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| The Kaiserforum Complex, Vienna |
I carried on my journey along the Danube excited to finally explore Vienna having visited Austria a lot to ski but never been to the capital. Vienna was the resplendent
heart of the Holy Roman Empire that was ruled by the Hapsburg family from 1438 until 1918. The
Hapsburg's were related to royal families from Mexico to Russia with the empire covering nations across
most of central Europe until its defeat by Napoleon. Vienna reflects this Imperial dynasty and following the re-designing of the centre by Emperor Franz Joseph I in the 1800's it is rightly regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Unfortunately it marked a considerable step up
in price for my budget and so I had hoped to spend much of my time on free
walking tours. With Hannah still in
Munich I booked into a hostel looking for fellow backpackers. Despite Vienna being every bit as impressive
as I had hoped it also managed to make Germany look anarchic and my hostel was
no different. With an atmosphere similar
to the Emirates Stadium I looked forlornly around in search of people but as
tumble weed rolled across the ‘social area’, furnished with gleaming steel
surfaces, tiled walls and health and safety notices galore I gave up hope of even mild entertainment and
settled in for the evening at 6pm, breathless from the excitement.
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| St Stephens Church |
I should have been concerned from
the previous evening but undeterred I woke up and started to research free walking tours, only to discover that they
are prohibited as tips might not be properly taxed. As such I was forced to follow Big Boy Tours who provide excellent self-guided tours of cities (we had
used their ideas in Istanbul already) with in-depth information about each stop. The
walking tour focussed on the old town and I spent the day gazing at Vienna’s
most famous buildings; The Opera House, Saint Stephens Church, Hero’s Square
and the Kaiserforum Complex housing the museum quarter. All of them were suitably impressive and as
horse drawn carts ferrying awestruck Japanese tourists rolled past designer
shops I had never heard of the city seemed to ooze money and sophistication. However, as I stood waiting at the crossing with
the other lemmings on a totally deserted road not wanting to break the law by facing
down the red man it struck me that I missed the chaos and colour of Mexico City. For all of Vienna’s undoubted elegance and
magical sights it lacked the personality of other cities that appeal to me with
order and obedience replacing spontaneity and commotion. The only sight of fear I saw all day was when
I asked another man who seemed to be following the same route whether
he was also on ‘the big boy tour’. He
was the only person I saw in Vienna who ignored the red man as he fled.
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| The National Library |
Despite not necessarily captivating
me in a way other cities have Vienna is undoubtedly aesthetically beautiful. My favourite building was the Austrian
National Library which was built by Emperor Charles in 1720-23 and remains one
of the most beautiful libraries in the world today. It houses endless rows of handsomely
bound leather books under a magnificently painted domed roof supported by marble
columns. The library has original work
from over a 650 year period which has attracted sponsors from Arnold Schwarzenegger (yes, it turns out he can read) through to Henry Kissinger and it is an inspiring place to explore. I also allowed
my budget to stretch to a slice of Original Sacher-Torte, regarded as the best
chocolate cake in the world in one of few privately owned 5* hotels, as well as a visit to the Karlsplatz History Museum and a tour around
the Opera House, both of which were well worth the entrance fee to begin to
feel the Imperial History of Vienna.
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