Vienna: First Impressions

Day 13 of 18… Vibrant and dazzling. Modern and traditional. Clean and cool!  Yes including ‘cool’ because that’s our boys’ first impression of Vienna.

I mean just look at this! We saw it in a toilet when we arrived in Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna’s main train station. We thought this kind of toilet seat exists only in high-tech Japan. ‘What?! So cool!’ our boys exclaimed.

From the Hauptbahnhof, we took a taxi to Hilton Vienna Plaza, our accommodation for 4 days. As we approached the Innere Stadt (the historic centre) we marveled at buildings that were overwhelming with evidence of the city’s opulent past. My hubby blurted out, “This looks like Paris, but cleaner. I like it! Even Better!”

Preparations for the big New Year’s Eve celebrations were well underway.  The streets were radiating with festive spirit and every tall tree seemed to sparkle with Christmas lights.

We actually just came back from a snowboarding trip in the Alps in the ski town of Obergurgl. When we arrived in our hotel in Vienna, we had to quickly change from our thick, rugged snow boots to, well, regular shoes and winter city boots. The city was classy, dazzling.  Gotta match that, right? Gotta dress for the occasion.

On our first night in the city, we took a walk to the Rathaus (the City Hall) where the Vienna Christmas market was located.  The mood there was fantastic and we genuinely enjoyed our Wiener sausages and warm wine.

Just beside the Christmas market was an outdoor skating rink. It’s aptly called a magical ice path because it snakes through the walking paths around the City Hall park.  We didn’t skate anymore.  We just continued to enjoy our drinks and talked about the things we’d do the following day…

How did we get to Vienna from Obergurgl:

We had a pre-booked car from Obergurgl to Oetztal train station (1hr). From there we took Railjet (express train) to Wien Hauptbahnhof (4 hrs and 42 mins).  It was a peak period so we had to book our train seats in advanced. We always go for the ‘Quiet’ cabin.  Our train tickets were part of our Germany-Austria Rail Pass which we bought from Rail Europe (Singapore) .  We pre-booked our car with Oetztaler.  We arrived in Vienna at 2:30pm.

Here are the other posts on our holiday in Bavaria and Austria:

1. Munich: Start of our family’s tales from last winter
2. Munich: Viktualienmarkt Biergarten
3. Munich: BMW Museum and BMW Welt
4. Munich: Theatine Church and Odeonplatz
5. Munich: Christmas Markets
6. Munich: Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall
7. Munich: City Aparthotel München
8. Salzburg: Birthplace of Mozart and Silent Night
9. Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress 
10. Salzburg: Residenzplatz Christmas Market
11. Salzburg: Salzburg Cathedral
12. Salzburg: Silent Night 200 at Salzburg Museum
13. Salzburg: Silent Night Tour by Bob’s Special Tour
14. Salzburg: Silent Night at Oberndorf and Laufen
15. Salzkammergut: Road Trip to Hallstatt
16. Salzkammergut: Christmas Market at St Wolfgang
17. Salzburg: Krampus Run at Hellbrunn Palace
18. Salzburg: Imlauer Hotel Pitter Salzburg
19. Obergurgl: A Week in the Austrian Alps
20. Obergurgl: Chalet Obergurgl Luxury Apartments
21. Obergurgl: Hohe Mut Alm Mountain Restaurant
22. Obergurgl: Snowstorm on Christmas Eve
23. Obergurgl: Day After the Storm
24. Obergurgl: Snowshoeing
25. Hochgurgl: Tobogganing
26. Hochgurgl: Hochgurgl Cable Car Ride