Oh, Vienna (by Ultravox)

June 13, 2025

I won't write much about spending a day in Vienna. If you spent a day in Vienna, you probably do it very differently to us. And probably much better. We're very bad when it comes to learning about places. When we did the short ride a few days ago and wondered what to do next, Kate said, " I suppose we could go to a museum?" And we both shuddered.

However, we did absolutely love seeing Vienna today. It is the most extraordinary place. You think you've enjoyed a fine collection of buildings and that must represent all that is impressive about Vienna, then find that it just goes on and on. We have never seen so many arches, colonades, pillars, intricate stone carvings, statues or gargoyles bearing expressions of someone having a hard time, anywhere else. The buildings are flamboyant in the extreme. We gather that the Habsburg family have a lot to do with this and didn't stop doing so until 1918.

We walked down a road into the city which was a cycling priority road. Cars had to give way. Now I like that! Except that today we were walking and had to keep avoiding dammed bikes.

We went passed several huge palaces and churches, arriving at St Stephen's which is the largest and marks the centre of the city. Entry was free which was rare. For €7 each, we went to the top of the north tower and joined about fifty young school children who were obviously on a trip. (Talking of trips, there were several Canabis shops in the city). Anyway, the children were gawping at the views and we gawped with them.

Gawping musters up a need for coffee, as I'm sure you will be aware. We found the poshest coffee shop, Central Café, but there was a queue snaking down the street. I suspect it may not have been the cheapest option either. It looked like a Palace inside. So we went to the second poshest coffee shop. Possibly, anyway. Well, you're only in Vienna once, as I constantly reminded Kate.

I'm pretty sure they were the most expensive coffees we've had to date so we redressed the balance a bit by going into a supermarket and eating Sushi in the store. It was quiet, cool and spacious. The heat was really starting to kick in outside. And the crowds were thickening. Every few minutes, you had to take a detour round someone with their phone, taking a picture of their friend, pouting shamelessly in front of some awesome monument which, up to now, was always the focus of our attention, not the person stood in front of it.

There was, of course, much made of the fact that Vienna is one of the greatest 'hubs' of Classical music in the world. We passed the state opera house, and nearby, the concert hall where Dave has played a few times. Once with the BBC phil and once with the Mahler Youth Orchestra. It was funny to stand there and know he'd been there years before.

Many of the streets bore composer's names: Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Strauss (of course) were all there. We even saw Schoenburg street - we quickened our pace a little at that point...

After being on our feet for seven hours more or less non stop, we sat down for a cup of tea and an Apple Strudel before beating a retreat to the hotel.

Tomorrow is now very much in our minds. Can we catch four trains in the space of five hours and will they all let us take a tandem on board?

I have set the alarm for 7am as we need to make an early start.

I doubt we'll need the alarm.

For now, we will remember the beautiful architecture of Vienna.

Goodnight Vienna🙂