Monday, May 4, 2009

VIENNA--CITY OF MUSIC

AUSTRIA TRIP PICTURES

DAY 1 - VIENNA PICTURES

The Hop on - Hop off bus, that took us on the city tour of Vienna



The Mozart and Strauss Concert




The main Opera Singers- The Female was mindblowing !





The Orchestra that performed beautiful Mozart and Strauss compositions



Such Magnificent Statues are a common site in the historically rich city, Vienna




The Huge and Beautiful National Library in Vienna




The popular Giant Ferris wheel which gives a panoramic view of the entire city of Vienna.




The Secession Building, Vienna






The famous Danube River





The Fine arts museum or Kunsthistorisches Museum as they call it




The Statue of Legendary Mozart


1May being a holiday, this wa sa long weekend here, so we decided to utilise it for a trip and we went to Vienna. From Zurich we took a train at 9.44 PM. Here the metro and tram system is so well integrated that one doesnt feel the need of a car. From any place to every place you get tram or metro. We took a tram for the main railway station.Banhoftrasse.. its the most happening station I have sen. Last time I went there, there was a local market..sort of stalls were put up for all the fresh and cooked products. This time they had made a makeshift stadium for a match. But here people smoke like a chimney specially the girls. The station was littered with cigarette butts.








Trains are quite comfortable here, but in the night around one..3 girl students came to our cabin, and didnt let us sleep at all, they kept on talking , drinking and laughing all the time..whole night with no consideration for fellow passengers.Anyway we reached Vienna in the morning around 7.30 AM








We had booked a hotel near the station only...FLEMING'S--it was a very good one, we had a nice room here and it was the walking distance from the railway station.But when we saw the room we shocked to see that the bathroom was in the room...like shower cubicle and the walls were of transparent glass without any curtain even. I have seen many countries but never expected something like this:). Then we checked may be this one room is like this, so we will change the room, but no...there all the rooms had the same type.....cant understand their sensibilities,...is it that there only couples come or what?








Since we had only one day at our disposal, we decided to take hop on hop off tour....for 24 hrs they charge 20 euro/ person and one can complete the whole city this way. There are three routes, one should take the shoenbrunn palace route first because this service stops early. Most of the bus stops have food kiosks and food there is quite reasonable and good.








Vienna is one of the most beautiful places I have seen..with beautiful buildings, magnificent architecturee, gardens( 23 in all and huge and very well landscaped) and Danube Lake.








If we go to Vienna and dont see Opera...Nainsaafi ha unke saath:), so in the evening we went to see opera at Imperial hall. Though this was in german, so we couldnt understand much except what the anchor told us, it was very enjoyable, specially the ballet, and the female opera singer and two compositions of Mosart and Strauss.








I was very happy to find good vegetarian food over there,and I found that austrian people are the most beautiful ones..men and women both.Vienna is place for artists,its very rich .in culture and heritage.We all fell in love with the place.








In the tours...hop on,...... they provide every seat with head phones and running commentary about the places we are passing thru in most of the languages,One can devote time as and where one wants.








We returned the hotel by 11 PM








29 comments:

Sandhya said...

Very interesting informations, Renu! Esp. the toilets.

Good to know that it is easy over there to get veg. food. Keep writing and enjoy!

Rashmi said...

Hey lovely pics...Vienna seems to be very beautiful place...

muthu said...

the city came to life with your words... the pics were great....

i would love to visit the city some day. :)

Unknown said...

wow !!! . have fun !

Pixie said...

very interesting....

lovely pics...

looks like u r having a great time and all the experiences are definitely note worthy!

J P Joshi said...

The photographs are lovely and give one an idea of the architectural beauty of Vienna. It is pretty evident that you are enjoying your vacation and will have loads to share during and after the trip. Look forward to learning more about people and places through your eyes, and your lens.

Destination Infinity said...

I have always found those Orchestra's boring! May be we need to be tuned to enjoy such stuff - like enjoying the Carnatic music which is easier for an informed listener! Interesting to know that you get veg food there.

Destination Infinity

Jiggy said...

:)
True to your word, you are giving us updates.
Glad you liked Vienna. Whats the next stop though?

Indyeah said...

beautiful pictures:)
reading about the experiences more so :))

its a very clean city is the first thought :)
they didnt provide any shower curtains and all in the bathrooms?:)

the name of the fine arts museum is a tongue twister :)
thank you for sharing the pics:))

Smriti said...

Beautiful photos Ma and your comments are the perfect adornments!

Solilo said...

Beautiful pictures, Renu!

Hope you are doing great and weather is agreeing with you. Enjoy!

Renu said...

Sandhya: I was really shocked to see the showers:)

Rashmi: I am very happy to see you here:) keep coming.

Muthu:Vienna is a beautiful place, must see place:)

Renu said...

Pixie: Yeah I am having a great time specailly because I am with my children:)

Rajeshwari: Welcome here:) Hope you become a regular:)


JP Joshi: I am very curious to know whether you like my eyes and lenses:)
Whenevr I see something, I start thinking what would have happened if it was in India.....like those girls talking so loudly in the night..ham kehna huru kar dete ki Indians me manners ha hi nahi hote, I wonder why we so scantily respect our own?

Renu said...

Destination Infinity: And I thought you are a musically inclined person:). I feel music has no barriers of language, but yes that story I would have enjoyed more of I could understand.

I was also very relieved to find veg food..many greek restaurants and otherwise also.

REBEL: Not fair:(

I have seen many countries and cities , but I thought of Vienna as the most beautiful:)
Next day Salzburg and then I have 2 weekend here, so two cities in Switzerland:)

Renu said...

Indyea: Its a very clean city.

Yeah there was no curtains and I was there with my daughter nin law and son and we laughed so much that how will we manage:)

All the names in German are tongue twister as they use so much of consonants only.

Smriti: all the comments are courtesy your bhabhi:)

Solilo: So far the weather here is very pleasant:), neither very cold , nor hot.

Sparkling said...

Wow! You packed in a lot of stuff in a day Renu! :D
Beautiful!

Vienna is also the land of the courtesans :) I also love this part of their history.
What about the Gondola ride?

P.S: There is one thing I noticed in Europe, hotel rooms are the size of your stretched arm (especially when I compare them to the Middle East) and I u'stand the toilet plight :)

Have fun Renu and keep us informed. Loved the pics!

Renu said...

Still thinking: yeah I am a typical tourist, always tring to see as much as I can:)

Courtesans:)? I think all west is for them:)
Gandola is in Venice , not here, but once ZI went to venice and didnt take a ride as I was scared a little:)

Europe has shortage of land, so every place is small that way, this room was quite OK in all other aspects as they call it 4 star, but bathroom:)

Smitha said...

Renu, Lovely pics!! Have to go to Vienna - has been on my wish list for some time now! And seeing your snaps - makes me want to go right away :)

As for the shower - guess we have to check that before booking the hotel :)

Hip Grandma said...

you've almost taken your readers along.The pictures were lovely and makes me want to plan a trip soon.

Renu said...

Smitha: yeah plan it some time, it will be worth it:)

Shower part..I still cant believe it:)


Hip Grandma: I think whole of the europe is very beautiful:).

Anonymous said...

wow
awesome pix :)
Very informative, Renu :)

J P Joshi said...

Well, well, I was talking of getting to know people and places through your eyes and the camera lens. I think I left room open for misinterpretation about the meaning of the sentence. My apologies for not being clear about what I meant.

J P Joshi said...

And .... by the way, Eyes that can see goodness around are beautiful, with or without the aid of lenses - I am not taking any chances this time :)

Renu said...

SWATS: yeah whatever I write, I want it to be of any help to future visitors:)

JP Joshi: NO You didnt write anything which could be misinterpreted, I was just joking:).
And your definition of good eyes is just so beautiful and awesome.

Vetirmagal said...

very nice write up, made me look for more information on viennna. So much history there.

It is amazing that you find time to write. Please continue.

Thanks.

Renu said...

Vetrimagal : its really a very nice historical city.

Actually I am here with my children and its a long trip so:) and then I always wanted to write my experiences, I have seen lots of places in India and abroad, but now blog has given me that opportunity, so I am very happy to note down everything:)

Salomie said...

You know just today on the radio here, they said that Vienna should be among the 10 places you must see before you die....so lucky you Renu! And I love the idea of the tour buses!!! We had been on one when we'd gone to Oxford & its so convenient for tourists who don't have their own transportation!

Renu said...

These tours are very convenient because we dont know anything about city also, they give a running commentary about the place we pass on the way.

Mana said...

wow.. ossum!

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