Vienna Journals

Never Get Bored in Vienna

A July 2005 trip to Vienna by crolsen

Room 214 Photo - Haydn Hotel, Vienna, Austria More Photos
Quote: After a month of recovery from a foot injury (see Spa journal), I was ready for another European adventure. My mom flew in and we set off on an overnight train to one of the most cultural and activity-rich cities I've visited, Vienna.

Haydn Hotel

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Hotel

Room 214 Photo - Haydn Hotel, Vienna, Austria
Quote:
In recent months, I've become a fan of the travel website www.venere.com, which directed me to the Haydn Hotel. Vienna has countless hotels, and since I wasn't on a shoestring/hostel budget (traveling with mom has its perks!), I had many more choices. We knew we wanted a hotel near the city center since my foot was still healing, and we didn't want to hike around too much. Haydn Hotel is conveniently located about 1km from the Westbahnhof on Vienna's main shopping street, Mariahilferstrasse. We managed to walk to the hotel from the train station, but it would have been a short cab ride or two stops on the subway if we'd chosen that route. Look for the bright-yellow-orange signs on the right side of th...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 31, 2005

Haydn Hotel
MARIAHILFERSTRASSE 57
Vienna, Austria
43-1-5874-4140

Prater Amusement Park and Ferris Wheel

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Attraction | "The Prater"

Prater Photo - Prater Amusement Park and Ferris Wheel, Vienna, Austria
Quote:
Although I was a bit impartial to the idea of riding the "giant ferris wheel," I'm glad we did it. After you pay your admission (7.50 euros for adults, 6.50 students, 3.00 children), you enter a room with a circular, slowly rotating center. The walls are decorated like a carnival, and there are about 6-8 different panorama scenes detailing the history of the Prater. It's interesting, but of course, the ride on the ferris wheel is the most fun. We had to wait in line for about 15 minutes (although I'm sure the lines can get much longer--probably best to avoid midday) but eventually boarded our "car" with about eight other people. Each car is basically a tiny open room with a bench running down the cent...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 26, 2005

Prater Amusement Park and Ferris Wheel
Prater Park
Vienna 1020

Vienna Public Transportation

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Story/Tip

U-bahn train Photo - Vienna, Austria
Quote:
Generally it's my rule to do my city exploration by foot, but since one of my feet was not in top condition, I resorted to using the public transportation. Our first day, we purchased a 24-hour unlimited transportation pass for 5€ each, valid on all U-Bahn, S-Bahn and tram lines. The U-Bahn lines were very easy to figure out and navigate, and with the exception of an encounter with a blue-mouthed, blurry-eyed man stumbling around asking for money, seemed pretty safe. Subway trains come frequently and are quite fast, and there are plenty of stations to get you close to where you need to go. We also used the trams a couple of times, which were also efficient and pretty easy to use. Although I consid...Read More

Doubledecker bus sightseeing tour

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Story/Tip

Danube Photo - Vienna, Austria
Quote:
My travel m.o. is usually influenced by my budget (walking instead of taking trains, discovering sights on my own instead of taking tours, etc.), but I also like to think that my experience in each city is somewhat unique because I avoid things like organized tours. However, since I was still recovering from my foot injury (see Spa, Belgium, journal), I agreed to my mom's suggestion that we take the sightseeing bus around Vienna to get an initial feel for the city. I admit, it didn't turn out to be such a horrible experience. We headed to the Opera House (the main meeting spot for the tours) and were immediately approached by one of the half-dozen yellow-vested tour ticket sellers, and shortly thereaf...Read More