{"id":7057,"date":"2013-11-27T14:25:39","date_gmt":"2013-11-27T14:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=7057"},"modified":"2013-11-29T11:20:56","modified_gmt":"2013-11-29T11:20:56","slug":"the-riesenrad-vienna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/the-riesenrad-vienna\/","title":{"rendered":"The Riesenrad – Prater – Vienna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in 1897, an Englishman built one of Vienna’s most famous Landmarks<\/a>, at the request of the then Emperor – Franz Josef I, to mark his Golden Jubilee…<\/p>\n

Rebuilt in 1947 after the war (but with fewer cabins for safety reasons) the Giant Ferris Wheel (or Riesenrad as it’s known in these parts) at Vienna’s Prater Park became one of those infamous city symbols that you feel obliged to experience if you are to say that you have explored a place semi thoroughly…\u00a0 Well it is at least if you are travelling with small children.\u00a0 I mean, history and a fairground ride in one?\u00a0\u00a0 It has to be done right!?<\/p>\n

We noted several similarities to Hanayashiki Fun Fair<\/a> in Tokyo, a city amusement park not quite as old, but equally matching Prater in quirkiness nonetheless (Prater has yet to invest in robotic giant pandas however!). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With\u00a0 plentiful rides to choose from with promising names such as the Danube Jump, Space Shot and Vampires of Vienna, we admired them from a distance (it was early, and most of them were yet to open (thankfully for me anyway!)) and made our way to the famous big wheel itself (operational 365 days a year apparently!).\u00a0\u00a0 I was grateful to note that this Ferris Wheel experience is at least “inside” –\u00a0 unlike the more modern version opposite – which for someone who has a bit of an aversion to being perilously high up and open to the elements (and on which I also blame my terrible skiing ability), would have been a little unpleasant.<\/p>\n

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We purchased our tickets for this English designed feat of engineering, and duly noted the similarities between the ferris wheel’s cabins and train carriages (its designer, coming from a country with a past obsession with rail travel, was obviously heavily influenced!) and waited for our turn to commence.\u00a0 And waited.\u00a0 And waited.\u00a0\u00a0 This wait was due to one of the Riesenrad’s trusty guardians tenderly replacing a troublesome window on the carriage that preceded ours rather strangely…\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As we had time to spare, I had time to study our fellow waiting passengers, who consisted of a French lady about to embark at the insistence of her teenage daughter (I notice these things as they tend to happen to me a lot), along with some Austrian visitors chatting excitedly, ahead of what was apparently their first spin on this, their capital’s famous landmark…<\/p>\n

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As is the case with most ferris wheels, our rotation (finally) commenced with the carriage lifting gently – promising great views of Vienna below – before coming to a swinging stop to allow more passengers to board the cabin after ours.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Busy reading the historical “engravings” of\u00a0 many years of previous passengers as the fabulous cityscape slowly came into view, I didn’t initially notice the high-pitched noise that began to infiltrate the carriage the higher we got, and which at first I thought was caused by the wind whistling through yet another troublesome window…<\/p>\n

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As we rose slowly and gracefully higher above the rooftops, it soon became apparent however that the noise was coming from the French lady (to the complete oblivion of her daughter who was busy taking pictures) who wasn’t particularly enjoying this historic experience by the looks or sounds of things,\u00a0 and gradually increased the noise of each deep breath she took between clenched teeth (the cause of the whistling noise) whilst educating us all in French swear words each and every time the poor soul was brave enough to open her eyes.\u00a0 We did our best to reassure her, but to no avail…<\/p>\n

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And this is how I will always remember our trip on The Riesenrad… Not for the amazing view of all four corners of beautiful Vienna below, nor for the opportunity to have a nose at the few empty carriages reserved for intimate dinners (and decked out in preparation for such), and not for the impressively sound mechano-esque structural skeleton of the big wheel itself.\u00a0 No, I shall always remember the Riesenrad for the impressively vast expletive vocabulary of one nervous passenger, accompanied by the suppressed laughter of all the others…<\/p>\n

The views are truly magnificent though.\u00a0 Pray for a clear day, and completely fearless fellow passengers…<\/p>\n

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