Vienna, Austria is located at Km 1929 and is one of Europe’s favorite cities with the grander of the Hapsburg Empire. This city has been designed with three-ring sections. The Inner Ringstrasse houses the Hapsburg Palace and Garden, the Opera House, and was mapped out in the 1860’s. This area is pedestrian only. The second Ringstrasse has very narrow streets is full of wonderful shopping. This ring has some transportation but is mostly horse drawn carriages and pedestrian walkways. The Outer Ringstrasse has more shopping and a bus loading station at it’s outer edge along with taxi stands.
Visit the Hapsburg Palace where the Crown Jewels are kept along with the Imperial Apartments. See the Lipizzaner horse show at the Spanish Riding School. Visit the Schonbrunn Palace and Garden where you can view Hapsburg court life. Schonbrunn is where Maria Theresia lived. This is palace where JFK had a meeting with Nika Khrushcev back in the early sixties. Stephansdom is a Romanesque Western Facade with it’s 445 Gothic Spheres. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available outside the Stephansdom. Be sure to visit the Opera House. There is a Fine Arts Museum and an Art History Museum. Outside the city center is the Prater Park with the ferris wheel and pedestrian walking and biking mall.
Vienna is the capital of Music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Hayden, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, and Arnold Schoenberg. Music was reserved for the Imperial Court. Music was introduced to the middle class in the 1800’s, then classical music flourished in Vienna with the Vienna Waltz.
Note: Over 50 years ago my husband and I spent many a weekend in Vienna. The only changes I see are the massive construction and repair of the streets along with the buildings. We toured the Hapsburg Imperial Palace, the Spanish Riding School, saw the Vienna Boys Choir, toured the Opera House and had coffee and pastry at the famous Coffee House just outside the Opera House. It was a pleasure to walk the Imperial Gardens in all seasons but especially in the late spring when the roses started to bloom. We have loved this city for a very long time.