In my younger days I never saw the appeal of European holidays. Too cold. Too gloomy. Too close to home. But since I hit my 40s (Jesus, how did that happen??) I suddenly have this new door of interest open up. A place I have never been before, with things to see and learn that I might not see and learn back home, all without having to (necessarily) empty my bank account or eat into my precious annual leave.
A month ago I visited Berlin for the first time. It immediately left me hankering for more. With little more consideration than blindly sticking a pin into a European map I chose Vienna as the next victim* (*Location)
I did throw open the invitation to the same guys who joined me for Berlin, but had no takers, and am not unhappy to have this trip all to myself. I can forge a more punishing schedule for myself than I can for a group, and have lost no time in doing so.
20.12.2024 - Having somewhat recklessly planned my flight to Vienna for the afternoon following my work Christmas party, the slow journey from Ebsfleet Train Station to Stansted Airport and then onwards to Vienna is accompanied by a slight headache and nausea. With or without a hangover I will be avoiding leaving from Standsted Airport going forward. Considering it ‘just another London airport’ transpired to be deeply misleading, requiring a trains journey from Ebsfleet to Stratford and then a 30-40 minutes Coach Journey (departing every 30 mornings, and missed by mere moments in each direction) from Stratford to the Airport.
One most enjoyable touch to Standsted Airport was the live band singing Feliz Navidad beneath a glorious Christmas tree as I was arriving to the security section.
The journey through and from the airport was otherwise as one expects it to be. Even at its best security is never entirely painless, with an impatient and slow moving queue of people either side of you as you endeavour to remove your belt, coat, additional layers, bags and electronics immediately upon laying ones hands upon the crate, but the rest was uneventful.
I overpaid on the trains at Vienna airport, as I initially purchased a standard train ticket with a view to taking the S7 train from the airport to the city centre. However, this train appeared to leave from platform 3, which in turn appeared to only cater to the more expensive CAT train upon immediate inspection. More limited on time than on Euros at the time, I instead purchased a further CAT ticket and embarked upon the train that was already on the platform. 30 minutes later at around 20:30 I pootled out of Stephanplatz Station to the most glorious view of St Stephens Cathedral amidst a city of Christmas lights in all directions. Vienna is very pretty at Christmas.
My hotel - Hotel Wardl - is just 10 minutes walk away. The single room - the cheapest I was able to find
in the city centre - is tiny, but has everything I need and I love it. I nonetheless drop off my none essentials and swiftly abandon it in favour of exploring the local area for the final hour of the Christmas Markets
being open for the evening.
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Fortunately Christmas Markets in Vienna at this time of year transpire to be more difficult to avoid than
to find, and I stumble upon 3 of them - including the epic Rathausplatz Christmas Market with a view of the City Hall gloriously lit up, framed by the colourfully festive arch entrance, with a vintage carousel to the side. It makes for a very fetching festive photo op.
Back in my hotel for midnight and asleep within moments. Zzzzz
21.12.2024 -
Busy day today. The included hotel breakfast is a very serviceable buffet of fruits and pastries, with the addition of warm scrambled eggs and sausages. At 09:00 I pootle out for the 2 hour Vienna City tour for an overview of the locality. Then I check out the Austrian National Library and the locality connected Globe and Esperanto exhibits. Then the Natural History Museum to get my customary ‘dinosaur in a new city’ pics before indulging in some music in the tourist trap Mythos Mozart.
22.12.2024
Pizza and beer at Danieli restaurant before the Christmas concert at St Peter’s Church followed by a final 2 hour “Ghosts and Legends tour of Vienna” ending at midnight. Then sleep. Wonderful, wonderful sleep.
I’m checking out today. Leave my bag with hotel storage and pootle out at 09:30 to check out the Prater amusement park. I’m early and its raining - everything is closed and grey - I am not amused so I pootle back to district 1 to check out the Kunsthistorisches Art museum until its time to head back to the airport.
