
On Christmas Day, we woke early expecting the city to be full of life. However, it was the opposite - completely deserted as in all likelihood people were spending time with families and therefore the only people roaming the streets searching for breakfast options were the tourist. We soon realised that our only option for food was the hotel buffet. This turned out to be not a bad option, as we got to see nice scenic views of the city from the 12th floor, drinking sparkling wine and eating many different food options, including Viennese pastries.
Vienna Woods Tour
Escaping the desolate city centre, we were picked up by our pre-arranged tour bus that shuttled us to the central bus terminal about 30 minutes away where we boarded a larger coach for the Vienna Woods tour. The tour guide proved his mastery of languages, alternating between German, English and Italian for every piece of commentary for the full 4 hour tour.
The bus journey took us passed some interesting sites, including the Roman city of Baden - founded in the 1st Century BC as a retirement village for centurions that had served 20 years in the army as there were many thermal springs available to ease their battle weary joints. We passed by vineyards growing wine varieties not found anywhere else in the world, and also an aquaduct that channels water from the Alps to Vienna's taps - making it one of the most drinkable tap waters in the world.
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The aquaduct |
Mayerling
Our first official stop on tour was the township of Mayerling - known infamously for the hunting lodge that was the site of where the Crown Prince to the Austrian Empire, Prince Rudolph, committed suicide with his lover and therefore started a succession problem for the Hapsburg Empire that eventually led to World War I. On visiting the site, the lodge has been turned into a church and it contained a number of memorial photos of the couple and the Royal Family.
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Castle fortress, Vienna was on the Eastern Front of the Roman Empire |
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The picturesque Vienna Woods |
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Memorial altar at Mayerling |
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Church at Mayerling built after the tragedy |
Heiligenkruez Abbey
Our next stop was Heiligenkreuz Abbey - founded in the 1100's. The abbey contains a number of historical artefacts and sculptures, including examples of beautiful stained glass windows. Also famous is the monks of the Abbey that recorded a Gregorian chant that upon submission to YouTube (as per the entry in wikipedia), the monks signed a deal with Universal Music and one of their hymns debuted in the pop charts - the irony that our guide pointed out, is that the Abbey's order is dedicated to the Madonna and Child, but for one week, the monks were higher than Madonna on the charts.
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Plague pillar |
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Fountain inside the abbey |
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Burial chapel |
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Flowers in winter, the guide called it 'intervention from above' |
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Each window had a different design |
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Different combinations of flowers |
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Use of colour was amazing |
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Stained glass windows |
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Organ at the Abbey |
Seegrotte
The final stop of the tour was at the largest underground lake in Europe, Seegrotte. The tour included a boat ride across the clear blue waters but it is not fit for swimming due to a high calcium and sulphur content. The lake was actually man-made - a mine for gypsum that accidentally triggered a natural spring.
The mine was opened as a show cave, but during World War II, it was used by the Nazis as a concentration camp where Italian prisoners of war had to construct parts for the first jet plane in top secret. The lake was also used by Hollywood for the 1993 version of the Three Musketeers starring Charlie Sheen to replicate a river in Paris. After the tour, we snacked on some traditional apple strudel and then the bus dropped us off at the Opera House in the city centre. Walking around town, we attempted to find things to do, but most shops were closed and we had no choice but to return to the hotel and prepare for the dinner concert.
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Boat used in the Three Musketeers movie |
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Diagram of Seegrotte |
Christmas Dinner at Johann, Kursalon
The dinner concert, commenced with a four course meal at the Kursalon restaurant, Johann on the corner of the city park, about 5 minutes walk from our hotel. The food was amazingly good value - and servings were quite large, including a plate of Viennese cookies at the end of the meal that we had to leave behind as we had no more room to eat.
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Rare beef starter with duck liver cream |
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Cream of parsley soup |
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Rare veal main course |
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Chestnut mousse with gooseberry |
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Viennese cookies |
Classical Music Concert
After dinner, we moved to the performance hall where we watched a classical music performance with dancers and opera singers adding to the 19th century effect. The repertoire included Mozart, Strauss, Blue Danube, as well as seasonal favourites - Jingle Bells and Silent Night.
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Kursalon facing the City Park |
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Candle lit Christmas dinner |
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Our tickets |
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The performers |
Boxing Day Breakfast
Day three, we opted for the McDonalds Vienna style breakfast of bacon, ham and eggs with Viennese roll. The food outclassed the McDonalds of any other city with even the breakfast McMuffins served with full salad and a type of mustard sauce.
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Viennese McDonalds breakfast |
Back at the hotel, the tour bus came to pick us up again for the 'city tour' where the tour guide explained all the historic sites round the main Vienna ring road, including the Winter Palace - Hofburg Palace, the seat of power of the Hapsburg Empire for over 600 years, now converted into several museums.
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Hofburg Palace at night |
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Dome of Hofburg Palace |
Schonbrunn Palace
At Schonbrunn Palace, we were lucky that another Christmas Market was open and we could buy some tasty food. On offer were the usual stalls selling punch, mulled wine and crepes. Olie ordered a nutella one and Mei chose goats cheese and spinach. The palace tour included the Imperial Apartments of Maria Theresa - the always pregnant Empress that had 16 children and married them off to a number of different European Royal families to ensure the Hapsburgs could maintain their empire. No photography was allowed in the apartments, but we did wander around the gardens which were less elegant in the winter season due to statues being covered up and avenues of trees without any leaves.
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Outside the Christmas markets |
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The gardens leading up to the fountain of Neptune |
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Putting the tripod to good use |
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Not much to see in Winter |
Street Sightseeing
After we had finished up at the Palace, we took the subway back to the Opera House in the city centre. Unfortunately, Vienna's retail sales did not start on Boxing Day and all the shops were closed. We did spend time watching buskers - a Korean group of opera singers on holiday put on an impromptu performance and received many tips and applause for their singing in Italian. A puppeteer was keeping the children amused and a Chinese magician was balancing all sorts of items on his nose whilst playing a pipe instrument.
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The puppet entertaining the crowd |
Cafe Sacher
We did find a very historically important place to have a coffee. Hotel Sacher - where the Sacher Torte - a chocolate cake with apricot jam filling known worldwide was first made. The coffee was amazing, creamy and rich, balancing out the strong heavy cake - that had a little chocolate stamp on it proving its authenticity.
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The original Sacher Torte |
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Viennese coffee |
Cafe Central
There were two options available for dinner. One was the oldest restaurant in Vienna, that we had seen from the tourist brochure - Griechenbeisl that had been an inn since 1447 and had been visited by the great composers - Beethoven, Wagner and Brahms, or the Cafe Central, from the 1800's and the meeting place for intellectuals including Leon Trotsky (first leader of the Red Army) and Vladimir Lenin. We opted for the latter and were treated to a very tasted beef goulash, and roast suckling big enjoyed with local Viennese red wine.
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The oldest inn in Vienna |
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Cafe Central |
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Suckling pig with horseradish carrots |
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Beef goulash |
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The cakes part 1 - Cafe Central |
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The cakes part 2 |
Goodbye Vienna
With our stomachs too full to eat any cake, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags, then walked back along the Ring Road to catch the airport train, thus ending a very magical and gastronomical tour of this wonderful city.
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Merry Christmas!
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