AROUND EUROPE – VIENNA

Schoenbrunn Gardens

Two men…

It takes about three hours to get from Budapest to Vienna by coach. The bus stops under a suspendended motorway, in Erdberg station a place reminding of the opening scenes of the Cuban refugee camp in “Scarface”. The sightseeing is a bit gloomy but as soon as you step outside there is a mood change: clean sidewalks, tall and modern buidlings, Mercedes taxis waiting for customers. There is no sight of Al Pacino though. The main character of this other movie is Fritz Haberlfellner, a well-built, tall Austrian, with cheeks as red as Santa’s and a large smile. No wonder, he lives with passion, doing what he likes in Vienna, one of the first five happiest cities in the world. A regular work day begins early in the morning, at 6.30, and ends late at night. And it’s been like this for twenty years, with outstanding results and millions of passengers well taken care of. In his spare time, Fritz enjoys taking long bike rides and driving his powerful car.

Niki is one of the Romanians who chose to live their life in another country, doing a job he enjoys. He is the kind of guy who gets under your skin, resourceful and dedicated. Strightforward and honest. He came to Austria in 2007 together with his wife. A short time after, he brought his daughter, too. In the meantime, a second child, a son, was born. As all immigrants, he lives in Vienna’s 10th District. That’s were Serbian, Turkish, Romanian and other nationalities abide. Not always in peace. Problems sometimes arise – riots, thefts, yet, nothing bad ever happened to him. he was not anything bad ever happened. He is happy here and doesn’t even consider going back to Romania.

Vienna

The Green Vienna

There are three things to enjoy in Vienna in one day: the parks, Mozart candies and opera music.

If the weather is nice and the grass, green, the lawn in front of the gorgeous cathedral Votiki is the place to go. Students and young people lie in the grass or on the red loungers available for free, sunbathing or having conversations.

“Russian is very beautiful but it’s hard ….” says a Russian guy, in his early twenties.

“So it’s hard even for you, who are Russian!” jokes his Austrian friend

“Something like that, but it’s worth the effort. This language has a special musicality”, he ads, his eyes glowing.

Right in front of Votiki Cathedral is the Hop On/ Hop Off bus station. In the summer of 2014, the Green Line was introduced. It goes around some of the most beautiful and greenest areas of the city, inlcuding Grinzing Village, the Lichenstein Gardens and a wonderful city panorama. The natives are wealthy people and most of them are still having a second house outside the city. In the old times, the jetset used to spend the summer at their holiday homes surrounded by idyllic landscapes. The whispers of the leaves of the wooded hills that guard Vienna can still be heard in music pieces written by Mozart, Johann Strauss, Beethoven.

Grinzing supporters

Grinzing, a formerly independent municipality, now part of XIXth district of Vienna, is a place famous for its vineyards and numerous “Heurigen” – traditional cafes that serve wine. Legend has it that even Napoleon Bonaparte fell in love with Grinzing wine. The place is surrounded by the famous Vienna Woods, treasured and financially supported by the Dalai Lama, Jimmy Carter, Sophia Loren, and other public figures. Wandering through Grinzing cosy streets is a delight, especially for wine enthusiasts. Some of the “heurigen” stick to the ancient habit of hanging above the street a pole with a bunch of fir branches at its end as a sign that they have good wine, waiting to be served to thirsty customers. Most taverns offer at the entrance one free glass of wine for tasting.

Strolling around Saint Stephen Platz is a nice way to end a day in Vienna. Some of the shops are open as late as 8 o clock (the majority closese at 7pm). Staats Opera shows are broadcasted live on a big screen outside the building so that classical opera aficionados may watch it for free. Even Tom Cruise was recently here, to shoot for a new movie, causing traffic jams.

As for Schoenbrunn Palace well, this is a special story. One day is barely enough to enjoy centuries of history. Although it sounds very touristic, this is the place to experience life as true Vienese: read your favorite book on a bench, jog with friends, enhance your photographer skills, wander through the maze, find out how many petals are in a pink lotus.

Schoenbrunn Palace

My tips: avoid eating in touristic places, look for small and local restaurants; eat onion soup; use the hop on/hop off green line.

A.G. Billig travelled by coach around Europe for three weeks, visiting twelve of its most beautiful cities, as part of a special Eurolines project. You can read more about day one, here.