Most people who visit Vienna leave with a heavy heart and love to revisit Austria’s capital in their memory. Some never leave. And some come back over and over again. One of the latter is Dave. Born and raised in Britain, he worked in the railway industry ever since he was 15 years old. Even before that he loved travelling. As his father worked on the railway as well, he got a few free tickets a year as well as reduced rate tickets. And from the age of 9 he was travelling around Britain by train. At 14 he ventured further and visited Rome. With no internet, no google translate and fewer English speaking people than today that was quite the challenge. But that didn’t stop Dave from his adventures. And later on becoming a real Vienna Fan.
Besotted with the City
On the day after his last exam, Dave travelled by train to (then) Yugoslavia. He spent two weeks near Rejeka. Then he travelled to the bottom of the country and back to Belgrade. From there he got the night train to Vienna. “It was an old bottle green coloured coach with plastic seats”, Dave remembers. “I had the compartment to myself, which was good for early July”. He arrived at the Südbahnhof two and a half hours late. “I felt lonely and sad”, Dave admits. His plan was to get the night train from Vienna to Buchs in Switzerland that evening. He knew that he had to change stations and worked out it was a tram 18 he needed. But he couldn’t work out the direction.
“At the time I didn’t speak a word of German and didn’t know how to buy tram tickets. I ended up jumping on the tram and got to Westbahnhof without paying.” Still feeling sorry for himself, he left his suitcase at the left luggage and walked down Mariahilfer Straße to the Ringstraße. By the time he had to get onto the train to Switzerland, something had changed. “I was besotted with the place. The architecture, the parks and everything bowled me over.” A true Vienna Fan was born.
Tipps from a Pro
We asked Dave for three things every first-time visitor should put on their bucketlist: “This is down to a personal choice. When I was younger I loved the Prater. Now, I’m too old, but the ferris wheel should be down whilst mimicking the theme from ‘The Third Man'”. He also recommends a tour around the Ringstraße, either by foot or tram. “And the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. Maybe Grinzing”, he adds.
Dave’s favourite Food and Hotel
Asked for his personal favourite when it comes to dining options, he states: “obviously Wiener Schnitzel”. He likes to stay in the Hotel Kunsthof near the Prater. Dave likes it for its lovely courtyard for summer evenings where you can watch bats at sunsets. “They have an honesty bar too”. Plus: The hotel is located in walking distance to Praterstern station with direct trains to the airport.
For him, the best time to visit Vienna is either May for nice spring weather or September for Sturm season. One of the biggest differences between Vienna and other cities is in his opinion good public transport, lower prices, good rail connections and lots of grand architecture. Viennese people strike him mostly as friendly and we’re quite sure that this real Vienna Fan will be back soon again.
Have you been to Vienna lately and would love to share some of your travel experiences with our readers? Do not hesitate to get in touch. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Either e-mail us or leave a comment.
