Hallo, Guten Tag!
Author's note: There will be some random mix of German words as you go further into this reading, as I try to put my 6-month German lesson with Dr Linda and another 3-day German revision with Faris into practice.
This is a very long overdue post - of a trip I had undertaken a few months ago - but I still insist on writing about it as I have spent so much time trying to sharpen my knowledge on German language while I was on the trip and it had successfully sparked my enthusiasm in learning Deutsch again, and I love reminiscing the recollection of my excursions so here we go!
So, what drives me to Wien (Vienna)...? Well, since I have got a free Woche (week) in the winter break before the term started, so why not a Reise (trip/travel) to another Stadt (city)?
Tag eins (Day 1): Donnerstag (Thursday)
I arrived in Wien Flughafen (Vienna Airport) at around 11 in the morning. Flughafen, like 'air-port', is a combination of 2 words, flug - flight, and Hafen - port. Vom Flughafen, I took a train to Wien Praterstern, where our Airbnb is located. It was snowing like crazy, and it bothered us too much because we had our...
Instead of admiring views and buildings while listening to the historical account of the city, all we did for the whole two hours was looking down at our feet. I can obviously say that it could have been much better without the snow but weather isn't a thing that is within human control, so we just looked on the bright side - surviving the tour while being drenched in the heavy snow shower is in itself an achievement! 😂 To be honest I myself could barely remember where did the cicerone take us since everything that we were looking at was covered in white but it's okay, I managed to go for an impromptu re-tour at the end of the trip so I can promise you guys some pictures of the places later on so bear with me hehe. Nonetheless here's a couple of pictures from the tour that I (finally) managed to capture as the snowfall was getting a bit calmer at the Graben, one of the most famous streets of the city centre.
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| Pestsäule (Plague Column) at the Graben, described by Boeckl as "one of the most ambitious and innovative sculptural ensembles created anywhere in Europe in the post-Bernini era." |
17:00 - Highlight of the trip: Opera!
Though the weather kind of disappointed us on our first day, our evening's entertainment had a relish of the kind. We went to
Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna Opera House) to watch an opera for just 3 euro! How is that even possible? Well, we compensated the cheap opera (standing) tickets with a few hours of queuing - but a cup of
heiße Schokolade and a couple of
Freunde to chat with made the
zwei Stunden (two hours) wait felt a bit shorter.
Es war eine sehr gute Oper and I enjoyed it so much - would never regret lining up in the cold for such an amazing show!
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| Die Oper ist auf Deutsch aber there are subtitles available on the screen in front of you :D |
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| God knows how much is the price for the tickets wih proper seating 🌚 |
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| Exploring Staatsoper during the show's intermission |
Tag zwei (Day 2): Freitag (Friday)
Light snow showered but we still set out on our journey with a genuine anticipation to be pleased - yet trying not to be too hopeful for a nice weather. Wir hatten unsere Frühstück in einem Restaurant im Praterstern Bahnhof. We then head to our first destination of the day, which is the...
10:00 - Stadtpark (City Park)
Der Park ist groß, with a lot of statues scattered around the park but I was just attracted to the lake. I can't deny that the snow actually makes the view more beautiful (well I have never been to Hyde Park when it's covered in snow so I can't really compare). We had a good half an hour of morning walk around the park, and I also got to learn ein neues deutsches Wort (a new German word) which is Fluss, meaning 'flow' in English.
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| Wienfluss |
11:00 - Hundertwasser
From the Stadtpark we headed to Hundertwasserhauss, an apartment house built after the idea and concept of an Austrian artist whom this house got its name from; Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with an architect Joseph Krawina. So what is it about the house that makes it one of Vienna's most visited building and more importantly part of Austria's cultural heritage? To explore that I think we need to get to know der Mann behind the creation of das Haus.
Friedensreich Regentag Hundertwasser was an eco-pioneer and advocate of people living in dignity and harmony with nature - a proposition and stance he had expressed in numerous demonstrations, actions and architecture projects. According to the brochure I got from the Hundertwasser Village, instead of purely functional architecture, he voiced out in favour of tenants' right to decorate the space around their windows, and incorporated "tree tenants", uneven floors and woods on the roof in his work. So here are some pictures of (the exterior of) Hundertwasser's designs that are characterised by an absence of straight lines.
However, the only building that is open to public and can be entered free of charge is das Hundertwasser Village located just opposite the Hundertwasserhaus. This "village" is not an apartment, but a building that features Friedensreich Hundertwasser's architecture, an art gallery displaying his work, Austrian dishes, a coffee-house, a Hundertwasser toilet, souvenir shops and many more.
I want to show people just how easy it is to create paradise on earth! - Friedensreich Hundertwasser
13:00 - Islamic Centre Vienna
We dropped by the Islamisches Zentrum Wien for Friday prayer.
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| The entrance of the Islamic Centre. Picture credit: Faris |
15:30 - Parliament and Rathaus (City or Town Hall)
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| Austrian Parliament Building was under maintenance when we went there hence the picture from behind a window :( |
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| On the other hand, 'Riesenspielfest im Rathaus' was going on in the Town Hall! Such a fancy place for a family game festival! Families are having fun playing board games in this room. |
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| There's a show going on but we're not sure what is it about XD |
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| Didn't manage to capture a picture of the whole building but I guess this would suffice to show how wonderful its architecture is from the outside too! |
17:15 - Wien Museum
We are those history lovers who are so determined to go into a museum even just 45 minutes before it's closed! No photography is allowed though, but it was indeed a good museum on the Geschichte (history) of Wien! I remember looking at cathedrals'/churches' glass windows, old maps of Vienna (my favourite part!), some statues and armouries and a reconstructed house inside a museum - which looks so real that I thought the museum was built around the house instead lol (pengaruh Gurney Paragon Mall kat Penang la ni agaknya hahaha).
p/s: Entry for under 19s is free, someone's lucky.
Tag drei (Day 3): Samstag (Saturday)
13:00 - Schönbrunn Palace
Still snowing, hence I can't be bothered to struggle and take pictures of this main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers...so here's a link to the virtual tour of the imperial apartment if you're interested in exploring more about this palace!:
Tour of the palace
16:30 - Prater
Why did we even spent our time at an amusement park in another country?! Well you can expect it has an interesting story of itself then!
This public park is not only prominently known for being the oldest amusement park in the world - it was firstly mentioned in a document in 1162! - but is also famous for its iconic giant wheel which is now one of Vienna's important landmarks. We also visited Prater Museum in the Planetarium (though it's only Faris who went in cause someone got free entrance benefit again). I am pretty sure this special 'institution' forms an important part in Viennese tourism and also history as according to the museum, "Vienna without the Prater is virtually unimaginable."
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| This Viennese giant wheel or 'Wiener Riesenrad' was built in 1897 which means that it is over 120 years old (!!!) hence a ride on this wheel is a must-do-thing for most Vienna visitors. |
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| Wiener Riesenrad from a distance |
Tag vier (Day 4): Montag (Monday)
09:15 - Schloss Belvedere
The Belvedere complex houses two palaces; Upper and Lower Belvedere, and also an extensive garden. The palaces were built in the early eighteenth century by the famous Baroque architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt to be used as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736).
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| The entrance gate to the Schloss (palace) near the Oberes Belvedere (Upper Belvedere). |
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| Oberes Belvedere used to serve the purposes of prestige and display in the days of Prince Eugene, while in the second half of the 1770s, it was adapted to house the Imperial Picture Gallery. |
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| Today Oberes Belvedere houses the permanent displays showcasing masterpieces from the Belvedere’s collection dating from the Middle Ages to the present. |
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| View from the other side of Oberes Belvedere |
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| Unteres Belvedere (Lower Belvedere), the part of the complex that used to serve as a residence. Parts of the prince’s collections were also housed in the Lower Belvedere. |
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| The central gate to access to Unteres Belvedere from Rennweg. Unteres Belvedere is now used as a venue for top temporary exhibitions. |
10:30 - Albertina
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| The Albertina Museum houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world, as well as modern graphic works, photographs and architectural drawings. |
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| For around 100 years, the present-day museum building served as the residence of Habsburg archdukes and archduchesses! |
11:00 Visit to Burggarten, Heldenplatz and Maria-Theresien-Platz!
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| Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) view from Burggarten side |
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| Schmetterlingshaus und Palmenhaus (Imperial Butterlfy House and Palm House) |
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| Mozartdenkmal (Mozart Monument) in Burggarten, a garden that was laid out in 1818 as a private garden of the emperor |
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| Entrace to Welt Museum Wien (Vienna World Museum) which houses Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer (Imperial Armoury) and Sammlung alter Musikinstrumente (Collection of Historic Musical Instruments) |
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| Entrance to reading rooms in Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Papyrusmuseum, Ephesos Museum and Haus der Geschichte Österreich (House of Austrian History). View from Heldenplatz (Heroes' Square). |
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| Closer view of the Bibliothek (library) |
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| Hofburg Palace, a congress and event center |
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| Äußeres Burgtor (Outer Castle Gate) - a huge city gate built in 1821-1824 as the official entrance to the Hofburg complex. |
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| Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Vienna Museum of Natural History), located the right hand side of the Maria-Theresien-Platz from Burgring |
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| Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Vienna Museum of Art History), located at the left hand side of the square from Burgring. These two museums look like mirror image of each other to me - won't be able to distinguish them without the help of the tourist map. |
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| Empress Maria Theresa monument at the center of the Maria-Theresien-Platz (Maria Theresa Square) |
It's not like I have always had 'educational trip' whenever I travel somewhere but somehow it feels like my trip to Vienna was more chill and like a 'take-it-easy' kind of trip. The educational part is obviously the moments I asked Faris to verify my guesses on the meaning of every German word that I came across while I was there hahaha (hopefully you aren't annoyed but yeah danke for being my Deutsch mentor für drei tage!) but truthfully, I did enjoy learning the language more than the visiting part 😂
Having said that, I hope my Deutsch gets better that one day, whenever somebody asked me in a German-speaking country Flughafen (again),
"Deutsch oder Englisch?"
I can finally say,
"Mein Englisch ist besser aber ich kann auch Deustch sprechen!"
Auf Wiedersehen! Bis später!
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