Vienna
We arrived early New
Year’s Eve morning without too much trouble we made it to our hotel, Marc
Aurel, which a small family run one near St. Stephenson’s Plaz.
When we had the chance
to shower, we were refreshed then went for a walk. I had booked dinner at
Griechenbeisl Restaurant which had two sittings and a set menu. We took the
first sitting the three-course meal was delicious.
We braved the New Year crowds in near the cathedral, entertainment proved
interesting. I think only in Vienna do they have a classical orchestra and
opera singers as entertainment. However the crowds were scary, a lot of pushing
that was quite dangerous and we escaped hearing the ringing in of the new year.
On the way back to our hotel, we decided to have a celebratory drink at a bar.
On New Year’s Day we
planned to go to the Albertina, but had a coffee first at Cafe Tirolerhof one
of the number of wonderful historical cafes in Vienna, with no tourists lined
up outside. The Albertina always has interesting exhibitions, this time Chagall,
Monet and Picasso as well an American Jim Dine who produced fascinating
etchings and lithographs.
We bought our tickets
to Graz then made our way to the Natural History Museum which was extremely
interesting and worth visiting, then that night went to a Trumpet and organ
recital at the Malteser Church.
Every time we’ve been
to Vienna we’ve always gone to the magnificent old National Library, which also
usually has interesting exhibitions. We arrived the door and found it closed,
then went to a side entrance and discovered one had to pay 11Euros to enter
when previously it had always been free. We didn’t go, it was very
disappointing but I think that some Instagrammer fell upon it and now it’s
become a must-see place. We didn’t pay so didn’t visit!
Apart from partaking
coffee at the many cafes both modern and historical we visited the Ethnographic
Museum which was extensive and very fascinating.
We had an enjoyable
wander beside the Danube Canal and in and out the back streets where we
discovered the Diglas Café one of the historical ones without the hoards of
tourist lining up outside. On our last day it was raining heavily and very cold
so after a coffee we scurried back to our hotel as seemed stupid just to keep
wandering around. The following day we were leaving for Graz.
Vienna has always been
our favourite city but we were quite disappointed with on this visit. The city
is wonderful with so much history and places to see but there was something
about it this time, for us, that it had seemed to have lost some of its magic.
Maybe it’s the over tourism with what seemed like to us a number of people just
ticking off places on their ‘bucket list’ without really taking time to savour
the culture.
Graz
Off to Graz from Vienna
by train was relaxing, our hotel (Drei Raben) was a short walk from the
station. After booking in and picking up a map we walked into the city centre.
However just about everything was closed as we later learnt at least the tourist
information centre which was open. We found a nice place to eat that night
Mitte Bar.
The next day we
explored the city and went to most of the interesting sights around the main
square and historical sites then up to the Schlossberg which also had many
interesting spots around the main building, as well as magnificent view from so
far above the city. The Kunsthaus had some very interesting displays which we
found very thought provoking. We loved wandering the streets discovering
interesting places and shops. Also, the Glockenspiel which a pair of wooden
figures in traditional costume dance to the sound of music which is always
fascinating at 11am, 3pm and 6pm. Also, if anyone is interested in art and
craft there are two shops same company next to each other veritable ‘Alladin
Caves’ We ate at Miss Cho’s Japanese Restaurant, food great, but it is
expensive.
Our last day we had
morning tea at delightful Café Konig, the to the department store Kastner &
Öhler which one can get a great view of the city from the top floor. Also, it
sells some very lovely products. On our last night we had dinner at Didi Chen’s
World of Asia. Graz is a delightful city. I call it a mini-Vienna without the
tourist hoards. Definitely worth visiting but be aware everything closes on a
Sunday
The following day we
were off to Innsbruk.
Innsbruck
Our hotel Altstadhotel
Weisses Kreuz was in a great location and situated upstairs, they also had an
inviting bar which we enjoyed after we returned at the end of the day. As we
arrived early but we couldn’t get into our room, so started to explore the city.
We wandered in and out
of delightful streets with the facades of many buildings decoratively painted.
We found Piano Bar Restaurant where we had a good lunch.
There are number of
interesting places in Innsbruck including the Hofkirche and Tiroler
Volkskunstmuseum, unfortunately, while we were there the Hofburg was
closed.
The snow-covered
mountains were enticing but watching the planes coming in to land low over the
buildings and with surrounding mountains, was mesmerizing, they were so low we
could easily see the wheels almost touching the roofs of the buildings as they
were approaching the airport. we enjoyed watching them.
Sunday was a surprise
absolutely nothing was open, the café where we had breakfast was closed. Then I
thought the place where there are a lot of tourist shops would be open, no and
not even the souvenir shops. So, we ended up at the only place open, the bakery
opposite our hotel and enjoyed a pastry and coffee. We just walked around
during the day not doing anything particular.
The following day we went up the mountain to the very top via funicular and
cable car. It was snowing and windy as well as being freezing cold. Into the
café for a hot chocolate with rum for warmth, then back down to the next level
where there were skiers and snowboarders which were fascinating to watch and it
didn’t seem so cold as there was no wind. On our last night we enjoyed a drink
at our hotel bar. Innsbruck is a really lovely place to visit even if one isn’t
a skier. Then we were off to Locarno,
Switzerland the next morning.
