Today was a travel day so we had train tickets for 11.01 so we had to walk from the hotel to the train station which takes about 35 minutes. Becareful we gave ourselves about 1 hour. The walk this morning was really nice since the sky was blue and the sun was shining. However the air was still very chilly reminding me of a early sunny day in spring back home. Yep I work a light jacket and long pants.
We had plenty of time as it turned out to sit and wait for the train. It is always a concern to want to be sureyou are sitting on the right platform especially when access to any other platforms involve going down to a underpass, walked over and back up again to the other platform. If there is a last minute change to the platform or if you discover you are sitting on the wrong one, it would require a dash and with a backpack it might be a challenge. Fortunately we were on the right one. We had an opportunity to chat with a fellow travellor from Australia and it was great to share stories of our travels there with him.
As we got onto the train we went in from one end and in the middle of the car we met with a group coming down from the other end of the car. The lanes are very narrow and everyone had luggage or backpacks and we literally had a traffic jam and no way to get past each other. Since we were just behind our seats I managed to slip off my backpack and held it above my head and placed it on my seat. Then I could squeeze by the travellor beside my seat I could get out to the way. Then Wes took off his backpack and handed it to me over the back of the seats and then he could squeeze by. That cleared the lane for others to get by. What we could have done was try to back up all the way to the back of the car but that was not possible since there were passengers continuing to find their seats behind us. It was really bizarrie.
As we settled into our seats, (seats that faced each other with a table between) we had an elderly lady sitting with us. She was very fluent in English and was a great person to be travelling with. She has lived for the past 25 years in Spain but as of this trip was moving back to Vienna. We had such a great time chatting that the time flew quickly.
We arrived to the railway station in Vienna to learn that the metro was in the same building. So without any difficulty we got our 3 day railpass and found our way to the metro station close to our hotel. We find it strange here to see that there are no turnstiles or ticket checking system in place. They must be working on the honor system. I suppose if anyone gets asked they must be able to produce a ticket with a validation stamp but we saw no evidence of anyone checking. At any rate, we paid the 13,50 euro each for a 3 day pass so we are covered.
After settling into the hotel we decided to head back downtown to have a look at the sights there. The Stephensplatz has the St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in that nation's history and has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbols. We took a tour inside the cathedral.
In the Stephensplatz we looked around at the variety of architecture and age of the buildings just by rotating. We have from modern to very old standing side by side.
We then continued to explore the downtown area of Vienna by looking for the Hofburg Palace. It is a palace located in Vienna which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburgs' principal winter residence, as the Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence.
The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics. The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to include: various residences, the chapel, museums (the Naturhistorisches Museum & Kunsthistorisches Museum), the Imperial Library, the treasury, the national theatre, the riding school (Lipizzaner Stallion performances), the horse stables (the Stallburg and Hofstallungen)and the Hofburg Congress Center.
There is so much to see here including several gardens but our primary goal was to have a look at the palace and find the riding school. Tomorrow we have ordered tickets to watch the Lipizzaner Stallions performance and this would help us know where to go. Fortunately when we verified the location here of the performance we were told of the Vienna Marathon that was on tomorrow. This will cause a serious congestion in the Hofburg Palace area since the run route goes through this area. We were advised to allow lots of time to get to the performance since many roads and lanes will be closed off and we will have to take ‘alternate’ routes. We are glad we had learned this before tomorrow.
We continued to walk around but it was too late to actually go into any of the venues in the Hofburg Palace but we now have a sense of the lay of the land. Therefore we turned around and headed back to the hotel and dinner.
By the way, did you know that the Smart car is growing up? The teenager has arrived - a sportster.
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