Julie

My boyfriend and I are considering a week long trip to Vienna but are wondering if that's too long in one city. Any thoughts? Any ideas for side trips or day trips from there? I'd love some advice!<BR>Thanks,<BR>Julie

bettyk

I would spend at least a day in the Danube Valley area. Melk Abbey is beautiful and the cities of Durnstein and Krems on the Danube are wonderful little towns to walk around. Also, there is a very nice hotel and restaurant in Durnstein called Richard The Lionhearted that is perched up on the hill overlooking the river. We always stop there for lunch. Also, the little town of Mariazell (http://www.mariazell.at/ in german but click on the Sightseeing link to see beautiful pictures of the town)would make a wonderful day trip.

Christina

Hard to say with a city like that, probably depends on the person. It was too long for me and I was only there 4 days (it rained a lot every day which didn't help). However, one good thing is that there are local tour companies that have lots of good day trips that are reasonably priced and you only need to sign up the day before or so. I found one in an office on the main tourist walking street (Karntnerstrasse?), sorry I can't think of their name, but it was in the part going from the Opera to St Stephan's Cathedral, on the left side as you face the cathedral, on a corner. Just stop in a browse their brochurs, they have bus day trips (with multilingual guides, mine was excellent) to Prague, Budapest, Vienna Woods, lots of local Austrian places -- I took one to Budapest which was really interesting and nice (a long day, but I kind of like those comfortable bus trips for seeing the countryside; the bus ride was about 3 hrs each way, maybe, we didn't get back until 9 pm or so but saw a lot).

Julie

I spent a week in Vienna and didn't find it too long, but then I like to really get to know a city and will walk for days on end trying to discover every nook and cranny. I am also a music lover and am particularly fond of museums, history, art, architecture and food. That said, however, while I was staying in Vienna I took a day trip (stayed overnight, actually) to Salzburg and was very glad I did. Melk Abbey is also another excellent suggestion. P.S. One of my favorite finds in Vienna was the Schmetterlinghaus (sp?) - The Butterfly House which I found in one of the parks behind the Opera House, I believe. In the December chill it felt good (and very exotic) to enter into this fabulous, glass-enclosed place.

xxx

Side trips can include a train trip to melk Abbey with a return boat ride on the Danube to Krems; catch the train in Krems back to Vienna. You may also consider a side trip to Budapest, either for the day, or spend the night and return.

Bob Brown

After spending 7 days in Vienna, I think the answer is this: it depends on what you like!! If you like music, and can find concerts and operas to your liking, then a week can go qickly. Our last trip was 4 days long. We met some friends there and took in 3 performances at the Volksoper, and ate at some decent places. The time went very quickly. <BR>If you like art, the Kunsthistorisches Museum is interesting, particularly if a "special" is on. We have found something special there both trips.<BR><BR>Also, Sch&ouml;nbrunn is worth a long tour.<BR>The grounds and the building are of interest. I think I could go back, particularly if something like Die Lustige Witwe was on at the Stadtsoper.<BR><BR>If you really want to start a discussion, frame a few questions of comparison between Paris and Vienna!!<BR>The Bourbons versus the Hapsburgs, and Empire versus Empire. <BR>

John G

There is so much to see and do in Vienna, I hardly think a week is too long. I was there for 5 days and I never got to ride on the ferris wheel at the Prater, nor go to Schonbrunn Palace. You could spend an entire day just going to the Kaffee Hauses to eat pastry! (If you want to get fat, just go to Vienna.) Julie, if you travel to Vienna during the opera season--GO!

Wayne

Julie---<BR>Vienna is so beautiful, and there's so much to see (and to hear, if you like the music) that you shouldn't become bored. Bob Brown's recommendations are the same I would make, adding that there are lots and lots of sights to see within an easy train ride or drive from Vienna. I'd probably opt for a drive along the Danube to the west, or a train ride in that direction to any one of several nice places that have been mentioned. One thing I'll add--no one has mentioned that there is a pretty good subway system in Vienna. For those who worry about getting caught in the rain, the subway is a good alternative and is much faster and lower in cost than a taxi. The Vienna metro doesn't have as many branches or as many stops as Paris or London subways, but the trains are nice and the system is easy to use. I have found it quite adequate to get me around town, including somewhat remote places like the Schonbrunn Palace.

Bob Brown

I agree. The Vienna public transit system is efficient. (The only downside is that around the Kettenbr&uuml;ckengasse station and Karlsplatz, you can find quite a few drunks with their cans of beer. No one bothered me, however.) I got the Vienna Card, which we bought in a 72 hour edition, for unlimited subway, bus, and street car access. The subway or Ubahn is fine, but we rode the streetcar several times too. We could take the car right to the ring, transfer to another steetcar that went around the ring, and do some cheap sightseeing. And we took the streetcar right to the Belevedere, and back to the hotel. Ditto for our trip to The House of Music. (Which by the way was a minor disappointment; I expected a little more -- given that the Viennese have people like Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss (2), Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Hayden, and some others to work with.)<BR><BR>Traffic in Vienna is heavy, but the street cars get through the traffic because they have a clear track that slices right through the confusion.<BR> <BR>And you gotta eat at Figlm&uuml;llers (gosh I hope I spelled that right)<BR>The wienerschitzel is huge, surface area wise. It is so spread out that it overlaps the plate. There were 4 of us and we consumed half a schitzel each.<BR>It was good, but the real treat was to experience the restaurant itself.<BR>And go into the bakeries and stock up on goodies. You can leave the Mozart Balls to your friends; there are lots better things to eat in Vienna than those!! <BR><BR>And Sch&ouml;nbrunn Place is a breeze to reach on the Ubahn. We could walk a short distance from our hotel to the Kettenbr&uuml;ckengasse stop, and the train took us directly to the Sch&ouml;nbrunn stop from where we walked the short distance to the palace.<BR>One night when we went to the opera, my friends (upscale yuppies; one a former student) had to take a taxi. I went, because they paid for it. The next night, my wife and I went to the same place. We walked to Kettenbr&uuml;ckengasse and took the Ubahn.<BR>We changed at L&auml;ngenfeldgasse for a train headed north. Eight stops later we got off at W&auml;hringerstrasse and walked into the door of the Volksoper.<BR>It took us the same amount of time as the taxi at a fraction of the cost.<BR><BR>In that context, let me say that if you want to attend a performance at the Volksoper, buying tickets is easy.<BR>I consulted the schedule on the web, sent an order via email, got confirmation in an English form letter, gave them a credit card number, turned up at the theater on the evening of the performance, and collected my tickets from a box office representative standing in the lobby with a folder of "will call" tickets. I gave him my name; he gave me my tickets, which were exactly what I had ordered. In we went, and enjoyed the heck out of a performance of Die Lustige Witwe (the Merry Widow). At the start of the last act, the producer factored in a Parisian Cancan dance routine. The audience went wild and the whole thing was repeated, with the pit orchestra brass section belting out some of the most virtuosic playing I have heard in a long time, particularly the trumpets.<BR><BR>Considering the ease of the whole thing, from initial purchase, to transportation, to enjoyment, I don't think events could unfold with anymore precision or convenience.<BR><BR>I cannot get out of this without stirring up a little controversy.<BR>I guess everybody who goes to Vienna should eat a Sacher Tort. I did; at the mother lode. But in retrospect, it is to me an overpriced chocolate sponge cake with white glop on it. There are better sweets in Vienna!! (Now let's have the retorts, er ah tarts.)

bettyk

I agree with Bob about Sacher Torte. I lived in Vienna for a couple of years and tried lots of deserts. I found the Sacher Torte to be dry and not that tasty. My very favorite deserts are Palatschinken, a crepe filled with chocolate and hazlenuts then smothered in whipped cream, and Mohr im Hemd, a hazlenut chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. YUM!! If you ever see these on the menu, you have to try them.

Bob Brown

Please BettyK, you are making me drool, and long to get back to Vienna. I am planning my next trip now and toying with the idea of taking a run to Vienna.<BR>There are so many places in Europe I love to visit: the Berner Oberland, <BR>Munich, Paris, and Vienna.<BR>And the &Ouml;tztal, west and south of Innsbruck is on the list, as is the Grossglockner Hochalpenstra&szlig;e.<BR><BR>We had great time at the opera, too.<BR>But my trip is 9 months away. <BR>And to make matters worse, Jane Eaglen just finished Un bel di on my stero!!<BR>Groan.<BR>How can you be homesick for a place you don't live in?<BR><BR>

bettyk

Vienna is a wonderful city. Once I got past the language problems, I loved living there. It was very safe, the people are friendly, the food is divine, and the wine fabulous. It has a colorful history and is heaven for music lovers (as well as Salzburg). However, the weather can be dreary in the winter and much colder than I was use to (being from Texas). But it was a memorable experience getting to see it "up close". We will be visiting again in May and I can't wait!