Vienna

*This is a blog post detailing a past trip. The post refers to my year abroad in Germany that I undertook between the summers of 2016 and 2017 (6 years ago at the time of writing). Therefore, details shall be a little foggy, but I have written the post for completeness. Ensuring my blog captures everywhere I have travelled.

Sadly this blog is going to be a pretty short one, due to reasons that will soon become clear. One long weekend during my time in Germany, Brad and I had a trip booked to the Austrian capital Vienna. We left early Friday morning to catch a flight from Frankfurt to Vienna, with the aim of spending the next 4 days exploring the city as much as possible. When I woke up at around 4 am that morning, I could already sense something wasn’t quite right, I really didn’t feel great and would have happily stayed in bed. Sadly I had a train to catch followed by a plane. Forcing myself out of the house, hoping that what I was feeling would go off as quickly as it had come on. Having arrived at Frankfurt Airport a little while later, it wasn’t looking great. I still felt really rough and just wanted my bed. The adventurer within me pressed on though. We boarded our flight to Vienna and no sooner had it taken off and the fasten seat belt sign been switched off, I made my way to the plane toilet and threw up. Safe to say the rest of the flight was far from enjoyable, but thankfully it was only an hour or so long meaning before I knew it we had touched down in Vienna. Being sick had made me feel ever so slightly better so we pressed on and caught public transport to our hostel located in the city centre. 

Upon checking into the hostel I’m certain I crawled into bed to get some sleep hoping to wake up feeling a little better. Leaving Brad to go off and explore on his own. After a few hours sleep, I did feel ever so slightly better but wasn’t in the mood to do a great deal. I headed out for a little walk and some fresh air, exploring the inner city plus grabbed a bite to eat of whatever I could just about stomach. Sadly that was about it for my first day in Vienna. What with feeling rough and the very early start. I was early to bed hoping the following day I would feel a little better, allowing me to explore the city further. 

The next day I still wasn’t feeling well but forced myself out of bed to try and sample as much of Vienna as I could. I popped as much ibuprofen and paracetamol as guidelines allowed and spent the morning exploring some of the beautiful landmarks of the inner city centre. From the parts of Vienna, I did manage to sample it really is a beautiful city. With so many beautiful buildings, parks and architecture. To start I explore the inner city on foot taking in various sights and landmarks. These sights included, The Hofburg which is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence. Since 1946 it is the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria. The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries and is a vast complex to explore, it includes various residences, the imperial chapel, the imperial library, the treasury, the Burgtheater, the Spanish Riding School and the imperial mews. The Hofburg is also surrounded by beautiful gardens and parks. Within which there are various monuments to famous people of the city. One such monument I remember visiting is that of the famous composer Mozart. After the Hofburg, I ventured to St. Stephen’s Cathedral located in Stephansplatz. The most important religious building in Vienna, St. Stephen’s Cathedral has borne witness to many important events in Habsburg and Austrian history and has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city’s most recognizable symbols. Another stunning church in the inner city is that of The Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus, commonly called the Karlskirche. It is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one of the city’s greatest buildings. 

Having just about exhausted myself on foot, I then took an open-top bus tour, as a form of respite. It also offered the chance to learn a little more about some of the landmarks, before ending up at Schönbrunnrun Palace.  Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, Vienna. The name Schönbrunn has its roots in an artesian well from which water was consumed by the court. The 1,441-room Rococo palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historic monuments in the country. The history of the palace and its vast gardens spans over 300 years, reflecting the changing tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. It has been a major tourist attraction since the mid-1950s.

Having exhausted myself the day prior trying to at least see a little of Vienna other than the inside of my hostel dorm room. I paid the price, I felt awful today and had clearly overdone it in the pursuit of trying to explore. For day 3 I spent the whole day in my dorm bunk, watching films and tv on various streaming sites. It’s really not how I wanted to spend my weekend away, but sometimes these things happen and unfortunately, you just have to give into your body from time to time. 

The following morning still feeling very under the weather, I stayed in bed as long as I could before we then made our way back to the airport and flew back to Germany. Sadly it wasn’t the weekend I had hoped for. Brad was able to explore and experience far more than I did and said he had a great time in the city. For me, I’ll have to return one year, maybe during the winter time to take in the Christmas markets, or maybe even head out further and explore more of the beautiful country that Vienna is the capital of. Other than that I spent the next few days off sick from work before finally recovering around a week after initially going down sick.