’s underbelly.

Why the guards?

Our hotel was in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district, the Jewish part of the city. It was disturbing to note there were armed guards outside some buildings. This was also the case with the city’s Jewish Museums. They stood out because there were none posted at other museums. The guards are a consequence of a terrorist shooting at a kosher restaurant in 2020. The need to defend Jewish landmarks seemed especially poignant after a visit to the Museum Judenplatz, which taught us things we didn’t realise about the roots of antisemitism. Just to add an intensity to this poignancy, outside is the Memorial for Holocaust Victims.

Portable gardens

Maybe it says something about us that in the midst of a collection of grandiose buildings, the thing that impressed most was the portable gardens in the courtyard of the Museums Quarter. It’s an initiative to ‘green up’ the space by acclimatising plants and trees in imaginative portable containers before they are permanently bedded in. One will have a Mediterranean theme, another a jungle vibe. At some point, these plants and trees will blend in. Until that happens, it’s quite fascinating to see them thrive in their specially designed containers.

Austrian art

We visited the Leopold Museum primarily to see the works of Gustav Klimt. Surprisingly, most of the ones we knew weren’t on display. That didn’t matter, because we were introduced to other artists we didn’t know whose works challenged and provoked. Artists like Egon Schiele and those in the temporary exhibition about the ‘Golden Twenties’ called Splendor and Misery, which sums much of the artwork up. Sometimes I wander around art galleries thinking ‘those are nice.’ This one held me captive for much longer than intended. Amusement was provided by a girl posing ‘thoughtfully’ in front of a number of paintings while her boyfriend took her photo for the socials. Despite not knowing the Klimts exhibited, we ended up buying a print of one. It now hangs in our bedroom.

Mozart and more

It’s cheesy and the ultimate tourist thing to do, but a classical concert in the Golden Hall at the Musikverein is still a special experience. It’s costly (ticket prices vary depending on where you buy them) and there are a few irritating aspects – when the doors open there’s a mad and confusing rush. Bags aren’t allowed in the hall, and you pay for the privilege of handing them over. Annoyingly for me, neither are cameras. I get the reason, but everyone has a phone and one of the most infuriating things was the number of people taking selfies and then filming the concert despite being told not to. Worst offenders were in the balconies at the side, who also committed the crime of obscuring the view of others. Once the music started though, Mr Angry retreated into his box.

Finally, Before Sunset

There’s no escaping the movie. It’s only writing this that I discovered a spot which I thought might make for a nice shot turned out to play a part in Before Sunset – not difficult as so many locations are featured. Zollamtssteg and Zollamtsbrücke make up a rather special pairing of bridges because of the way they cross each other. Zollamtssteg is a steel arch footbridge while Zollamtsbrücke is a steel pony truss bridge supporting U-Bahn trains. I didn’t go looking for these, they simply caught my eye as we traipsed around Vienna.

But then, traipsing around is how seeing and experiencing much of the above came about.