HIPoolboy

It's just a few weeks away and the excitement is building. Our itinerary:

Days 1-7 Vienna with major sites Hofburg, Belvedere, Schonbrunn, Stefansdom, Kunsthistoriches, Naschmarkt, Prater and hopefully plenty of time to get lost in the streets/cafes between. My husband's mother and grandmother, now both passed on, were born and raised in Vienna. We hope to take in some sites associated with their days there and perhaps will be able to do a little research too. He visited once as a small child, remembers the Prater and great grandma (she is buried in Vienna but we are unsure where) taking him thru the neighborhood shops to introduce him but little else since he was so young.

We would like to take a day trip one day and would enjoy some ideas other than Melk/Krems since we'll be staying near there. Is Baden worthwhile? Also suggestions for a great Heuriger easily reached by public transportation, and any other not to miss cafes or restaurants, food stands for local flavor.

Days 8-9 Durnstein - take in the town (a little down time in between cities) including time on the Danube up to Melk Abbey, winery

Day 10 Hallstatt - hopefully great weather for good photos - maybe rent an electric boat for an hour or two

Days 11-17 Salzburg - we'll take two days trips. One to Berchtesgaden (Konsigsee Lake and Eagles Nest) and the other to St. Gilgen/Wolfgangsee (boat and Schafberg). Otherwise take in Salzburg sites and nearby outskirts (Hellbrunn, Untersburg, Hangar 7)

Would appreciate any advise on taking the train from Vienna to Durnstein, Durnstein to Hallstatt and then Hallstatt to Salzburg. Should we (2) buy tickets ahead of time or while there, transfers between stations and so on. Seems like separate tickets will be better than pass unless there is a deal we should be looking at? Find the trains site (obb) a tad confusing. We will travel from place to place on weekdays, early/mid-morning...times to avoid?

Any other "can't miss" suggestions? I've done a lot of reading but always enjoy fellow travelers must do's and advice Realize we've got a lot of questions here, but if you have a tip for one or two, it would be greatly appreciated.

ira

Hi H,

For train schedules, tickets, etc, go to http://www.oebb.at/
Click "English" at the upper right

It takes about 5 hrs to go from DÜRNSTEIN IN DER WACHAU to Hallstatt.

molker

The largest graveyard in Vienna is the Zentralfriedhof .
Millions of Vienna folk buried here.

At door # 2 an office and historical locator for those buried by name and any otherinfo available.

Worth a stop as this is a most interesting look into Vienna life too.

Itis divided by a grid system so individual graves are easy to find.
It is so big - even its own bus service within.

Baden a nice day trip - spa , casino nice gardens , old buildings - easy transfer by train or Badenerbahn ( this a big streetcar type ) begins just across from the State Opera.

Dürnstein makes a great visit.

www.duernstein.at




Frequent transfers from Vienna Franz Josef Bahnhof to Krems - then a short bus ride Krems to Dürnstein-
Train /bus schedule co-ordinated so no real wait .

Vienna - Krems about 1 hour direct without change- Krema - Dürnstein by bus 15- 20 minutes.

Chance for wine tasting, sightseeing, perhaps a bike ride through the vineyards - and a stop at a heuriger.

Nice river promenade .

The village small and especially nice at night when tourists are gone - Dürnstein ruins , old walls , Church steeple all lighted at night.

possible wine tasting

Domane Wachau

www.doemane-wachau.at

dining in atmosphere of wine gardens

Alter - Klosterkeller

www.alter-klosterkeller.at

Alte Presshaus - on the main stret with a nice outdoor garden- new big white umbrelly - can not miss it - place to stop - just across the street Böhmer winery - fine wines at fair price - honey, schnaps etc. too.

train info for Vienna - Dürnstein and onward to Hallstatt

www.oebb.at

Dürnstein- Hallstatt visa St. Polten often about 4 hours 15 minutes

no need for ticket purchase in advance -
train- vienna krems is most often 4 double decked casrs - so much room.

cmtravel

RE travel from Hallstatt to Salzburg: We took a bus from Salzburg, transferred to a train to arrive in Hallstatt. (were orginally going to travel by train rather than the bus, however the hotel rep suggested this). There is a ferry to take you across the lake.

A must do in Hallstatt is the tour of the Salt Mine. It was an incredible experience! We also rented bikes, however it was not a great area for bike riding.

We stayed at the Gruner Baum hotel= www.gruenerbaum.cc - Marktplatz 104, Hallstatt - 06134 8263
Our room had a huge balcony overlooking the lake. Great for morning views of the fog coming off the lake....and a late afternoon break to enjoy wine and cheese purchased from a local market.

Have wonderful time!!!!

HIPoolboy

ira, I had realized the hrs when planning the journey and had considered a day trip from Salzburg. In the end, decided the extra few hours were worth spending time there after the day tourists leave and hope the journey will provide some scenery?

cmtravel, we are also staying Hotel Gruner Baum though not the terrace but a lake view balcony. Did you eat in the hotel or any suggestions where to?

Molker, I am actually fascinated by cemeteries and had planned for us to visit Zentralfriedhof, among those in the other locations we will be visiting. I have been trying to find burial records but keep running into just the "famous" and so hope your tip is the gem that helps us find great grandmother's gravesite; it would be very special...thank you for that information! Are you aware of whether that area is open daily? Also your feedback on Dürnstein which we initially considered as a day trip but decided to make it a restful stop in between the bustle of the cities and your feedback reconfirms our decision. Happily we have Alter Klosterkeller on the agenda (our innkeeper also recommended so you've cemented that) and any place for great wine, schnapps and so on is a plus!! Do you think we should arrange our train tickets for Hallstatt while on the Dürnstein portion of the journey or do you think will we be okay to book those as we go too?

cmtravel

Re dining in Hallstatt, we did dine in the hotel Gruner Baum one evening, which was good. I cannot remember the other restaurant names, however, there is one outdoor casual outdoor (picnic table style) restaurant that is next to the lake (good for lunch or dinner)

A note re: Salzburg - if you enjoy Classical Music - We went to a Mozart Dinner Concert at Stiftskeller St. Peter, Baroque Hall. It was a wonderful experience, (note to reserve in advance)

I hope you have a fabulous trip!

molker

The Zentralfriedhof is open daily - long hours - probably csn check for them but certsinly open during normal times.

Eay to reach UBahn line U-3 to the end Simmering station then Streetcasr # 71 - 3 stops for the Friedhof

Tor ( Door ) 1 , 2 3.

2 the most central main entrance and office there too.

Usually several flower stands open .

you can check this site .
it will allow an inquiry of ones passed over.

www.friedhoefwien.at

german only but should be easily followed.

Dürnstein - a good choice in my opinion- a nice break- it gets busy on weekends or if a danube cruise boat docks.

But before 9AM- between 11 and " PM abnd after 5 PM. just overnight guests - not that many and the 200 plus local villagers- many in a heuriger so not roaming about.

I sometimes sitting by the " Stammtisch " ( regular guests table )at the Alter Klosterkeller or another place if open.

No need to buy tickets in advance for trains for routes you take.

molker

sorry the friedhof site

www.friedhoefewien.at

HIPoolboy

The link is exactly what I was looking for and a success. Not only great grandma but several others in the ancestry hunt, as well. My husband expresses his gratitude for the hint and is amazed at what we've just found. I am aware that due to shortage of grave sites, they are often rented. If the time has expired, does that mean we'll have trouble finding the site in Zentralfriedhof?

A hint for translation, the google language translator is great. You can copy and paste or type in and it will translate for you, several available languages. It helped here.

bachslunch

If you're big on classical music, you'll definitely want to visit Zentralfriedhof. Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Johann Strauss the Younger, and von Suppe are all buried within a few yards of each other here.

You can also visit several composer's houses, including at least three Beethoven ones (Pasqualati, Eroica, and Heligenstadt houses), two Schubert ones (birth and death houses), and one each for Haydn (with a memorial room for Brahms, whose apartment building no longer exists), Mozart, and J. Strauss. If memory serves, these tend to be pretty bare of exhibits, so the interest will be in seeing first-hand the apartment spaces where they lived.

annhig

hi poolboy,

i notice from your vienna itinerary, that you are interested in both the Hofburg and Schoenbrun palaces. if you buy a 'sissi' ticket, [named after the empress] preferably at the Hofburg where the queues are less, you can just walk into the Schoenbrun, where the queues are appalling, AND it gives access to the longest tour.

my other tip, especially as you mention Heurige, is to use the tram and bus to get to the top of the Kahlenberg, then walk down through the woods and vinyards into Grinzing. look for the Heurige near Beethoven's summer house - lovely wine and excellent food. we had such a good time that we still can't agree on how many Heurige we visited! try to drink as much water as you drink wine, if you don't want to end up equally confused.

finally, another vote for Baden. A lovely town, an if you are there at the right time, a beautiful rose garden.

click on my screen name if you fancy reading my trip report! [caution - it's wet].

LisaG

Hi Poolboy,

If you are interested in cemeteries, then you may be very interested in the cemetery that surrounds the church at the top of the town of Hallstatt. There is also a "bone house" right next to the church that is really something. Lots of bones and skulls. A very interesting sight.

Happy travels,

LisaG

molker

Re zentralfriedhof and ancestry hunt.

Many or even most graveyards here find that plots are rented rather than purchased - Rentals can be for long extended periods- paid in advance . Not unusual for a family plot to have multi burials contained in it.
Rental terms can vary and as long as future family members pay the renewable rental fees the grave exisits.
If rental is not paid after a certain period the grave site is removed and then re - rented - this can be after many years.

The Zentralfriedhof is huge - some areas still unused . this is not the same for some others in Vienna.
The need for more burial places for Vienna was the reason to establish this site- then some distance from the actual city.
Of course the city has grown but this is still near to the city limit.

The bone house in Hallstatt is not unique and others exist in Austria.

Another way to search is birth and baptiem books in the local parish of family residence - thes quite often very old and a good source if you have some useful information search for ancestors would be the

Thus

LisaG

Yes, Molker. I understand there are other bone houses, but since HiPoolboy was going to be in Hallstatt, I didn't want him to miss the opportunity to climb up to the church to see both the cemetery and bone house. Sometimes, the climb seems not worth it unless you know that something interesting is up there...in addition to the incredible view, of course!

By the way, I have used much of your valuable input on Austria (am currently in Steyr for a couple of days between Salzburg and Vienna!). Thanks for the many insights you've provided!

Happy Travels,

LisaG

molker

Hello LisaG


Thank You !

I am happy that perhaps some information supplied before assisted someone.
Hopefully I become a more frequent poster the future.

nz101

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