Otto Wagner
by brazwhazz
We were so fascinated by Otto Wagner's works that we ended up doing a "Wagner pilgrimage" through the streets of Vienna! Here is a list of the Wagner buildings we visited, in chronological order.
1) Miesthaus (1877). What makes this rather classical house stand out is the the black-and-white triangles pattern that covers most of the facade of the upper floors.
Address: Schottenring 23. Get off at Schottenring (U2 or U4).
2) Villa Wagner I (1886-1888). This one is more classical, set in the Palladian villa style. Now the Ernst Fuchs Museum, which is open to the public.
Address: Huttelbergstrasse 26. Get off at Hutteldorf (U4) then take bus 148 or 152.
3) Karlsplatz subway pavilions (1898). The most popular of all Wagner's creations, the twin pavilions have been turned into a coffeehouse and a museum, respectively.
Address: Karlsplatz. Get off at Karlsplatz (U1, U2 or U4).
4) Majolikahaus (1898-1899). Although the building is square, the exterior decoration's floral theme clearly makes it Art Nouveau. The adjacent appartment block at Linke Wienzeile 38 was also designed by Wagner.
Address: Linke Wienzeile 40. Get off at Kettenbruckengasse (U4).
5) Kirche am Steinhof (1903-1907). Under renovation at the time of our visit (Sept. 2004), we only managed to see its striking golden dome and two spires.
Address: Baumgartner Hohe 1. Get off at Volkstheater (U2 or U3) then take bus 48A all the way to the final stop, which is in front of the psychiatric hospital on whose grounds the church stands.
6) Postsparkasse (Post Office Savings Bank) (1904-1912). Less Art Nouveau than Wagner's other buildings, it is closer to modern architecture. The huge aluminium bolts form an interesting pattern.
Address: Georg-Coch-Platz 2. Get off at Stubentor (U3).
7) Villa Wagner II (1912-1913). A scaled-down, more modernist villa than the first one. But since it's beside it, you may as well check it out.
Address: Huttelbergstrasse 28. Get off at Hutteldorf (U4) then take bus 148 or 152.
Free wireless access points / WiFi Internet use
by lobopequeno
As you might wanna stay in touch with some folks at home, finding an Internet Cafe in a foreign place can be quite a hassle.
Being in Vienna & having a laptop with WiFi ?
Lucky you, 'cause Vienna has many WiFi access points and some can even be used for free!! In Europe this is still rare to find (compared to e.g. the U.S.)
The following webpage shows you all FREE WiFi spots in Vienna. The provider name is Freewave, I used it many times. Connections are fast & reliable.
Just make sure that your laptop battery is fully charged as it might be difficult to find a power socket in some cafes & restaurants....
http://www.freewave.at/en/hotspots
No, that's not the Spanish...
by steventilly
No, that's not the Spanish Riding School! It's just the ubiquitous 'Horse Drawn Carriages' that are in every tourist city in Europe now! The Spanish Riding School was actually not open while we were there, apparently they take the horses somewhere cooler during the hot summer months.
Schonbrunn - the unpalatable truth
by iandsmith
This is probably on the top of many people's list of things to see in Vienna. It's massive. The palace itself, the gardens, the zoo; everything about the place is on a grand scale.
If you suddenly have flights of fancy about the wonderful life it must have been, pause to reflect here on the maxim "money doesn't buy you happiness".
Franz Joseph's life had its highs to be sure, but it wasn't all roses. Of their large family, one son committed suicide, another daughter died at 2, his brother was assassinated in Mexico and his wife murdered in Italy. If all that wasn't bad enough, the youngest daughter went by the name of Marie Antionette, married off to the French king to avoid conflict with them, something the Hapsburgs were cannily adept to.
As for Marie Antionette, as they say, the rest was history.
Now that you've read that, there's a fascinating addendum, for Prince Rupert, the one who supposedly suicided and killed his mistress, was, in fact, bludgeoned to death as determined by archaeologists after WWII. His views were much more humanitarian and left wing and didn't sit well with those in power at that time. Thus he was disposed of but, initially they tried to pass it off as a heart attack, then strong rumours abounded and it became murder/suicide, both of which were lies. The vast acreage of the park is larger than the CBD of Vienna itself and , the thing I really liked about that was, it's free.
Film Fest
by BMer
From 30 June to 2 September, you can enjoy the open air celebration of operas, concerts, classical and modern dance, jazz, pop and world music on a 20 m x 11.5 m screen, HD, and surround sound... for free! Oh yeah, there's also food stalls of cuisines from around the world.
Location: Rathausplatz
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Appetizer
Top of St Stephan's
Uhrenmuseum, Vienna, AT
Hundertwasser KunstHaus, Vienna, AT
