Vienna Mozart

A couple of years ago I met a guy on internet in Vienna with whom I immediately found great similarities: we are two big fans of Rome. To dampen any controversy, I say to you right away that I will not talk about football, this is a site dedicated to tourism and this will be the subject of history. But the background is necessary to make you understand!
Oliver was born with just a strong friendship, cemented by the exchange of photos and comments on Italian football but the team of the Capital in particular. After several months I have used the occasion of the Christmas holidays to make a quick trip to Vienna and meet him in person. In addition to an amazing coincidence that I chose the period coincided with the deepest game in Rome: the derby.

Take just the organization of the trip. It 'been very difficult to find a decent flight to Vienna during the Christmas holidays at the end ... but we did. At lastminute.com we find a hotel in District 6 (Mariahilf): This is Anatol's that there is 303 euros for 4 nights (one room with breakfast included). The hotel is near the subway (stop Zieglergasse). With a few stops you in the center. Will discover very soon that Vienna is quite small compared to Rome and is very easy to turn on foot. Expedia find on a Swiss flight to 220 euros including taxes. The flight was the perfect ending but a stopover in Zurich (and up here ... chissene care) and the buffet fee! Well yes, the Swiss have decided on a policy of cost containment on the style of Ryanair .. except that the price is not quite the same! And then paying over 200 euro is not even entitled to a glass of water. All you pay and pay very salty! Then go kinds of comfort from home!

 

We start at dawn. The flight is at 7 but we are so happy because we will all enjoy the day. About how the time? Checking on the internet we see that for a joke climate discrete time will be mild ... but above all with minimal around 7-8 ° C. Stuff would not believe ... Vienna with such a climate is the last thing we would expect to find! But for us that we are going to spend most of their time outside is a big help. We remember with great fear of our winter holiday in Prague and Budapest with temperatures up to -16 ° C!
We arrive in Vienna (Schwechat Airport) after a brief stopover in Zurich around 11.30. Oliver and we feel we meet at Wien Mitte.
At the airport we decide to buy the Vienna Card (Wien karte 72 students) which allows you to use public transport for 72 hours and get discounts on entry to museums (not only) for 96 hours. Along with the card (which costs 16.90 euros) will be given a small brochure (translated in Italian) with details of all discounts to which it is entitled. Also at the end of the booklet there are many small tagliandini with which you are entitled to discounts in restaurants, pubs and cafes of Vienna. Remember that the discount is per person, therefore, take all your brochures with you!
The departure of the mini-subscription to the media part with the first stamp and for museums and other discounts with the date affixed to the paper penna.Quindi you can start them in different days, depending on your projects.
From the airport there are two ways to go in town: the first is very fast and is called "Cat." E 'a superfast train connecting the airport to Wien Mitte. But the coast if I remember correctly 8 euros, employs only 15 minutes and no intermediate stops. The second possibility, which I recommend strongly, is the S-Bahn train line 7. You pay about 3 euros (you can also use a credit card to buy the machines directly in the dock) and takes about 35 minutes to get to the station Wien Mitte. Consider the convenience of you ... a recommendation some had written on various sites that there are no inspectors and that no one makes the ticket. Us in 5 days we have met twice! Certainly in the evening on the bus or tram is more difficult but I would not venture to make a choice ... kind of tickets you can do on the tram / bus, but cost more (1.8 to 1.4 euros when purchased by tobacconist ...)

Come to Wien Mitte and meet Oliver. The meeting is epic: he wears a sweatshirt of Rome! It 'very nice and we just friendship. In view of the time we go into a hotel, we leave our luggage and then we go with Oliver to eat something. Let's go to the pub "Siebenstern" (The seven stars) where now we discover an important difference with Italy: many Viennese pub produce beer in them, with all the machinery to "view". It 'very nice to see them and produced a tasty beer!
Eat a "Wiener Schnitzel" which is the cutlet Milanese (or slice PANATA to put the Roman). We discover with great surprise to be the Viennese dish par excellence. Several local serving size is huge so much so that even a service offered to "take away" the leftovers! We got our one in two (but we repent ... not eat anything from 4.30 in the morning!) And then taste a strudel just to stay on!
Not cold but the weather is bad ... to divert rain and outdoors is not really inviting ... and then with Oliver go to another pub where we meet some 'of his friends who will soon become even our! We remember with pleasure Christian (Italian transplanted to Vienna), Mauritius (Trasteverino married a Viennese girl), George and many others. We all share a passion for Rome (except for Mauritius, in contrast to the Lazio fan of views with the father). This is surprising but at the same time very funny. These are all people who live so far from Rome but who knows all of the team, maybe better than us who live there. Many of them have never seen the city and even the Olympic Stadium, but they are all excited from the day after ... is scheduled Lazio Rome. They want to know everything that you breathe the air in Rome, so of waiting. etc.. The conversation row via smooth ... beers abound, and after a while 'they account for about ten head (for them!) And one for me! But the drink! E 'una cosa incredibile almost would not believe ... the first thought that comes to mind is "But if the place where all this beer?" Boh ...
The conversation is conducted in English and Italian nationals, then we know a greek fan of Rome because of Dellas as a team. They spend hours and come forward to dinner ... we near the Belvedere in a small inn (can not remember the name ... I was completely destroyed). Eat well, I take two slices of melted cheese and fried with cranberry jam and a usual beer! The fatigue is really great but the enthusiasm of these kids would not authorize us to leave ... exhausted at the end we must surrender and go back to the hotel. The appointment with them for the next evening, there is a derby in Vienna!

E 'la Befana, the shops are closed e. .. raining! Alas really rains a lot. Armed with umbrellas and patience go into the center. We do a walk through the Karnter Strasse pedestrian street most prestigious in Vienna. Start where the Staatsoper (Opera) Metro Karlsplatz and reaches Stephan Platz heart of the city. Along this road there are many shops including the famous Sacher Hotel where there is an adjoining coffee and a pastry shop to buy the cake for which Vienna is famous throughout the world. I must warn you that it is not economic to buy the Sacher in the center and less than ever at the Sacher. A cake of almost acceptable size (three to four persons) 500 gr. Costa 34 euro! I recommend that you buy at a bakery in front of the Cathedral of Santo Stefano or away from the center. District 6 where we were with our hotel Sacher of the same size would cost 24 euro ... 10 euro difference is not just ... is not it? Same fate for the equally famous "Mozart Balls". The price of these chocolates seem to be related to exchange rate of the Milan stock exchange. You will find a pack of 9 pieces for 5 euros at the Prater to 2.9 euros per district 6th Get a tour before you compare something!
Despite the rain we do a ride into town (Innere Stadt). We visit the Royal Palace (Hofburg) with the attached museum which houses the crown jewels of the treasury and real (Schatzammer). I recommend that you visit (Vienna Card discount) especially if it is a bad giornata.Ci are really beautiful things on display including a display case in which there is the relic that (they say) be the nail of the cross on which Jesus Christ was killed. The Royal Palace is huge and walking could be a pleasure if it had a good day ... but suddenly the two toward a glimpse of sun between the clouds. Appears to be improving. Let's eat in the Jewish quarter of Vienna in a place called Brezel Gwolb (Lederhof 9). Serve various Austrian specialties and the prices are affordable (around 7-10 euros per head including the inevitable beer). The location is very nice and maybe find a little 'sickly classical music in the background ... very relaxing.
We continue to Fleischmarkt to get to the tram stop 2. There are two tram (1 and 2) they do everything around the center of Vienna (Innere Stadt), one clockwise the other counterclockwise. If you are tired and wet, like us, I would advise you to do a lap. You can see a set of central Vienna comfort and warmth. After the tour we return to the hotel and get ready. We are on time game. Give us an appointment with Oliver that we are to take in the car with his friend and go to the pub. This is the "Shebeen" (Lerchenfelder Strasse 45, District 7). It 'a very large pub run by Irish doc. Broadcast on big screens many batches of the English Premier League and Serie A in Italy. On the evening of 6 is oversubscribed. Hundreds of Viennese wearing mesh of Rome and Lazio (fortunately very few!) The game we see on British Eurosport and all know the result ... and I do not want to comment! Despite the ominous night, because they celebrate the birthday of Oliver who ironically was born on 7 gennaio.Si drinking and chatting with everyone. It makes friends very easily, there is great openness on the part of Vienna, almost surprising. Stephan know a guy who studies and works in a Heurigen (Osteria) outside Vienna. Us for Saturday evening, we exchange phones and e-mail .. with the promise to see us Saturday. Tired and disappointed we retreat into our lodgings.

Enchanting Vienna

The day after the Derby time is definitely beautiful. It mite. So we decide to go and visit the main attractions of Vienna, the castle of Schonbrunn. You can reach with the subway entrance and find a bit of tail. You pay about 9 euros for access to the castle, glorious residence of the Habsburgs. Included in the price you will also receive a handy audio-guide in Italian that you describe what you see in each room of the castle. Unfortunately in the winter you can not visit the garden maze. But you can not have everything ... the need to visit a couple of hours, whereas you can run into the barbarian hordes of tourist groups with a guide to follow that prevent access to rooms for several minutes.
Left the castle, do not miss the monument of Gloriette that stands on the hill overlooking the gardens. There is a breathtaking view over the castle and the city. It is worth it even if the climb is quite challenging. In the gardens of the castle turn freely dozens of small squirrels, joy of children and photographers. You leave the show and bring it (we used to see dogs and cats in the gardens of the Capital just cared) very funny.
To eat we head towards a Wustelstande, kiosks cooking various types of wustel, very characteristic in Vienna. There is one particularly well known: Wustelstand am Hoher Markt.Tra different types of wustel please Kasekrainer stuffed with cheese. Are served in a sandwich with bread or separately. Be careful if you do not want to go back to the hotel to change because they have filled a very substantial ... this kiosk is also equipped with a multi-language menu with an explanation of what's inside each sandwich (which is often essential to understand what you are ordering) . We also do a good turn (without rain finally) in the center and we stop at Cafà Mozart Restaurant, one of the oldest cafe in Vienna. Located behind the Opera (Albertina Platz) and is very rich and well-appointed. Makes a certain impression to enter into such a place ... in Italy would be used only to millionaires. Prices are high compared to other places but still acceptable (a slice of Sacher costs about 4.5 euros). With the Vienna Card you will be entitled to a discount of 70 cents a head, but tell your waiter when otherwise account it raises a debate without end!
In the evening we go to eat Schnitzelwirt by Schmidt (Neubaugasse 52) District 7th You eat the slices panate huge (I assure you) who barely manage to stop. The most famous is the "Don Carlos" (8.90 euros) it is a double PANATA with white rice, mushrooms, peppers and raw ham! Huge! If not do you propose for the waiter to wrap it and take it away. Attention because the place is very crowded and the kitchen closes punctually at 22.00. Too late if you do not need you and ask you (not very kindly go away). Another observation: it is not open on Sundays, unfortunately.

If the weather there was pardoned on Saturday we did a regalone: sunny and 12 ° C! To be in January we can not complain. The Viennese are caught unawares, and many of them run in shirt sleeves, of course! We will use the opportunity to make a nice ride in the open air. So we aim to Naschmarkt.Si is an open air market that stretches for several hundred meters along the Linke Wienzeile. The Sabbath is also open to the Flohmarkt (Flea Market) a sort of Porta Portese "poor" ... with many non-ethnic usual merchandise and nothing more. The Nashmarkt is a market town of Vienna, where the goods are of all kinds but especially food. Sell everything and more and you will discover that the prices of fruits and vegetables are even lower than those of Rome. And, hear hear, agricultural products are all Italian! Well yes, this is the perverse effect of globalization: the oranges of Sicily brought to Vienna cheaper than in Rome, 1000 km closer to the place of origin! This we know for Maurizio certainly works as a waiter their long and the market tells us that he too was beginning very surprised when he saw the truck that discharged the Italian goods in the morning ...
You can eat kebab and other merchandise, or dine in one of the many small restaurants offering fish that you have not spoiled for choice. Beware that most of the fish offered is a lake ...
We head towards the Karlkierche (Chiesa di San Carlo). It 'a beautiful church built in 700 as a vote by the end of the epidemic of plague. The name derives from Italian Carlo Borromeo who is dedicated to the victims of the plague in Italy. E 'possible to visit the church but it pays to get the lift that brings you up to the dome and the audio-guide in Italian. I do not remember exactly the price (I think 2-3 euro all), but for me it was worth it. It 'a very beautiful church with beautiful frescoes and the adjoining museum Carlo Borromeo with other relics.
We begin to feel tired but not yet dominant we head towards the Shloss Belvedere. This baroque palace was built for Prince Eugene of Savoy, who in 1718 defeated the Turks away from Austria. Along both sides of the Belvedere (lower and higher) there are beautiful gardens. One part is a payment (Alpine Garden), but is closed during the winter. The walk is pleasant and we will advice. Before leaving the area we suggest you stop in front of the Russian monument in Schwindgasse. It is the commemoration of the Russians in Vienna and the liberation from Nazism in the city. In fact, our Austrian friends tell us that this side of the story is rather more sympathy controverso.Infatti (note) of the Viennese seem to Nazism caused a major embarrassment to the city at the time of liberation. So this monument seems to have more the function of warning for any future thoughts, rather than commemorate an event storico.Queste reported opinions but they are not living in Vienna and not having a historical background Austrian very strong, I would take these statements with the benefits of doubt.
After we stopped for a bite to eat (mainly to rest our feet ...) we head towards the west of the city where there are monuments in the city of Vienna: the Rathaus (City Hall), Parliament (where they were making work and could not visit) and Volksgarten prospiciente.Vi council also Votivkierche visit to built as a thanksgiving on the part of Franz Josef escaped an assassination attempt by a Hungarian.
In the evening we take an appointment with Stephan and as such works in a Heurigen. The place is called Bach-Hengel and is Grinzing (Sandgasse 7) northern suburb of Vienna. To get there, take tram 38 (to stop) from the ring of the metro Schottentor / Universitat. We agree with Oliver and we go together. He is not very happy, says it is "a place for tourists ... but we are stubborn drag him forcefully towards the discovery of these incredible Viennese inns. The journey is quite long and in the end we reach Grinzing. There are several Heurigen whose teaching is dominated by a bunch of grapes. The Sandgasse is a long way where there are many Heurigen. The thing that struck us is the presence of tourist buses parked on the side of the road. And we could not give that right to our trusted friend Oliver ... this is real and its hyper-tourist places for passenger group especially Italians and Spaniards. Inside there is a fake Viennese atmosphere, with violin players who tune "Blue"! Oliver was right as usual! Drink several glasses of wine both red and white (at least this is good!) And eat something. Stephan then expect to finish the work shift, and go in a local Viennese. Indeed we in the local Viennese for excellence: Fisher Brau. And 'the oldest brewery in Vienna (Billrothstraße 17 - District 17), the atmosphere is very nice and the assortment of beers ... speaks for itself! We drink a few pints, we made the small hours and we are in two other rooms in the center. In simple terms we do the 5 am and we are completely drunk! Viva Vienna!

sad departure

E 'on the day of departure and dispose of toxins night before is not easy! We get up at 11 past the baggage, and we jumped breakfast because the kitchen was already closed. We do a tour, the weather is beautiful and just now starting to cool. Spoiled we decide to make a visit to Beisl (small tavern). These are the locations of Yiddish origin whose furniture is spartan but the food is authentic and traditional, where prices are (which is always interesting) very content. Usually the menu is fairly limited and the dishes do not have many varianti.Si always expect a little 'time of the order and these witnesses to the authenticity of dishes that are prepared expressed. We went to a beisl which is called "Zu den zwei Lieseln" in Burggasse 63. You eat dishes enormous. I recommend the Feinshmeckerschn (for 8.60 euro) ... this is a dish with meat, eggs and potatoes ... great! Also make a delicious Hungarian Goulash original. The desserts are to remain open mouth ... I suggest between the many "Marillenknodel" (4.50 euros) that are full of apricots in the batter fried potatoes. Or the "Kaiserchmarre" (euro 6.00): a cake of chocolate and chestnut cream sized Bible that many take as a single dish. Even here the Wiener Schnitzel is enormous and often the customers are asking to take away the leftovers.
Between a chat and the other is the time for greetings. Departures are always very sad and this is no exception. Take the train to the airport and after a few hours we are to arrive on Leonardo da Vinci.
One last thing: beware of the train schedule that leads to the airport. In fact we were not informed before and we were fortunatissimi not miss the last train useful. In fact, the Sunday run every hour and you risk losing the plane. For once the luck has not turned away, and miraculously manage to take the train used to arrive at the airport on time. Only on the train we realized what had gone close to the mother of all mistakes ... underestimated the time needed to catch his flight booked!
We suggest you all a visit to Vienna. It 'amazing, from all points of view. Buon viaggio a tutti!