Stopover in Vienna from Sydney

The flight landed (beautifully) just before 6am at Vienna airport. It was still pitch black of course, and I only remembered this would be the case as we were circling above the airport. I dawdled my way off the plane after donning my boots (which hardly fit me due to swollen feet), went to the toilet, and dawdled my way through passport control and customs – ending up a little confused about my baggage belt because a sign had said ‘EU flights only’. Anyway, found my luggage and got some cash out. I transferred everything I’d need for the weekend into my backpack, transferred the last of my photos from camera to laptop, and left my big bag at the left luggage counter. I found out that by retrieving it at 5.30am when they opened, there would be time to check in for my 7.05am flight on Monday, and that the London flight would leave from terminal 1.

I decided to eschew the €9 express train to the city, and bought a €5 all day ticket for the S-trains. I got on and the train took off through a grey and frosty morning. I got caught out by a conductor who spoke no English – turns out I needed an extra ticket of €1.50 to get from the airport into the central city region. Dunno how we understood each other, but we did. He did not look impressed when I produced a €50 note, though he let me get away with not buying a ticket at all. How was I supposed to know? I guess I was lucky I didn’t get slapped with a fare evasion fine.

I got off at Handelskai station and went downstairs to find the S45 train for Oberdöbling. I found the platform pretty easily. Nice train, this one – very modern and new and comfortable. I got off at Oberdöbling, found the square with the clock, and the hotel shortly after. Thankfully, the people on reception spoke English, and blissfully, my room was ready early at 9.30am! I went up straight away, texted Dad/Jill and Mum/Tom, had a cup of tea with some horrid powdered milk, and a very welcome shower.

After working out roughly where to go and what to see, I asked reception to change one €50 note and one €100 note for more manageable change to avoid further problems. I also asked them to do an early breakfast for me on Monday (preferably to take away with me) and they said the earliest they could do it was a sit-down breakfast at 5am.

I went across the road and got a yummy vanilla and strawberry lattice pastry thing from Anker. The girl spoke English after I’d asked her if she could, and was very kind in describing all the different products, though she got stuck once or twice. I then went into the Spar supermarket to see what was interesting. There were a lot of people in there. I selected an apple and a banana and took them to the checkout. The woman picked them up, and said something in German, weighing one in each hand. I shook my head and said Entschuldigung, meaning I couldn’t understand her, but she must have assumed I was apologising for getting it wrong. She then took off into the fruit section. I was supposed to have weighed them on these big confusing scales and stuck a sticker on them so she knew what to charge. She came back with them done and I apologised in English, saying I understood now. Not sure if she understood me, but she wasn’t angry anyway. I felt very stupid.

I set off walking towards the north in search of Beethoven memorials as listed by the tourist map. It was a fair walk, though I had expected it to be. There was snow beside the path that had been shovelled off, but it looked a few days old. I found a few houses that he lived in and further up the road, a museum. I paid €1.50 to go in one section of it, and another €1.50 for a copy of his ‘Testament’ in English – a letter to his brothers expressing his despair at his deafness. It was interesting but not great. I kept walking to Heiligenstadt and got the underground to Schönbrunn because I thought it was the centre of the city. On that train I heard my first English speakers. They were English. I got off and walked for 10 minutes before deciding to go back. I did use the time to eat my banana.

Got the underground to Karlsplatz, then changed to the U1 for Stephansplatz. I saw the cathedral looming even as I walked up the steps from the station. It’s huge and dark and wonderfully gothic. I walked around it to see what else was nearby, then went inside. It was too dark inside for proper photos, and there were hundreds of people ignoring the signs for silence. I felt a lot more in my element here as it was a tourist mecca. I began to hear English being spoken more, albeit with American accents. Inside was spectacular, with huge corrugated columns and vaulted ceiling. It was also nice and warm. I had started off thinking I could handle the cold, but by now it was getting a little painful. I headed off, being accosted outside by one of many cloaked men flogging concert tickets. I didn’t like his concert (though in hindsight it would have been good as it included Beethoven and was at Hofburg Palace) and didn’t really trust him, so went on my way, walking down the pedestrianised shopping street of Kärntner Straße. I saw people setting up stages and food stalls for the following night – I think one was to have 50s rock’n’roll. The rest were pretty awful dance stuff. I wandered a little, looking for a hat to buy with no success, and FINALLY found a stall selling sausages, though they didn’t have weisswurst. I was too hungry to care (it was about 3.30pm by now) and it only cost €2.80.

I wandered to the Musik Haus while I ate and decided there was nothing there for me, so walked down a little further to the music and opera district, where I found more men in cloaks flogging concert tickets. I avoided them and looked around, ending up at Albertina, from where I found the tourist office. I went in, and looked at some concert brochures, but didn’t feel like lining up to ask questions.

So I went back out into the cold on my aching feet (the boots were a bad idea) and kept walking along the Opern Ring to what I think was the Heldenplatz. There’s a big Mozart statue just inside, and as I stepped in, I was accosted by another cloak who was this time offering a ticket for the Schönbrunn Orangery Mozart and Strauss concert for NYE that I’d read about on the website from home. I wasn’t sure I trusted him, though he did show me ID and give me his name. I paid €48 for a ticket in C section (which I thought I might regret) and headed off again in search of grand buildings and squares and Rathaus park. I had been seeing a glorious, turretted, illuminated building through gaps, and behind museums, and when I got past the amazing Parliament building to Rathaus, I found it close up – it was City Hall. I had decided to go there after the concert for NYE because I read on a billboard that they will have classical music there, and the cloak recommended it. They had their food and drink stalls set up already, though they were expensive compared to the ones in Kärntner Straße.

I walked on to Schottentor-Universitat U station, got a U2 train to Schottenring, a U4 to Heiligenstadt and the S45 to Oberdöbling. The Spar was closed, so I headed up to my blissfully warm room, drank some water and went straight to sleep after reading some brochures. It was 6pm.