Vienna, a city steeped in historical charm. At the tail end of our aurora hunting tour, which saw us spend a week each in Iceland and Tromsø, Norway, we arrived at the central European city adorned with baroque architecture. Granted, we didn’t exactly plan this holiday segment as detailed as we did for the past 2 weeks. That said, we still covered unique sights like the Hundertwasserhaus and Stadtpark, while still checking in on famous landmarks like the Domkirche St. Stephan, Albertina Art Museum and Schloss Belvedere.
Viennese Prelude
We had landed in Vienna the previous night. Having city-hopped on Turkish Airlines from Tromsø to Vienna, via Oslo and Istanbul, we were bushed from our epic 13 hour journey. Thankfully, we had booked our accommodation at the hotel right by the airport. This gave us sufficient time to recuperate and begin our exploration of Vienna refreshed.
The airport was a mere 16 minutes ride, costing us EUR 5.80 (USD 6) for a return ticket. The City Airport Train took us to Landstraße at the city centre, where we transferred to the local subway to make our way right into the old town. Factoring the subway ride, we were at our first location in under 40 minutes.
Cafe Central – Dessert for Breakfast
We started our day at the famous Cafe Central. Throughout its fabled history, it was known for its intellectual scene, where famous – and infamous – personalities visited regularly. Given its popularity, we made it a point to arrive right after its opening time, so we stayed in the queue for around 5 minutes.
Unlike most European cafes, Cafe Central was spacious. In fact, cavernous would be the right word to describe the high ceiling and tall windows. We came due to the ravenous reviews found online. The interior and ambience was indeed living up to expectations. That said, we weren’t looking forward to the food. It was therefore not surprising that we ended up having desserts for breakfast!
We ordered hot chocolate and cappuccino to pair with the Apple Strudel, chocolate cake and the Easter-themed dessert. The latter was cute, especially when we had to crack the chicken-shaped white chocolate egg open and destroy it. However, the food wasn’t particularly impressive. If anything, Cafe Central was great for its ambience.
Location
Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, Austria
+4315333763
https://www.cafecentral.wien/
Nearest subway station: Herrengasse
Michaelerplatz
Following our breakfast at Cafe Central, we took a stroll down the street towards the old town centre. Vienna kept the medieval architecture of the surrounding buildings, albeit with well paved sidewalks. That made the stroll down nostalgia much more pleasant than, say, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
One would know they’re at the centre of Vienna’s renaissance peak upon arriving at the wide roundabout before Michaelerplatz. The ornately decorated facade of the Sisi Museum stretched across half of the plaza. Excited tourists crowded around the other end to take their insta-worthy pictures.
The hustle and bustle was reminiscent of the likes of Paris’ Louvre Museum. However, the facade was so massive that one could only take a picture of it in its entirety from across the roundabout. Yet from that photo spot, it was challenging to take a good picture sans the people and traffic. In the end, I gave up and merely took a picture for keepsake.
Domkirche St. Stephan (St. Stephen’s Cathedral)
One of the streets that branched off from Michaelerplatz led to the Domkirche St. Stephan (St. Stephen’s Cathedral). The cathedral, touted as one of the most beautiful in central Europe, was an amalgamation of Romanesque and Gothic architectural style. In layman terms, it was majestic in the day and scary at night. Its 137m tower and spire loomed above the old street, which could be seen from afar.
Already, the crowd on the street leading to the cathedral suggested its mesmerising charm. As we approached the cathedral, the buildings on both sides of the street opened up to the 137m tower and spire. It was hard to be awe-struck by its beauty,
Even more stunning was its interior. The vaults of the arches contrasted sharply with the pastel walls. They stretched high above our heads calling the spirits of the countless visitors into the heavens. Its organ, which is incomparable to Reykjavik’s Hallgrimskirkja’s sense of grandiose, was spectacular, nonetheless.
Being the spiritual centre of medieval Vienna, St Stephen’s Cathedral lived up to its reputation. Had it not been for the crowd, I would love to stay around and perhaps explored its naves and chapels in detail.
Figlmüller at Wollzeile
Even in late winter, Vienna was swarmed with tourists. We skipped the pastries of Cafe Demel given the long queue and were about to give up lunch at Figlmüller Bäckerstraße, when I realised Figlmüller is a chain with another outlet nearby.
Figlmüller at Wollzeile was just a block away, tucked within the tight alleyways. I reckoned this was the reason why the restaurant was yet to be full.
Figlmüller Chicken Schnitzel
Figlmüller is known for their chicken schnitzel. The thin, breaded cutlet covered the entire plate it was served on. The outlet at Figlmüller at Wollzeile only serves their schnitzel plain – with nothing else but a slice of lemon for dressing. Even then, the serving proved too much for me. Everyone had to order a main, so it is advisable to turn up hungry, if not…
Their schnitzel lived up to its name. The texture was light and the fragrance enchanting. It reminded me of the schnitzel we had at Munich’s Andy’s Krablergarten. Also on Figlmüller at Wollzeile’s menu: beef stew, cordon bleu and pan fried bread, to name a few. Like I said earlier, the schnitzel itself was humongous; unless you are here in a big group, it would be tough to savour anything more than its original, signature chicken schnitzel.
Figlmüller Ambience
The ambience of Figlmüller at Wollzeile was cosy. They retained the architectural style of the middle ages, and decked out the dining place with hard wood furniture. With its lack of windows, I imagined the place would be lit with warm lighting after dark, which would really hark back to the olden times.
The restaurant’s bathroom was outside the main premises, and all one needed was to pick up the keys hanging by its entrance to access the lavatory and return it after use.
Location
Wollzeile 5, 1010 Wien, Austria
+4315126177
https://www.figlmueller.at/wollzeile/speisekarte/
Nearest subway station: Stephansplatz (one block from St. Stephen’s Cathedral)
Hundertwasserhaus (Hundertwasser House)
After having our fill, we took the tram to Hundertwasserhaus (Hundertwasser House) a few stops away. Compared to the rest of Vienna’s sights, Hundertwasserhaus was very new. The 1970s landmark was a cluster of houses built with expressionist style.
The irregular design was in contrast with the sharp elaborate baroque architecture in the historic centre. Most attention grabbing was its nature theme. With its roof covered with earth and grass, and trees on balconies, it was the OG sky garden.
Rest and Relax at Stadtpark (City Park)
We next found ourselves in Stadtpark, or City Park, to enjoy the early spring atmosphere. Everyone was out and about enjoying the great weather. Many people sprawled out across the lawns to soak in the sun. We found a bench to rest our legs and people watched. Or pigeon watch.
Adding to the lively atmosphere was this classical music. I wasn’t sure if there was a live orchestra playing in the park, or the music was piped. However, that created a blissful ambience. Everyone was immersed in this high spirited atmosphere and enjoying the coming of spring.
We then strolled to the nearby tram stop to make our way to our next destination. On the way, we also sighted the Schwarzenberg-Denkmal statue. Indeed, there were statues of historical figures at every street corner of Vienna!
Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace)
Another tram ride away, we were at Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace). The palace consisted of 2 main parts, with the Lower Belvedere built first, then the gardens and the Upper Belvedere.
The baroque, 18th century palace was a sight to behold. Upper Belvedere had an even more stunning architecture. In fact, its main building appears on the 20-cent Austrian euro coin. The main palace was best viewed with the gardens (Große Bassin) as the foreground. By now, my legs were super tired from 5 hours of walking. That said, we strolled down the length of Schloss Belvedere. We had entered from the Upper Belvedere and we exited from the Lower Belvedere. From there, we took the tram to return to the heart of the city.
Albertina Museum / Vienna State Opera
We finally returned to the old town centre, to have sort of a final march past the medieval sights. One could watch performances at the Vienna State Opera. But we weren’t that cultured, so we only admired the facade from the outside.
The Albertina Art Museum is a 19th-century Habsburg palace. It is now refurbished into a modern culture spot. Like the Louvre Museum in Paris, the interiors are now modern and modified to bring out the best of the exhibits while protecting those precious art works.
Final Look at the Hofburg Palace Complex
We then rounded to the back of the Hofburg palace complex, which housed the imperial apartments and a silver museum. We weren’t interested in paying to enter, so it was just a superficial admiration of the baroque architecture.
The entire Hofburg complex included the sprawling facade of Sisi Museum Hofburg Wien bordering the Michaelerplatz, extending westwards to the main palace. Unfortunately, an ugly, uninspiring car park is sandwiched between the arched Hofburg palace facade and Heldenplatz, making the entire space more like a gigantic backyard rather than palace grounds.
Dinner at Landstraße and Wien Mitte
Truth be told, the tourist crowd in the old town was getting to me. Even though I still had dining spots in my Vienna to-do list, I no longer had interest in checking them out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were swarming with tourists!
Therefore, we decided to call it a day. Since we had to transfer at Landstraße, we detoured to explore Wien Mitte, the mall at the City Center Station. After all, Vienna is more than its medieval past, and it would be great to explore the modern side of the city.
Interestingly, the mall was reminiscent of a Japanese mall, rather than the European or American ones. The crowd was less stifling, and of course, consisted mainly of locals. We stopped by McDonald’s to try out the local menu, and to hydrate ourselves after being out there for almost 8 hours.
The mall was also connected to both Wien Mitte (City Center Station) and Landstraße, the stations for the airport railway and the city metro, respectively. From there, we took the airport rail back to our hotel, Moxy Vienna Airport.
Vienna International Airport
Before returning to our hotel, we dropped by the airport. First, we wanted to recce the place so that we knew where to report for our check in. Secondly, we also wanted to explore the terminal and its sights and sounds.
The airport consisted of 2 terminals – the international and the domestic – housed in a single building. The international terminal occupied a larger part of the sprawling curved building. It also housed more of the F&B spots of the airport. There were international franchises, as well as local brands. Quite a good mix of options, I would say. Despite being housed in a single building, the international terminal sported warmer lighting and dark furnishings, while the domestic section was mainly white and bathed in natural sunlight.
Right at the intersection of both terminals was the entrance to the underground tunnel that led to our hotel. The entrance from the international terminal was a long, gradual ramp at the ground level. Its huge entrance and signage was hard to miss. The tunnel also led to other buildings on the airport premises, like the other hotels, office buildings and the further reaches of the airport carpark. Right at the end of the tunnel was where it led to Moxy Vienna Airport.
As this post is getting too long, I would share my review of Moxy Vienna Airport in another post.
Parting Words
The Austrian empire was a great power in central Europe back in the middle ages. As such, the empire left plenty of legacy in its cities, especially Vienna. Walking through its old town centre, I was filled with bewilderment from Vienna’s old world charm. From the St Stephen’s Cathedral to Vienna State Opera, there was jaw dropping medieval architecture at every turn.
The restaurants in the historic centre also provided great ambience to dine in. From pastries and desserts in Cafe Central to crispy tender chicken schnitzel in Figlmüller at Wollzeile, every one of them was impressive. Unfortunately, the tourist crowd was overwhelming. It became too difficult to dine in any of the eating places after noon.
There were also more contemporary sights to see. Like the expressionist Hundertwasserhaus and the English style Stadtpark. I was glad to have made the stopover at Vienna for the perfect ending to my aurora hunting trip!
Prior to coming to Vienna, I was on a week long tour around Iceland, which followed an aurora hunting trip to Tromsø. Do check those trip reports out. Till then, stay wanderlust!
All photos and videos were taken using Google Pixel 7 Pro, and edited with Google Photos.
