Austria: January

 

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.