{"id":6854,"date":"2013-11-08T08:26:46","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T08:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2013-11-10T04:30:42","modified_gmt":"2013-11-10T04:30:42","slug":"oh-vienna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/oh-vienna\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh Vienna…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The title of this post will evoke memories of\u00a0 a particular Eighties song for those of us of a certain age…\u00a0 A song that at the time I was too young to record onto any cassette tape creation (she adds hastily) –\u00a0 but Ultravox’s 1981 ballad obviously featured so heavily in that decade that it has imprinted itself across a lot of my memories of that era.\u00a0\u00a0 When I worked out (a good few years later) that Midge Ure was singing “Oh Vienna”, and not “Old Piano” as I had thought – and thanks to the moody video with atmospheric lighting and foggy streets (even though a lot of it was filmed in London apparently!) I had often wondered what Vienna was really like (along with “why was the woman following a horse about?”, and “how could Midge Ure possibly think that a tightly tied trench coat looked OK?”)…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0489\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I give no prizes for guessing what this ear-worm sufferer had stuck in her head when we finally made it to Vienna for the very first time last week?! I think it was on replay for pretty much the whole of the time we were there…<\/p>\n

Having visited (and very much enjoyed Salzburg) a few times, I imagined it would be similar, but perhaps slightly bigger (and perhaps with a few more gargoyles – see above), but it is totally different.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Whilst Salzburg is picturesque, quaint and easily doable in a day or two,\u00a0 Vienna is a Capital city, full of huge impressive buildings, amazing art galleries, a big gorgeous food market, and gentile streets.\u00a0\u00a0 Which is perhaps why I felt immediately at home…\u00a0 Having lived and worked in Europe’s biggest city for many years, Copenhagen’s diminutive size took a lot of getting used to, and whilst Munich may be much bigger than that (and as lovely as it is) – to me it still doesn’t have that “big city” feel…<\/p>\n

We had decided on the trip at the very last-minute, and out of the limited choice available (most of Europe was on half term at the same time!), decided on Suite Novatel (which I find usually tends to be\u00a0 good choice when you are travelling with small children!) \u00a0 The location worked in our favour too, with Prater Park a leisurely stroll in one direction, whilst a couple of\u00a0 U-bahn stops in the other took you promptly to the centre of the Aldstadt.\u00a0\u00a0 This particular hotel also scored highly in my book as the room was spacious and incredibly quiet, the breakfasts were good, and the staff friendly and helpful.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0312\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our few days in Vienna were spent at vintage amusement parks, entrancing museums and enormous palaces.\u00a0 It also included window display admiration of scenes of epic proportions, and all with plenty of coffee and Hei\u00dfe Schokolade <\/span>breaks of the highest quality (coffee is an art form here, you will find hardly any bland coffee chains) and plenty of cake worship of course!…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0466\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have heard it said that Vienna is a little like Munich’s big sister in many ways, and whilst for a lot of people Munich might be all about festivals, bier, bier halls and brezen, Vienna is most definitely all about Art, wine, coffee houses, and cake.\u00a0 And I have to say we all loved every minute we spent there.<\/p>\n

More (much more) to follow shortly…<\/p>\n

Share me:<\/h3>