89 days in the summer of 2026: Austria (& Germany)

I've been spending much time on your website recently , wonderful source of knowledge and information !! The AKH recreation of " Medicine " is now on my list for my upcoming visit to Vienna ,thanks to you !! A link here for anyone else who might be interested - https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/kunst-an-der-meduni-wien/the-medicine-by-gustav-klimt/ I assume you are familiar with the Schorske book on Vienna ?

I'll also make a visit to the Josephinum ..The collection looks fascinating and the historical record of nineteenth and early twentieth century medical progress in places like Vienna has always been of great interest to me ( I think of Semmelweis , Billroth , and Freud )

Vienna has so many museums, many of them large. There's a real risk of having insufficient time to see a particular museum in full. You seem to be interested in Egon Schiele, so I thought I'd mention seeing at least one work of his at the Wien Museum, upstairs in the area where they have art. That was in 2024; I had the impression I was looking at a permanent display rather than a temporary exhibition.

There is an extensive collection of Schiele at The Leopold

You have Aspern and Wagram listed as sites to see. Where Napoleon was checked, no two ways about it, in this Habsburg military resurgence led by the Archduke Karl was in the battle of Aspern. There is a small museum depicting that momentous event where the Emperor suffered a clear cut defeat in the Aspern area of Vienna. I've yet to get out all the way there.

Going to Deutsch-Wagram and seeing that museum can be done. Be advised the museum of the Wagram Battle Museum is open one or 2 days a week and only for a few hours. Take the S-Bahn to Wagram. Next to the Wagram stop is a railway museum. I walked from there to the museum, ca 30 mins or so, hard to locate.

The Wagram Battle Museum is located at the end of the block , directly across the street from a Shell gas station.

Steven, thanks for your replies.

I'm happy to learn what I've photographed and written is useful to you and to other interested readers and travellers. I can't wait to see a building-wall sized version of Gustav Klimt's "Medicine" (Medical University of Vienna). I'm very familiar with Schorske's book, but another similar book I've used a lot in reference is Parsons' 2009 "Vienna: A Cultural History". I've also become a bigger fan of the Taschen series, particularly with their separate books on Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Adolf Loos.

Josephinum: I learned only recently that fragments of Beethoven's skull were returned to Vienna under the scientific- and safekeeping measures of the Josephinum. Last I checked, the authenticity had yet to be fully proven, but what a story (Beethoven Scholar).

Schiele: I haven't visited the Leopold Museum in awhile. I also visited the city of Tulln some time ago: Schiele's birth- and childhood home is inside the building of the train station at Tulln an der Donau (not to be confused with Tulln Stadt station). But I didn't have time to visit the Schiele Museum, which is why I'm interested in going back this summer. Inside the Wien Museum at Karlsplatz, their permanent (and free-of-charge) collection includes at least three Schiele works on display: 1910 portrait of Arthur Roessler, 1911 self-portrait, 1914 "Young Mother". Another great thing about a long-term stay is that any free museum collections get multiple visits from me.

I'm already running out of sufficient time to see and carry out my plans: oh well!

Fred, thanks for your reply.

From late-2024 to early-2025, I spent several months in Oakland/Emeryville. Not only did I have valuable time with family and friends throughout the region, that warm sunny period of time was the happiest winter I'd experienced in a very long time. I miss the Bay Area in a big way.

Napoleon: A couple of summers ago, I spent an entire afternoon walking through a stretch of the Nationalpark Donau-Auen in Lobau, looking and finding memorial-traces of the French Army. I also found armies of mosquitoes: no surprise for a riverside piece of greenery with the combination of an abundance of standing water and hot summer days. I managed to visit the Museum Aspern Essling 1809. I stepped inside for a look at their modest military-of-the age collection, which included a few maps. The neighbouring memorial lion-statue, steles, and plaques at Asperner Heldenplatz are of great interest. The Museum Aspern Essling 1809 is open only on Sunday between 10am and 12pm; public transport U2 to Aspernstrasse station, then bus 26A.

Thank you for highlighting the Battle of Wagram museum in the town of Deutsch-Wagram. I'd been aware of a couple of memorials in the area, but not of the town's museums; I've added the town's Napoleon- und Stadtmuseum onto my list. Since I'll have a Vienna city month-long transport ticket in hand, the day-ticket return fare from the city's border to Deutsch-Wagram is only a few Euros (according to VOR regional transport authority).

I just bought the Parsons book , looks quite good and I'm hooked already . One other spot to point out - Just over the city line in Lower Austria , is Klosterneuberg Abbey , which I found stunning , A beautiful polychrome ceramic tile roof and The Triptych Verdun Altarpiece ( Enameled copper and gold ) Easy to visit - The U 4 to Heiligenstadt , and just outside the station the 400 bus will drop you at the foot of the property. . Although the introduction is cut , this recording of " Geschicten aus dem Wienerwald " is accompanied by video of the Abbey . Played by The Vienna Philharmonic from 2014 https://youtu.be/nfYMGwypjzg?si=P2y8Xlquq99xJTWR

Should you be in Vienna during June 2026, then there is the opportunity to get a close-up view of Klimt's ceiling paintings in the Burgtheater from a scaffold put up for renovation works.

There is a rush for getting tickets. Next ticket sales start on May 10th, 10am (local time). You need to be in the online ticket shop right at this time.

https://www.burgtheater.at/sonderfuehrung-klimt-deckengemaelde

@ HL fotoeins....That name reminds me of the photo shop in Hamburg Hbf that was in existence for years and years. Thanks for the specific information on getting out to the Aspern Battle museum. When I saw the Wagram battle museum in Deutsch-Wagram , the brochure on Aspern was one of the pieces of literature regarding other such sites. That was over a decade ago, more realia most likely added to the Aspern materials by now.

I read with prayerful attention your efforts in tracking down the singular site, eg. Lobau (considering what Napoleon had to do there) in the awful battle, Wagram would prove much, much worse 3 months later. re: other traces of 1809, well, I can suggest 2 in Vienna, aside from the HGM (the Army History Museum in the Arsenal,.... take tram and get off at Fasanenstr, or , if you want to do nice exercise walk from Wien Hbf, that's doable too. I've done that too.

1. Am Deutschmeisterplatz is situated the big Habsburg soldiers' monument, staring with that of Prinz Eugen in 1697 at Zenta

2. Very close to Westbahnhof on Felberstrasse (on the island ) is the Landwehr soldiers' monument from N.Õ. (Lower Austria) attesting to their deeds, ie usual embellished rhetoric . 1809 was the 4th war where Austria took on France prior to Napoleon's horrific disaster in Russia, 3 of these 4 wars were begun by Austria when it declared war on France...they lost all 4 solo (1809) or with allies.

Steven, thank you for your reply.

I just bought the Parsons book , looks quite good and I'm hooked already . One other spot to point out - Just over the city line in Lower Austria , is Klosterneuberg Abbey , which I found stunning , A beautiful polychrome ceramic tile roof and The Triptych Verdun Altarpiece ( Enameled copper and gold ) Easy to visit - The U 4 to Heiligenstadt , and just outside the station the 400 bus will drop you at the foot of the property. . Although the introduction is cut , this recording of " Geschicten aus dem Wienerwald " is accompanied by video of the Abbey . Played by The Vienna Philharmonic from 2014 https://youtu.be/nfYMGwypjzg?si=P2y8Xlquq99xJTWR

I was just thinking about Klosterneuburg monastery the other day; I did visit in the summer of 2024. I "only" spent a part of the afternoon there, but I could've spent more hours wandering the expansive grounds and the buildings. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough that day to fork over the money for a guided tour, as access into the church interior was possible only with a guided tour.

Speaking of bus 400, I was thinking of taking that very bus from Klosterneuburg west to Kierling, where there are a couple of memorials to Franz Kafka, including the location of the former sanitorium where he died of tuberculosis at age 40.

wmt1, thanks for your reply.

Should you be in Vienna during June 2026, then there is the
opportunity to get a close-up view of Klimt's ceiling paintings in the
Burgtheater from a scaffold put up for renovation works.

There is a rush for getting tickets. Next ticket sales start on May
10th, 10am (local time). You need to be in the online ticket shop
right at this time.

https://www.burgtheater.at/sonderfuehrung-klimt-deckengemaelde

I saw an Instagram reel about this and made a note of it, which is somewhere in my scattered collection of notes. Thanks for the reminder.

Fred, thanks for your reply.

I visited the HGM a few years ago, when I made sure to see their collection related to the 2nd Ottoman siege. But there's much more in their collection I have yet to see.

Very close to Westbahnhof on Felberstrasse (on the island ) is the
Landwehr soldiers' monument from N.Õ. (Lower Austria) attesting to
their deeds, ie usual embellished rhetoric . 1809 was the 4th war
where Austria took on France prior to Napoleon's horrific disaster in
Russia, 3 of these 4 wars were begun by Austria when it declared war
on France...they lost all 4 solo (1809) or with allies.

Thank to your tip, I learned that this is the Hesser memorial just north of Westbahnhof at Neubaugürtel and Felberstrasse. Apparently, the famous Hesser-led battle against the French took place at Schwarzlackenau, which I have passed through by complete accident when I went to Mühlschüttel to experience the calm idyllic Obere Alte Donau on a summer morning.

Did one of your trips spend time in the Alps and nature?

Hi, mchpp.

Yes, I've spent some time in the Austrian Alps, but not yet in the highest regions.

I spent a winter's day in Kleinwalsertal; I'd like to go back in summer. Bus south from Oberstdorf, and up to Fellhorn, hike that modest and manageable ridge-line along the border-frontier from Fellhorn to the Kanzelwand, down into Kleinwalsertal.

I travelled to Alpbach to look for physicist Erwin Schrödinger: lovely town, beautiful area.

Thanks to the generosity of some friends, I had a full summer's day in the Wilder Kaiser in the stretch between St. Johann in Tirol and Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser. The ice cream stop at Eismanufaktur kEISer was phenomenal.

The Hafelekar "hill" above Innsbruck was interesting enough to be able to look 'back' north in the direction of the Wetterstein (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and the top of the Passamani Rundweg near Karwendelspitze (Mittenwald).

From Innsbruck, I went south into Neustift im Stubaital for a couple of days, but I didn't go the end of the valley and up to the plateau between Eisjoch and Schaufeljoch. That's another plan for a future summer.

I spent an afternoon between Innsbruck and Brenner. Not only was Brennero at the border informative, but what I saw as glimpses during the journey sparked curiosity and provided additional questions about what was in those smaller alpine valleys between Innsbruck and Brennero.

Obviously, there are more beautiful mountain valleys and peaks in Austria to explore, but they aren't a priority at this time.

Hi,

On the topic of possibly "traces" from the events of 1809: How about one from 1805, ca. a month prior to Austerlitz (Slavkov).

This is in Hollabrun, aka as the Schoengrabern. The battle scene is clearly depicted in the Soviet version of "War and Peace" (cast of thousands) with the Russians confident of taking on the French approaching them in line after line in a half goose-step as if on slow parade.

I went to Hollabrun once by train from Meidling (?) , the map outside the train stop shows the location of the Russian battle cemetery of the 1805 battle. That's all . I decided to leave, not worth the energy to get out there, plus no evidence pertaining to les français indicated on that map.

Hi,

Since you have set aside 2-3(?) weeks for Vienna and its immediate surroundings, I have one or two more recommendations , no history this time, unless you want more of that too, on eating Locale. This is located away from massively tourist frequented sites rather on Nußdorferstraße 69, a small patisserie (Konditerei) and restaurant, called "Kaffee Konditerei Monarchie" (notice the K and K words)

I've been here at least 4 times, only at lunch, patrons are always all locals, with the exception on one occasion a British senior citizen bus tour were enjoying lunch as I walked in. Prices are a bit lower than in obvious tourist areas and the Austrian desserts are offered .
As revealed in the title, the atmosphere harkens back to the turn of the century, monarchial , yearning for the dynasty, etc, etc, English is spoken by the 2-3 women in the wait staff, and cc are accepted, if that's important to you.

Fred, thanks for the tip!

I'm familiar with this area around U-Bhf Nußdorfer Strasse, but not enough to have known about "K.K.Monarchie" until now. The question is this: are customer experiences there truly "kaiserlich" and "königlich"? A guess for me is that time will only tell.

@ HL....That KuK experience is enhanced by the decor and atmosphere by way of the paintings and wall paper pictures, that of the old Emperor and his wife, surprisingly, even one of Conrad, the Chief of Staff, obviously the personalities depicted are not limited to family members. Lying around on the choice of reading materials are newspaper for the more serious matters plus popular light reading mags on entertainment folks.

One could claim the entire atmosphere here reeks of Habsburg nostalgia, without going to Bad Ischl, ie, the Kaiservilla, etc. if you want additional dosages of this nostalgia. Historically, very revealing, enlightening and informative.

Compiled ratings of "Kaffee-Konditorei Monarchie": https://restaurantguru.com/Monarchie-Vienna

Thanks for the rating info.

When I first went there, I didn't even know about them, ie, these ratings. I came across the establishment with its striking title while walking / strolling on Nußdorferstr. ...pure coincidence.

The menu posted with its info and seeing from outside, peering into the interior was more than enough to pique my interest to go inside the next time, didn't have the time on this first occasion, had to make a return trip .

wmt1, Fred: thanks again.

I often look at Falstaff for their views of all things to eat and drink in Vienna.

From Falstaff’s editorial piece about k.k. Monarchie, I learned about some of their Hungarian-based or -influenced goodies:

• Zserbó
• Rigo Jancsi
• Rétes
• Dobostorte
• Somlauer Nockerln

I gotta get me some Buchteln or Powidl, but now, given the choices above, I’m leaning dangerously to “need” territory. As in, “I needs to know …”

@ HL...I know you are still planning , revising your itinerary, etc. As listed above, it doesn't appear that a trip to Salzburg is included.

If you do indeed get to Salzburg, I would suggest taking the bus from Salzburg Hbf (or train ) to Bad Ischl if you really want to feel that KuK atmosphere, quaintness, and all that....well worth you time seeing the Kaiser Villa in August for the Kaisertage celebrations.

Culturally, the town is the birthplace of Franz Lehar, if you're into operetta in this time period. The museum/house is there in the Zentrum.