Vienna

The train from Krakow to Vienna was very easy. I had booked a single sleeper which was basic but fine, it always takes a time to get used to the noise of an overnight train but i eventually got a decent night sleep.

Arrived early into Vienna, hotel was about 15mins walk from station so i was able to drop off bags and be ready to start the day by 9am. I had booked another walking tour, starting at 10-30, so that gave me some time to get to location and take in some of the surroundings.

Walking tours are very dependant on the quality of the tour guide and sometimes influenced by the mix of fellow travellers. Here it was good on both counts - with an excellent guide and a small tour of 5 people in total, from US, Ireland and Dubai. The tour guide, Dace, seemed to be working partly for the money but as much because she loved showing people around her city. My poor knowledge of european history once again meant i started not really knowing much about Austria, other than its a scenic small european country. Did not take me long to work out that was not always the case, and historically Austria was a world power and Vienna one of the largest and most prosperous capitals. It showed in the areas we covered, which was mainly the old royals buildings and surrounding areas inside the old city wall. 

The tour provided an interesting and honest view of Austria's history. As Dace said the main skill of the Austrian royal family had been to have large families and make sure they married well over the years - often with opponents they had been recently at war. The wealth came through in the impresive buildings although the masterplan of inter-connecting buildings had been interupted by World War One and was never fully completed. The tour took us inside of a number of the churches, where there were some impromptu musical events and it was clear that church and music were bigs parts of the city's history and current culture. I bought into this by attending a Vivaldi Four Seasons recital at Karlskirche (St Charles Church). It was played by Orchestra 1756 (google if you dont know the significance) which was small, with 5 violins, a double bass and piano. My ear is not very qualified to judge, but it seemed very pleasant and went down well with the full crowd.

I was staying one night in Vienna, so i left bags at the hotel to collect later before my evening train. I was just going to spend the day walking around, seeing in more detail some of the areas i had gone past yesterday but also taking in some other areas (such as the banks of the Danube - which were actually a bit drab and disappointing). Whilst morning started bright, by around 11am there was rain so i noticed an art gallery with a Monet to Picasso exhibition so jumped in. My limited art history and interest really starts around the Monet period, so it turned out to be a good spot to spend a couple of hours. After that it cleared up and i continued with my walk. Overall an interesting city that i would recommend for a couple of days.

Photos of Vienna- be warned they are not edited so may contain multiple/poor photos

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