June 17, 2025
I am back in Vienna! Hard to believe it was only last September that I was here for the Opera. This time I am staying just a few blocks from the incredible Opera house.
We had a 3 hour walking tour of the old town area of Vienna with an incredible guide. Because we went early we missed most of the tourist from the river boat cruises.
We started at the Opera house which is magnificent and proceeded to St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Originally built in 1339 it is the seat of power for the Catholic Church in Vienna. Its colorful roof and baroque style steeples makes it a show piece for Vienna.
The ornate Ankeruhr clock fascinated me!! The Anker Insurance Company (now Helvetia) built this beautiful jugendsti clock was built in 1914 and still operates. I am going to try to get back at the top of the hour to see the display.
The Spanish Riding School is an impressive complex built in 1729 tand is dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses. Unfortunately the horse are touring so we did not get to see them…..drat.
The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence
The picture of the balcony is where on March 15th, 1938, Hitler made a speech that change life in Austria. On that day, Hitler stood on the Neue Burg terrace in a city swathed in swastikas and announced the Anschluss…that his home country was now part of Germany.
Because I have done so many pictures of building though out this trip I tried to focus on the unique decorations rather than the building. The detailed decorations are so unique.
The sausage stand with the bunny with a champagne bottle has the reputation of having the best sausages in all of Austria. Of course later we had to try one and I agree it’s the best and biggest sausage I have ever had!!!
We headed to the Danube river for a walkabout in the afternoon. Even though we got rained on it was fun to get out of the city and away from all the people.
An awesome day exploring a beautiful city!!
