(Part 1) Vienna the City of Splendor: The Car That Started World War 1 and the Best Chocolate Cake

- December 27, 2018, Thursday.

- If there is one city that I'd describe as "fancy," Vienna would be one of the first cities that will come to mind. Being one of the biggest cities of Europe today, and the historical capital of the Austrian Empire, it is one of the cities that can probably blind people with its lavish display of regal pride and heritage. This is a far cry from what people in my country usually know about Vienna - Libby's Vienna sausage (which by the way, isn't Viennese or Austrian for that matter, but despite this, I still enjoy very much.) I had no regrets choosing Vienna as my last stop for my European trip.

- From the tiny town of Salzburg, I took a train to the grand Austrian capital city. I rode a Westbahn train (click here for the Westbahn booking website), which goes directly to Wien Westbahnhof (Vienna West Train Station), where my hostel was located. I stayed in Hostel Ruthensteiner (click here), one of the top-rated hostels in Vienna. Although tucked in a residential area, it was a 5-minute walk from the Westbahnhof (which also has connections to the U+S Bahn metro system), and located near shops, restaurants, and groceries. There were other hostels around too, like Vienna's branch of Wombat's Hostel (and if this sounds familiar, it's because I stayed in Wombat's Berlin and Wombat's Munich.)

- After checking in my hostel, I wasted no time and went to the train station to buy a 5-day pass (it's actually a 3 day-pass, then I eventually bought a 2-day pass after my 3-day pass expired.) The only thing I dislike about my hostel's location is that most of the tourist spots were a few train stations away. Although this does not seem like a big deal, I just probably got used to having tourist spots that were walking distance, even though I understand that not all tourists spots were close to where I stayed. However, I observed that Vienna as a city was not as organized, or at least not organized the way other European cities were organized. It looked more decentralized to me, and most accommodations were clustered a bit far from the main center of the city.

- I rode the metro to Karslpatz, where I saw the 18th-century Karlskirche (St. Charles), though my main purpose of going there was to visit the Vienna Museum (Wien Museum) in Karlsplatz. It was a small city museum that showed a brief history of Vienna and the Austrian Empire.

A cozy little museum.

I adore this candle holder made from a large shell. (The scissors at the bottom are for cutting burnt candle wick.) 

Giraffe piano.

The dresses were gorgeous, but I was more interested in the mannequins' hair made from - what I think is - paper.

Seal of the Austrian Empire.

Statues and stained glass windows from the St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Karlskirche.

Had apple strudel for dessert after lunch.

- From the city museum, I rode the metro from Karlsplatz station to the Hauptbahnhof (Sudtiroler Platz) metro station and changed to the suburban line. The reason why I'm saying this in detail is because I noticed that the S-Bahn and U-Bahn at the Hauptbahnhof are not connected although they stop at the "same station." In my case, from the basement level where the U-Bahn stop was, I had to go up to the street level, look for the S-Bahn entrance, and go down again. I took the S-Bahn to the Quartier Belvedere station to visit two important places: the Belvedere and the Museum of Military History.

- The Museum of Military History is located across the Belvedere to the south, and is located inside a reddish Byzantine-Gothic style building. The building used to be the royal arsenal in the late 18th century, which makes it an appropriate place to house the Museum of Military History. Although I am not a big fan of military history, this was still a significant museum to visit since Archduke Ferdinand's car and uniform are in the Museum of Military History. If this name does not ring a bell, then I'd like to tell you that his assassination was the defining moment that started World War I. Archduke Ferdinand, her apparent to the throne of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire, visited Sarajevo in 1914 with his wife Sophie of Hohenburg. There was a slight change in the itinerary right after the archduke gave a speech at the town hall, which caused the driver to take a wrong turn, and in a case of bad coincidence, right in front of their assassin, Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of the Black Hand secret military society, and members of the society were stationed around Sarajevo that day and attempted several times to assassinate the archduke. The archduke's assassination was supposed to add pressure to letting go of southern states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire so they can combine with other neighboring states and become Yugoslavia (and they did eventually become Yugoslavia after World War 1.)

What. is. fancy.

Oh, and this is the actual museum!! The building above was just the outer building.

The interiors do not disappoint too.

Weaponssss.

Hot  air balloon.

Nazi propaganda.

Archduke Ferdinand's car.

His (last) uniform.

- To air my mind after halls and halls of weapons, and the chills I got from seeing Archduke Ferdinand's car and bloody uniform, I hopped over to the Belvedere across the street. This palace complex was built in the late 1600s to the 1700s, and functioned as the residences of various members of the royal Habsburg Dynsty. Today, the buildings of the Belvedere function as fine arts museums, function halls, and research centers. I wasn't able to go inside because of the long lines, but with the time that I had, seeing the facade of the Belvedere buildings was good enough for me.

The Upper Belvedere.

Sphinx.

The Lower Belvedere at the far back.

It was incredible hard to take a decent photo because of the lighting (the sun was behind me), but it turned out decent. 

Details of the Upper Belvedere.

- I rode the metro to the Wien Mitte - Landstrasse station, and had a 20-minute walk east along Vienna's quiet streets to the Danube River, until I reached one of the museums that fascinated me as I was planning my trip. Kunst Haus Wien definitely stands out among the buildings around it with rather "stereotypically-European" architecture; Kunst Haus Wien looks like a giant drunk chessboard. The building was designed by 20th-century artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Hundertwasser was known for making art inspired by nature and not having straight lines, sort of like Barcelona's Antoni Gaudi (click here and here to see some of Gaudi's designs in Barcelona.) However, unlike Gaudi, Hunderwasser was not just an architect, but was a painter as well; his paintings form the main bulk of the permanent exhibition inside the museum. (No photography inside.)

It's nicer inside.

Backyard.

The cafe is behind me.

Loophole: I got to take this photo inside the building BUT not inside the gallery.

- A block south is the Hundertwasser Village, a building remodeled in the early 1990s by Hundertwasser from an old tire factory. Today, it is a colorful collection of apartments, and at the lower levels, a psychedelic maze of souvenirs, cafes, and small galleries. Honestly, Hundertwasser's architecture is a good break from the usual geometric and plain-colored buildings in the area.

Hundertwasser Village.

Bazaar.

- That evening, I rushed back to Karlsplatz metro station and walked to the historic center of the Vienna. Although not supposed to be part of my plan for the day, I found out the night before that my friend Ann and her mom were in Vienna so agreed to meet up. We met at Hotel Sacher, a 19th-century 5-star hotel located beside the Vienna State Opera. Although none of us were staying there, this hotel is famous for serving one of the world's sought-after chocolate cake - the sachertorte. It is said that Franz Sacher, a confectioner, invented the cake in the early 1830s for Prince Wenzel von Metternich; his son, Eduard Sacher, founded Hotel Sacher year later.

Hotel Sacher.

- People literally line up outside the hotel's cafe, and fortunately I was able to go straight in since Ann and her mom were already inside (thank you for waiting for me huhu.) The sachertorte is a dense chocolate cake with a thin apricot filling, with thick chocolate icing on the outside. The cake was not too sweet, which was perfect for me. I enjoyed the cake more not only because of how it tasted, but because I was with good company.

SACHERTORTE.

With Ann and her mom.

Old-style cash register.

Fancy cafe.

- Right after my late "snack," we walked around the historic center until we reached Figlmüller Schnitzel, a century-old family-run restaurant that serves one of Austria's most well-known dishes - the schnitzel. Although I've had schnitzel in Salzburg (click here for Part 2), Figlmüller's schnitzels are HUGE - bigger than a regular dinner plate. To make it more authentic, I decided to have Almdudler to drink; Almdudler is the brand of an Austrian herbed soda and was made in the 1950s. By the way, this restaurant is also one of the top restaurants to visit in Vienna, so expect a(n insanely long) line, just like in Hotel Sacher.

Passed by St. Stephen's Cathedral.

I TOLD YOU IT WAS HUGE.

Thank you for the wonderful meal!!

- I ended my day after a sumptuous meal, and saying goodbye to Ann and her mom. I rode the train from Stephansplatz metro station. It was the latest that I'd been out for the whole trip, and it was nice to see that Vienna was still festive even late at night. Although it was a jam-packed first day in Vienna, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It was definitely the perfect start to more wonderful things that I would experience during my stay in Vienna. If I was already blinded by the royal grandeur of Vienna on my first day, what more the day after when I visited the royal Habsburg palaces and THE HABSBURGS THEMSELVES!!!!

- Please don't forget to read about my other adventures in Germany, Austria, and Slovakia here:

GERMANY:

Berlin and Potsdam: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here

Munich and Schwangau:  Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here

AUSTRIA:

Salzburg: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here

Vienna: Part 2 here, Part 3 here

SLOVAKIA:

Bratislava: Click here