Why Vienna should be on your bucketlist

As globetrotters, we discover new cities and places all the time. Some of these places, we fall in love with at first sight, others we do not like all that much or we need a bit longer to appreciate. Here are some of the reasons why I fell in love with Vienna…

The baroque buildings in Vienna are almost as delicious as their Apfelstrudel! Almost. My camera was ready to explode at all the fancy architecture! Seriously, I thought I fell into an endless pinterest board on this trip. Which is both bad and amazing due to my out of control pinterest addiction, but that’s a story for another day.

I especially loved the bright white, the yellow and the pink exteriors, being a complete sucker for feminine pastel colours. I also adored the Ancient Greek and Roman-inspired statues perched on top of the roofs as they gazed down at the passerby. The buildings and the big broad walkways added another layer to Vienna’s already elegant ambiance. And of course, we can’t forget how clean and well-maintained all these buildings are. The city is clean, the busses, metro’s and trains run on time, you feel safe and the people are very charming and they have one thing in common – they all love Vienna… Another insider tip: look at the traffic lights in the city. There are three individual symbols to find both in red and green. All couples representing a male couple, a female couple and a male/female couple and they are ever so cute. They even have names “Let’s go together “, “Feeling” and “The voice of love”. They were designed at the time Vienna hosted the Eurovision to highlight the city’s views of inclusivity. A discreet, but lovely gesture, no?

And then the art…. Over a 100 years ago, artists like Gustav Klimt sent shock waves through the Viennese coffee cafes and helped to launch modern art. Now, the city is saturated with more than 250 listed museums and collections. This number includes opulent palaces, small museums, composers’ memorial rooms, and quirky private collections. Art is just everywhere.

I realise that I did not mention shopping before, but Vienna certainly is not short on luxury shopping opportunities. The ‘Goldenes Quartier’, is the city’s home to Luis Vuitton, Prada, and Saint Laurent. Located off the Kohlmarkt in the 1st District. And you know a city is fancy when they need to extend their posh shopping streets because they just can’t accomodate every store dying to be there. Connecting the Graben with Hofburg Palace, another luxurious shopping street is more than just a means to an end when getting around the city. This is where you go to sample the delicacies at Demel, shop (or stare – like me) Tiffany’s, and try on some high fashion at Burburys, Ferragamo, and Christian Dior.

And then the food. Although wining & dining was not our main focus on this trip, you cannot go hungry in Vienna. Below are some tips:
– Sacher torte: This famous chocolate cake is one of the most decadent desserts and you should taste it at Hotel Sacher.
– Schnitzel: You can’t go to Vienna without eating a wiener schnitzel! The most famous restaurant is the Figlmüller but there are plenty of restaurants around that serve this dish.
– Finger sandwiches: These little sandwiches are the perfect light lunch or snack and great for any kind of eater. I like them from Trzesniewski.
– Apple strudel: Sweet cinnamon and apple filled pastry. You can’t go wrong.
Not to forget the coffee…Right in the heart of Vienna, on the cobble-stoned Franziskanerplatz square, is one of the most loved coffee houses by the Viennese: Das Kleines Café. This charming cafe from the 1970’s serves Viennese coffee and snacks just like time stood still. Most likely you’ll see old men with their newspaper open, drinking coffee or chatting with fellow locals. With limited tables and seats, only the lucky ones can sit under the arched ceilings. But if you truly want to feel like a local, Kleines Cafe is the place to be. Tip: Order the Melange — an espresso shot served in a large coffee cup topped with steamed milk and milk foam.

Let me end this love-story of Vienna with a song from 1912 that I heard Jonas Kaufman perform in Brussels a few years ago. Not sure if you know it: “Wien, Wien, nur du allein, solst stets die Stadt meiner Träume sein! Dort, wo ich glücklich und selig bin, ist Wien, ist Wien, mein Wien!

Day 3 in Vienna: Visit of the Belvedere and the highlight of our trip: ‘Aida opera’ with Anna Netrebko.

Spread over 90,000 square metres in central Vienna and including 60 cultural institutions, the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna is one of the largest districts for contemporary art and culture in the world. The sky is the limit at the ‘MuseumsQuartier’. Historic architecture meets contemporary design. High culture meets subcultures. The spectrum ranges from fine art, architecture, music, fashion, theater, dance, literature, street art to design and photography. They even have a game culture in Vienna. (My son would be happy!) The good news is that everything is within walking distance from Hotel Beethoven. Since it was a beautiful and sunny day, we decided to walk to the Belvedere.

The Belvedere Palace is one of many art museums in the city, but perhaps one of the most beautiful. We only visited the upper Belvedere where you can admire a large collection of works by the famous Viennese artist Gustav Klimt as well as Egon Schiele who was a protégé of Klimt’s. If you are a fan of art, and especially of expressionists like Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka or Claude Monet, then you should definitely plan a visit there. The Belvedere is simply stunning. Since it was Saturday, there were lots of people, but we still managed to tak in all of the beauty.

The real highlight of the day was of course the reason for us coming to Vienna: The premiere of Aida with superstars Netrebko, Kaufman, Garancia & Salsi. We booked the tickets in May last year and the theater was packet. The premiere was sold out! You could see people with signs looking to buy last minute tickets. I hesitated a bit to exchange my ticket (with a profit of course) for a possible next trip, but then I heard that it was chance of a lifetime to watch those 4 topsingers perform together, so I decided against it. I did not regret it for one second!

Last time we saw Anna Netrebko was in 2021 in Verona. That was before the Ukraine war. As the superstar is Russian and she did not speak out against Russia, lots of operafans criticised her. She was even shunned from several opera houses. Knowing that Netrebko is an instagram-age diva, constantly checking her status, she found herself in a difficult position. So, she came onstage … calculating, making sure that she was delivering what her fans expected of her. This prima donna, for whom each new role is one more shot at the spotlight. Boy did she deliver! When she exploded into “Ritorna vincitor,” slipping without a glitch from high peal to feline snarl. Aida is in an impossible position, daughter of a king enslaved by another, in love with the warrior whose job it is to slaughter her people. Netrebko slaps down her emotional cards — anger, jealousy, passion, and pessimism — then assembles them into a winning hand. Later, in the famously unforgiving aria “O Patria Mia,” in which she longs for the “green hills and fragrant streams” of her native Ethiopia, she suspends a luminous high C above the stage and lets it hover there, weightless and bright. Tears come to my eyes….this is a really emotional moment – being in Vienna with my 82-year old mum, watching these great stars perform in the opera Aida. Memorable

The reviews all said that it was a ‘once in a lifetime ‘ chance to see these 4 stars perform together: https://klassik-begeistert.de/giuseppe-verdi-aida-elina-garanca-anna-netrebko-jonas-kaufmann-wiener-staatsoper-21-januar-2023/

Our hotel Beethoven in Vienna

I had been searching the internet for a while to find a perfect and affordable hotel in the center of Vienna. All of a sudden, I stumbled upon Hotel Beethoven. Location was the biggest criteria, since my mum has trouble walking, so it had to be near the Opera. Hotel Beethoven is only one block away from the Naschmarkt, the vast 16th-century origin market, offering fine food and some restaurant stalls. It is also at walking distance from most of the cities major attractions: the Hofburg Palace, the Graben & Kartner shopping streets, the Belvedere and the museum quarter…. Ideal location – check!

The history and the pictures somehow intrigued me, so I took a chance and booked us a room. If there’s one adjective that can properly describe this place, it’s cosy eclectic. As soon as we walked inside the lobby/reception area, we were greeted by the Dutch ‘ex-history teacher’ Bram and I immediately felt at home. Since we booked with the hotel directly, we received museum tickets and they also offered us tea/coffee/cake time in the afternoon. A very nice perk indeed…

On entering the room, a personal note, a bar of chocolate and a bottle of sparkling wine welcomed us. What more do you need, right? The rooms are spacious and a bit quirky, but the eclectic style grows on you. What I thought was interesting is that each of the six floors has a unique theme pertaining to the history and culture of Vienna. “Each room is dedicated to a distinguished personality of the theme.” Ranging from Viennese coffeehouse literati, secession art to Beethoven, love and desire, and strong women. A ‘strong woman’ room for me please ;). I also learned that each of the rooms is color-coded. As a result, the rooms have their own style and vibe, which makes it quite special. The grandmother of the previous owner was Helene Jungreuthmayr. She was a single mother of 2. In 1953 she remodeled the historistic apartment building, originally built in 1902, When Barbara Ludwig took over, she integrated many pieces from her family in the hotel. Her mother was a pianoplayer, hence the Bösendorfer grand piano. She and her supercute labradoodle Leopold are always somewhere in the hotel. Needless to say that I fell in love with Poldi, the dog :)… A cosy hotel with a strong lady boss and a supercute dog!!!!

2023 – Day 2 in Vienna: Albertina Museum & Operahouse

After a healthy breakfast we headed to the Albertina Modern since they had an exposition on ‘Ways of Freedom: from Jackson Pollock to Maria Lassnig’. The expo shows the artistic freedom following the end of the Second World War. Figures including Pollock, Rothko, Barnett Newman and Robert Motherwell were representatives of this new freedom of art. And as I like freedom in al forms and shapes, I am fan 🙂

Next we walked to Albertinaplatz, to go and see the ‘old school’ painters Picasso, Matisse, Degas, Chagall and many more. The Albertina museum is also a part of the Habsburg residential palace and is known for hosting the most valuable collection in the world. There are the permanent exhibits in the Albertina Museum that include the Hamburg staterooms. We visited the Batliner ‘from Monet to Picasso exhibit’ . Herbert Batliner, one of the greatest art collectors and patrons of our time, passed away in 2019 and donated his art collection to the Albertina. To be able to witness that much beauty put tears to my mum’s eyes…

At the exit of the Albertina museum is where you get the best view of the magnificent Vienna Opera House. And here is a little insider tip: At the bottom of the steps is a sausage stand that sells the most sought after sausage in town. The queue at the ‘Bitzinger Würstelstand’ can be up to one hour long but trust me, it is entirely worth it. So after a trip to the museum or before you watch an opera performance, walk downstairs to the legendary sausage stand and grab a Wurst mit Kern, which is sausage and horseradish.

At the Albertinaplatz are also a few cute shops such as Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe . It is a hidden gem in Vienna and one of the few businesses that have survived the 20th century. Today, entering Jungmann & Neffe is a bit like stepping back in time. It is only when you step inside and see the grandeur of the decor will it be evident that they were suppliers to the Royal house. They are still a family owned business and sell high quality fabrics.

We ended our day with a tour of the grand Opera. I highly recommend getting a tour. Although we know it as Vienna’s Opera House it is actually called the Wiener Staatsoper and it is one of the leading opera houses in the world, next to the Scala in Milan. Since the opera is our main reason for coming to Vienna we enjoyed the 40-minute tour and already tried to find our seats for the next day’s performance of Aida. From the foyer, we walked up the grand staircase through the state rooms (Tea Salon, Marble Hall, Schwindfoyer, Gustav Mahler Hall) and then on to the magnificent auditorium (with a view of the stage).

There’s just so much history here. I didn’t know that the Vienna opera has one of the biggest stages in Europe. And for good reason… they have over 300 performances and 70 productions a season. This is crazy! It means that they might go through three stage changes a day. There are 180 000 costumes – worth 6 miles of fabric which are kept in tunnels under the city. My mum is super excited to see Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufman perform Aida tomorrow and it is a premiere. I must admit that I’m also getting excited just listening to her stories of when mummy used to work at the Munich operahouse…

2023 – A trip to Vienna

What better way to start the New Year than ticking off another item on my mother’s bucketlist. Seeing her favourite operastars perform Aida in the beautiful city of Vienna. I have bought the tickets 8 months ago and now here we are, in Vienna. A city that always makes me feel like home, not sure why…I believe that Vienna is as wonderful as Paris but with 1/3rd the crowd. Schönbrunn is as opulent as Versailles, with an added zoo. I’s a place as cosmopolitan as London but on a smaller scale. A place rich with history, music, and true tales of princesses and kings. It’s real and it’s all here in Vienna, Austria. We are ready to explore :).

The sun was out, so we decided to visit the center of town and just take in the vibe and enjoy the clean streets, the well dressed people and of course the good food. By just walking around the numerous sites, each one more majestic than the other, you can still feel the past power of Austria.Did you know that Vienna is a UNESCO world heritage site for two reasons: the Spanish horse riding school… and the coffee culture. The cappuccino was actually invented here. The oldest coffee shop, Frauenhuber, dates to 1825 and you can still grab a cup here today. The entire historic city center is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Both Mozart and Beethoven once performed here so it has a long history. We just strolled through the pedestrian streets and let ourselves be impressed by these buildings full of history! Vienna is so charming, with each street being prettier than the next. Everything just feels so elegant, with architecture dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It simply takes your breath away. There is so much to see and to do (here goes my FOMO again) in this gorgeous city and quite frankly it is hard to fit it all in in just a few days. I particularly loved learning more about the Habsburgers and their incredible rule for 600 years. Maria Theresa was my favourite. Do you know that she had 16 children who she strategically married off to avoid war and keep the Austria empire secure. What a woman has to do for her country…

Hofburg Palace

Standing outside Hofburg Palace was when we really felt like we were in Vienna. This is the image of Vienna we all see when we think about this beautiful city. It is right next to the Austrian National Library and the Spanish Riding school so it makes sense to visit these all on the same day. You can visit the Imperial Apartments. Other highlights include The Sisi Museum, The Spanish Riding School and The Hofburg Treasury. we decided to go with the Sisi museum and I just loved it. Since I saw the movie with Romy Schneider, I have always been intrigued by the love story of the beautiful empress of Austria. And a new serie just came out with the beautiful Dominique Davenport’s and the handsome Jannie Schumann.

We were exhausted but very happy when we went back to our cute and a bit eccentric hotel Beethoven. More about hotel Beethoven later.