Every day’s a joy in vibrant Vienna

  • By Rick Steves
  • Friday, November 16, 2012 12:47pm
  • Life

Vienna ranks right at the top of my list of elegant European cities. Once the capital of the mighty Habsburg Empire, this imperial city has an enduring grandeur and an easy livability that I admire.

From a sightseeing point of view, Vienna is the sum of its illustrious past, with plenty of palaces to explore. But just as enjoyable is simply experiencing the vibe of this great city.

Having lost World War I and her political power, Vienna has kicked back, becoming an expert in good living. People stroll the streets here as if every day were Sunday.

The low-rise city center is peppered with art nouveau and early-modern buildings. Architect Otto Wagner played a big part in shaping the urban landscape, helping to launch the 20th century in Vienna with a quietly revolutionary building: a bank for people who weren’t rich. His Postal Savings Bank overlooks the street with a marble-sided facade that looks as secure as a safe-deposit box.

It’s bolted together with an exciting new material — aluminum — that proclaims the modern age. Even now, as Wagner intended, form follows function: The building (open to the public) is still a savings bank.

Fine thematic exhibits seem to be popping up around Vienna. There’s a worthwhile little museum dedicated to Wagner at the back of the Postal Savings Bank. The small and modern Jewish Museum documents the history of Vienna’s Jewish community.

At the Museum of Military History, the amazing Sarajevo room catalogs the events of June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated (igniting World War I). Both the car he rode in and his bloodstained uniform are on display.

The quirky Third Man Museum (Dritte Mann Museum) is dedicated to a film — “The Third Man” — and the story it tells. This noir thriller is set (and was filmed) in seedy 1949 Vienna — when the city was split, like Berlin, among the victorious Allies.

The film (in English) plays regularly at Vienna’s Burg Kino. “Third Man” enthusiasts love the museum’s movie artifacts. Just as interesting are its topical displays about the murky underbelly of Vienna’s postwar years.

For a lighter side of Vienna, amuse yourself at Prater Park, which has been the city’s playground since the 1780s, when the emperor gave his hunting grounds to the people. For the tourist, the Prater is its sugary-smelling, tired and sprawling amusement park.

For locals, the Prater is the vast, adjacent green park with its iconic tree-lined boulevard. The fun fair tempts all comers with its famous 220-foot-tall Ferris wheel, roller coaster, bumper cars and endless eateries. Especially if you’re traveling with kids, this is a fun, goofy place to share the evening with thousands of Viennese.

Vienna has a long history as Europe’s music capital, and music lovers come to see the houses of the composers who lived and worked here. The homes of Schubert, Brahms, Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart all host museums, but they are mostly small and forgettable.

For the best music history experience, I like the Haus der Musik, which honors the great Viennese composers with fine artifacts and fun exhibits. Try your hand at virtually conducting the Vienna Philharmonic — if you mess up, the “musicians” will refuse to play.

Classical music performances are everywhere, booking up to 10,000 seats a night. The Vienna State Opera alone belts out 300 glittering shows a year. Fans of toe-tapping waltzes head to the Kursalon, an elegant hall in the main city park, where Johann Strauss himself directed concerts 100 years ago (www.soundofvienna.at).

Mozart lovers choose the intimate little Theater an der Wien, designed in 1801, especially for Wolfie’s operas. This gilded high culture can be surprisingly affordable: A standing-room ticket for the opera is about the same price as a cinema ticket.

For a literal taste of old Vienna, step into one of the venerable cafes clustered on St. Michael’s Square, behind the hulking Hofburg (the Habsburg palace). With crystal chandeliers and worn red-velvet chairs, these establishments have the charm of times past.

The waiters are grouchy old men, but don’t let them discourage you — classic Viennese pastry service is slow. Admire the delectable specials in the confectionary case while you wait.

Not all Viennese eating is prim and proper — the city is a hotdog capital, too. When Viennese eat at a Wurstelstand, their friends know it all day by their burps. The wiener we know is named for Vienna, but the guy who invented the weenie studied in Frankfurt. Out of nostalgia for his school years, he named his fast food for that city — a frankfurter. Only in Vienna are wieners called frankfurters. (Got that?)

Whether you’re lingering in a genteel cafe or enjoying Strauss in a park, Vienna is a class act. Everything old seems new again in this vibrant city.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.

&Copy; 2012 Rick Steves/Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.