- CK, Cezch> Vienna
- Vienna Side Trip: Danube River- Krems, Durnistein, Melk(x)
- Vienna
- Vienna > Hallstatt + Gosausee
- Hallstatt > St Wolfgang > Salzburg
- Salzburg > Berchtesgaden, Germany
Day 1: Vienna (half day)
This morning, we woke up early to jog along the river band and hike up to the hill as our shuttle service was scheduled to pick us up at 10am. We cooked up some sausages and have juice and yummy Kiwi yogurt for breakfast. The river was claim and the air was fresh. No tourists, just few local joggers and us. What a relaxing morning to sponge up all the peacefulness and romantic vibe from this lovely town before we leave Czech!
Once we arrived Vienna, we took the subway to Stephansdom station and visit Stephansdom, Peterskirche, Am Hof (a market square), and Votivkirche. All these sites are pretty close by, except Votivkirche...a little but on the outskirt but in walkable distance. Since those churches are not that big, 15mins will be enough to visit each one. If you have a half day for Vienna, you will be able to see all these and the palace Hoburg and have tea at those famous cafes.
That evening, we watched the "Fidelio" at Staatsoper. It was marvelous! The facility, the cast, the music, everything is so perfect. It's the best evening entertainment in Vienna. As for the ticket, there are couple ways to buy them - a) through ticket agency, b) make reservation in advance directly the ticket office, as their computer will reserve the best possible seats under your price range, or c) buy it online a month before the show date that way you can pick the seats you like. For us, we bought it online before we took off from US, we got two tickets behind the first row in the box. Luckily one out of the three front seats is empty and I can move up to it. The last seat/row in the box is horrible, you can't see much from there. I guess the standing seats on the sides are good too, as there are not many people and you can sit on the platform. All cheap €10 seats have seat numbers for pre-assignment, so it is fine to go for the cheap tickets and you could still enjoy the show - Opera!!
Day 2: Danube River: Krems, Durnistein, Melk(skipped)Once we arrived Vienna, we took the subway to Stephansdom station and visit Stephansdom, Peterskirche, Am Hof (a market square), and Votivkirche. All these sites are pretty close by, except Votivkirche...a little but on the outskirt but in walkable distance. Since those churches are not that big, 15mins will be enough to visit each one. If you have a half day for Vienna, you will be able to see all these and the palace Hoburg and have tea at those famous cafes.
That evening, we watched the "Fidelio" at Staatsoper. It was marvelous! The facility, the cast, the music, everything is so perfect. It's the best evening entertainment in Vienna. As for the ticket, there are couple ways to buy them - a) through ticket agency, b) make reservation in advance directly the ticket office, as their computer will reserve the best possible seats under your price range, or c) buy it online a month before the show date that way you can pick the seats you like. For us, we bought it online before we took off from US, we got two tickets behind the first row in the box. Luckily one out of the three front seats is empty and I can move up to it. The last seat/row in the box is horrible, you can't see much from there. I guess the standing seats on the sides are good too, as there are not many people and you can sit on the platform. All cheap €10 seats have seat numbers for pre-assignment, so it is fine to go for the cheap tickets and you could still enjoy the show - Opera!!
We woke up very early (~5am) this morning to take the train to Krems coz the train to Krems departed from Floridsdorf station instead of Westbahnhof. When we arrived Krems, it was around 8am. Since the bike shop and tourist office were not open yet, we went to the main street to visit the morning farm market. Shops finally open around 9am and we headed back to the tourism office to rent a bike. Their bikes are so gigantic that we have to climb up to the seat. Since it is impossible for us to ride the bikes, we rent our bikes from a local shop on the other side of the town.
Cycling gave us a better way to see the beauty of the Danube River and the cities along the riverbank. We strolled through small villages, many vineyards, and main road. It was fun! Well, we are not supposed to ride in the main road coz there were alot of coach buses. Remember to follow the bike route sign even it seems pointing you to the wrong direction. It took us longer that we thought to ride rom Krems to Spritz. Since we have bike-rental delay, we missed the bus from Spritz to Melk. Even we catch the next bus, we won't have enough time to visit the Abby Melk and ride the boat back to Krems on time. Thus we have to attend the concert at time, we ride the train back to Krems. I think our plan is doing for good bikers. For us, we should sharpen our skills in cycling first. For other, it would be nice to take the boat ride and spent an evening in the winery for dinner and wine-tasting.
In the evening we went to see a musical concert at Musikverein- Golden Seal Hall. We regretted that we bought the standing tickets for Musikverein. There are no pre-assigned seats and you have to go there not half hour earlier but 40mins earlier to the door front to wait in line. Well, if you want to put a scarf on the hand rail to secure your "standing" seat in the front, then you will have to make sure you are the first 15 people in either one line( there are two lines - far left hand side to the door and far right side to the door). I guess I need to clarify that the €10 ticket here is for a standing spot in a free standing area...people are packed like sardines...and stand for an hour and a half for the concert + the 30mins to 40mins wait at the door. Do you think that will make you enjoy the concert? No! From my findings from the Internet, the seats on stage are not that bad and they are just couple dollars more...you got a seat and no need to waste your time in waiting in line and fight for good standing spot. That is the wise way to save money. No standing seat in Musikverein, please!
Day 3: ViennaCycling gave us a better way to see the beauty of the Danube River and the cities along the riverbank. We strolled through small villages, many vineyards, and main road. It was fun! Well, we are not supposed to ride in the main road coz there were alot of coach buses. Remember to follow the bike route sign even it seems pointing you to the wrong direction. It took us longer that we thought to ride rom Krems to Spritz. Since we have bike-rental delay, we missed the bus from Spritz to Melk. Even we catch the next bus, we won't have enough time to visit the Abby Melk and ride the boat back to Krems on time. Thus we have to attend the concert at time, we ride the train back to Krems. I think our plan is doing for good bikers. For us, we should sharpen our skills in cycling first. For other, it would be nice to take the boat ride and spent an evening in the winery for dinner and wine-tasting.
In the evening we went to see a musical concert at Musikverein- Golden Seal Hall. We regretted that we bought the standing tickets for Musikverein. There are no pre-assigned seats and you have to go there not half hour earlier but 40mins earlier to the door front to wait in line. Well, if you want to put a scarf on the hand rail to secure your "standing" seat in the front, then you will have to make sure you are the first 15 people in either one line( there are two lines - far left hand side to the door and far right side to the door). I guess I need to clarify that the €10 ticket here is for a standing spot in a free standing area...people are packed like sardines...and stand for an hour and a half for the concert + the 30mins to 40mins wait at the door. Do you think that will make you enjoy the concert? No! From my findings from the Internet, the seats on stage are not that bad and they are just couple dollars more...you got a seat and no need to waste your time in waiting in line and fight for good standing spot. That is the wise way to save money. No standing seat in Musikverein, please!
Today, we dragged our exhausted bodies to visit three palaces and the Hundertwasserhaus. If we didn't go to cycling or had visited one of the palaces on our first day in Vienna, we won't be that miserable.
Our day started at 9am. We ate some breakfast and headed to Scholoss Schonbrunn 熊布倫宮 (5 stations away from us). Scholoss Schonbrunn is somewhat similar to Versailles, because the castle was build to rival Versailles. Who is the Emperor? Franz Joseph. Don't know anything about him? That's ok. How about Sissi? Sounds familiar, right? Maria Theresia is the Empress, and her nickname is Sissi. You will found the tour more interesting if you do some readings beforehand. To me, Schonbrunn is nice but can't bit Versailles at all. I could spent an entire day in Versailles but not in Schonbrunn. Don't get me wrong. The palace is pretty but I just couldn't find anything that will make me "WOW" and stay there for long. Since the palace is not that big, two hours will be enough for the visit and take some sandwiches along with you and eat at the garden. Oh, I do have one room that I enjoy - the Emperor's room. There's nothing fancy about this room. It's compact, simple, and personal. It gives you a feel of what kind of Emperor Franz Joseph was in his time.
Next, we went to Schloss Belvedere 美 景宮 . This garden of this palace has a beautiful scenery with a great water basin separates the lower Belvedere and upper Belvdere which displays many art exhibitions.
After visiting the villa, we took a trolley to Hundertwasserhaus 百水公寓designed by Mr. Friendensreich Hundertwasser and build by the city government in 1986.
Around 3pm, we headed back to town to visit the Hofburg palace. Among all rooms, we like Kaiserappartments, Silberkammer, Augustinerkirche, and Albertina. If you are luck, you may see the performance of Boy's Choir in Burgkapelle.
To sum up our visit in Vienna, we went to Sacher for coffee and chocolate cakes and bought some chocolate from Demel before we meet our friend for dinner.
Day 4: Hallstatt (UNESCO World Heritage) + GosauseeOur day started at 9am. We ate some breakfast and headed to Scholoss Schonbrunn 熊布倫宮 (5 stations away from us). Scholoss Schonbrunn is somewhat similar to Versailles, because the castle was build to rival Versailles. Who is the Emperor? Franz Joseph. Don't know anything about him? That's ok. How about Sissi? Sounds familiar, right? Maria Theresia is the Empress, and her nickname is Sissi. You will found the tour more interesting if you do some readings beforehand. To me, Schonbrunn is nice but can't bit Versailles at all. I could spent an entire day in Versailles but not in Schonbrunn. Don't get me wrong. The palace is pretty but I just couldn't find anything that will make me "WOW" and stay there for long. Since the palace is not that big, two hours will be enough for the visit and take some sandwiches along with you and eat at the garden. Oh, I do have one room that I enjoy - the Emperor's room. There's nothing fancy about this room. It's compact, simple, and personal. It gives you a feel of what kind of Emperor Franz Joseph was in his time.
Next, we went to Schloss Belvedere 美 景宮 . This garden of this palace has a beautiful scenery with a great water basin separates the lower Belvedere and upper Belvdere which displays many art exhibitions.
After visiting the villa, we took a trolley to Hundertwasserhaus 百水公寓designed by Mr. Friendensreich Hundertwasser and build by the city government in 1986.
Around 3pm, we headed back to town to visit the Hofburg palace. Among all rooms, we like Kaiserappartments, Silberkammer, Augustinerkirche, and Albertina. If you are luck, you may see the performance of Boy's Choir in Burgkapelle.
To sum up our visit in Vienna, we went to Sacher for coffee and chocolate cakes and bought some chocolate from Demel before we meet our friend for dinner.
Around 8am, we took the train to Hallstatt (via Attnang-Puchheim) with the hope that we could visit the Salzbergwerk salt mine. Once we arrived at the train station and stepped down to the boat deck, we got captured by the beauty of the lake. The foggy weather made the scenery dramatically gorgeous.
Without exploring the town, we left our luggage in the guesthouse and went to the cable car station for a ride up to the salt mine. After we have put on a jumpsuit and lectured on the history and safety precautions, our journey began. We learned the history of the town, the salt business and the formation of salt crystal, then ride on the long slide tunnels and tram that used to transport workers and salt within the mine. I think it's worthy to play a visit to any salt mine as my friend told me there's a larger salt mine near Germany and Austria.
Afterward, we walked down the hill and strolled along the lakeside. Since it's in the late afternoon, not many shops are open we took the bus to Gosausee. I guess if it is spring or summer, the scenery would be better. All we saw in snow and frozen water body.
For dinner, we randomly picked a restaurant and it turned out to be our most memorable experience in our entire trip. Have you ever have a live band play for you during your dinner? Yes. Then, how about a full house of musicians? That was what we have experienced. At first, it was just two of us having dinner. Then, more and more folks with instruments came one. 10, 20, then a full house. Then a handsome middle-age Clinton-look-alike man came up and instructed them to play some songs. Turned out that guy is a professor from an university in Vienna. He came to the town to help the local band to practice. It was awesome! Literally everyone in town came to this restaurant to see the practice. We were luck to have a seat on a upper stage next to the fireplace. Man, we felt like royalties.
Without exploring the town, we left our luggage in the guesthouse and went to the cable car station for a ride up to the salt mine. After we have put on a jumpsuit and lectured on the history and safety precautions, our journey began. We learned the history of the town, the salt business and the formation of salt crystal, then ride on the long slide tunnels and tram that used to transport workers and salt within the mine. I think it's worthy to play a visit to any salt mine as my friend told me there's a larger salt mine near Germany and Austria.
Afterward, we walked down the hill and strolled along the lakeside. Since it's in the late afternoon, not many shops are open we took the bus to Gosausee. I guess if it is spring or summer, the scenery would be better. All we saw in snow and frozen water body.
For dinner, we randomly picked a restaurant and it turned out to be our most memorable experience in our entire trip. Have you ever have a live band play for you during your dinner? Yes. Then, how about a full house of musicians? That was what we have experienced. At first, it was just two of us having dinner. Then, more and more folks with instruments came one. 10, 20, then a full house. Then a handsome middle-age Clinton-look-alike man came up and instructed them to play some songs. Turned out that guy is a professor from an university in Vienna. He came to the town to help the local band to practice. It was awesome! Literally everyone in town came to this restaurant to see the practice. We were luck to have a seat on a upper stage next to the fireplace. Man, we felt like royalties.
Day 5: St. Wolfgang + St Gilgen + Salzburg
In the morning, we woke up by the music from the street. Guess who? The local band and the professor! Oh, last night they were in the practice for today's parade. They all dressed in traditional customs and stopped at each shops to drink shots that offered by the shop owners. Since we woke up early, we went out to take more pictures then take the train Bad Ischl, then a bus to St Wolfgang.
The bus dropped us right in front of the train station where the steam engine train took us to the St Wolfgang mountain top. The cap of the mountain still covered by snow up to the keen. It took us quite awhile to get to the observation deck. Without playing attention to the train schedule, we saw the train arrived and departed from a short distance. The penalty is to wait an hour. Well, enough time for us to dry our soggy socks.
Across from the station is the St Wolfgang lake. This Wolfgangsee lake is huge like a sea. Many people take their bikes along with them on the boat. We get off at St Gilgen- a town promoted as village of Mozart but he never been there. Well, Mozart's mother, grandparents and sister lived there, so this tiny town is somewhat related to Mozart. The town itself doesn't offer many attractions, but it will be a nice stop for a lunch in the shore-front restaurants and some ice-creams instead of riding in train or bus all the way to Salzburg.
When we arrived in Salzburg, it was in the early afternoon. It was a nightmare to find the way to cross the train station and to find a replacement hotel. We would be happier if we stayed in the downtown coz the train station is very far away from the town.
The old town of Salzburg is very lovely. We went to the Residenze (palace), Dom (church), St Petersstiftskirche (church), Mozart Geburtshaus, Mozart Wohnhaus. It's a small town, so a full day will be enough to visit very thing here.
Day 6: Salzburg (just the morning)The bus dropped us right in front of the train station where the steam engine train took us to the St Wolfgang mountain top. The cap of the mountain still covered by snow up to the keen. It took us quite awhile to get to the observation deck. Without playing attention to the train schedule, we saw the train arrived and departed from a short distance. The penalty is to wait an hour. Well, enough time for us to dry our soggy socks.
Across from the station is the St Wolfgang lake. This Wolfgangsee lake is huge like a sea. Many people take their bikes along with them on the boat. We get off at St Gilgen- a town promoted as village of Mozart but he never been there. Well, Mozart's mother, grandparents and sister lived there, so this tiny town is somewhat related to Mozart. The town itself doesn't offer many attractions, but it will be a nice stop for a lunch in the shore-front restaurants and some ice-creams instead of riding in train or bus all the way to Salzburg.
When we arrived in Salzburg, it was in the early afternoon. It was a nightmare to find the way to cross the train station and to find a replacement hotel. We would be happier if we stayed in the downtown coz the train station is very far away from the town.
The old town of Salzburg is very lovely. We went to the Residenze (palace), Dom (church), St Petersstiftskirche (church), Mozart Geburtshaus, Mozart Wohnhaus. It's a small town, so a full day will be enough to visit very thing here.
In the morning, we took a visit at Schloss Mirabell 米拉貝爾宮 before we head to Germany. Mirabell has a lovely garden, go there to witness wedding ceremonies and avoid tour groups.
...continue to Day 1 in Germany Post...
Top Picks: Hallstall, Vienna Staatsoper, Salzburg old town, Vienna Scholoss Schonbrunn, Vienna Scholoss Belvedere....continue to Day 1 in Germany Post...
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