Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
October 2015: Vienna
Austria's beautiful capital makes another
appearance! I blame Bruce on this occasion, as he sent me an email
with a title asserting that Vienna is calling. How could I
possibly deny it?
Baden bei Wien
As suggested by its name, Baden is a spa resort. It is situated in Lower Austria, about 37km south (and a little to the west) of Vienna city centre. The town was known for its hot springs as far back as Roman times. It suffered a catastrophic fire in the early 19th century, but was beautifully rebuilt. Baden makes for an enjoyable half-day excursion from Vienna and can be easily reached using the blue-and-cream Lokalbahn trams, which leave across the street from the Vienna State Opera.
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Hundertwasser's Vienna
Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an Austrian artist and architect. He was born in 1928 as Friedrich Stowasser and died in 2000 on board the QE2. Hundertwasser's work was characterised by irregular forms, and he condemned straight lines as "cowardly, godless and immoral". His best-known legacy in Vienna is the Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment block in the Landstraße district. On this very wet Wednesday morning, however, we began our investigations at the Museum Hundertwasser in the Kunst Haus Wien, which was hosting an interesting temporary exhibition of the work of American street photographer Joel Meyerowitz.
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| ABOVE: Museum Hundertwasser at Kunst Haus Wien | BELOW: Hundertwasserhaus in the rain | |||
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Schönbrunn
Although I had visited this former summer palace many times previously, I could hardly fail to include it again on this visit, given that we were based just a 15-minute walk away.
Base: Renaissance Wien
