Day 22: Touring Vienna (Part 2), Hofburg Palace, and Cafés

My only full day in Vienna started off with a great tour of the inner first district by an engaging and knowledgeable local guide. She led us past monuments (such as a WWII memorial that brushed off Austria's role in the war as a mere victim of Germany), statues (such as the Pestsaule statue -- the Vienna Plague statue), landmarks of varying notability (including lesser known ones such as the Anker clock), and told stories about every aspect of the city, historical and modern, explaining even the graffiti.

While the sky was filled with pregnant rain clouds all morning, the rain luckily did not intrude on our day until the end of the tour. In a few hours, we went through a good portion of downtown, starting off in the old quarter, which included the oldest church in Vienna. From there, we walked to the heart of the city, St. Stephen's Cathedral, passing by Figlmuller, the home of the Schnitzel on the way.

As I wasn't dragging along a suitcase this time, or bedraggled from a night train ride, I was able to get a closer look inside the Stephansdom.

However, it was mass so we weren't allowed to go all the way in.

Just outside St. Stephen's Cathedral was one of my favourite parts of Vienna, the Steffl-Kirtag market. It was composed of dozens of cute stalls of meats, sweets, baked goods, and souvenirs and trinkets such as glass ornaments, fluffy teddy bears, handmade dreamcatchers, or wooden toys. It was very nice to walk around, except for the fact that it began to rain just as we were about to get lunch there.

Past the Steffl-Kirtag, we walked down a nice, wide street lined with shops, then ventured quickly into St. Peter's Church, a beautiful Baroque building and one of the nicest churches I'd been in.

To finish off the tour, we went inside a very crowded Café Demel, the home of the original sachertorte, and once the provider of baked goods to the Habsburg royalty.

Julie and I shared a slice of their famed chocolate sachertorte, and it was very good, but admittedly not legendary.

One of the notable things that our tour guide pointed out to us about Vienna was the lack of "ghettos." Along our tour, she pointed out the many subsidized housing apartments in the first district, and explained how these were often built in the wealthiest neighbourhoods, right next to the mansions of millionaires. This ensured that no neighbourhood rose dramatically above the rest in value, and that women could be relatively safe in a miniskirt in any part of Vienna at any time. Another thing that struck me when walking around was the lack of beggars and street vendors. It was such a big change from France and Italy, where people would call at us wherever we went, shoving their products in our faces. In Vienna, I could almost feel at home. The peace was refreshing.

After the tour, the group split up, and a few of us went to the Hofburg Palace, the former imperial palace in the heart of the city.

Right in front of the palace was an unearthed pit where ruins of the Ancient Roman Empire were displayed.

In Hofburg, we visited three parts, all of which had splendid audio guides included. The first was the Silver Collection, which contained silverware, ceramics, and other precious objects that belonged to Habsburg royalty (including Franz Josef, Empress Sisi, Maria Theresia) and other notable Monarchs throughout Europe (Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, etc.).

The second part was the Sisi Museum, which took us through a wonderful series of rooms depicting the life (myth and reality) of Empress Sisi, Franz Joseph's beloved wife -- a very interesting figure. Although her fame never spread to North America, her image is everywhere in Vienna.

The last part of the Palace were the Imperial Apartments belonging to Habsburg royalty, including the bedrooms, dining rooms, and studies of Franz Josef, Sisi, and many more. It was very interesting to get a glimpse into each of their characters based on the way each person chose to decorate their rooms. For example, the only decoration Franz Josef had were portraits and photographs of Sisi and their children. Everything else in the room had a practical purpose. His bed and furniture, contrary to Louis XIV, were rather plain and simple. Sisi, on the other hand, had no photographs of her husband or children, only those of her parents and siblings, who represented a happier time of her life.

Following the Hofburg Palace and a quick drink at the very fancy Hofburg Café, we went on an excursion to see some of the other most famous cafés in Vienna. The first of these was Café Hawelka, which was the most unique one we found as it was far less furnished than the others. They had no menu, but prices were similarly astronomical. Everyone who came in was obligated to purchase a drink and there were no take-away orders.

Café Griensteidl was next, one of the oldest ones in Vienna and situated right in the centre. Unlike Hofburg or Mozart, it was not flashy, but very elegantly decorated. 

Café Hawelka

Café Griensteidl

The next stop was Café Central, the most well-known café in Vienna. In January 1913 alone, their list of patrons included Tito, Freud, Hitler, Lenin, and Trotsky. Its high vaulted ceilings and elegant decor certainly make it the nicest café I've ever stepped in.

On the way to our next destination, Café Landtmann, we happened to cross a beautiful courtyard of some sort and took a detour to explore. It's really quite amazing to be in a city where these sights are so casually around every corner.

Café Landtmann, Sigmund Freud's favourite café, was similar to Griensteidl and Central in terms of inner decor, menu, and atmosphere, but it did have a very nice exterior. 

Courtyard views

Café Landtmann

After grabbing some street food inside the subway for dinner, we headed to the final café stop, Café Sperl.

This one was my personal favourite as it wasn't quite as filled with tourists as the others. It still retained a very cozy atmosphere. Despite being very well-furnished, it wasn't as extravagant as the others, and I was a lot more comfortable with my surroundings.

After dessert at Café Sperl, we took a long detour to the metro to head home. The two main sites that we passed by were the National Library and the Rathaus. The National Library was lit up and so incredibly majestic and grand. Unfortunately, we were too late to go in.

Similarly, the Rathaus looked like a castle straight out of a fairytale. It was lit up and surrounded by Eurovision tents.

If the weather hadn't been so cold and wet at all, I would've been a lot more willing to stay out, but after walking around for hours with soaking feet, sleep was a very welcome thought by then.

Photos by Julie Zhang and Linh Nguyen.