SHORT
From Vienna proper, I travelled by train & bus to:
- Mödling, Hinterbrühl: Beethoven's summer residences in 1818, 1819, and 1820
- Kierling (Klosterneuburg): where Franz Kafka passed away in 1924
- Deutsch-Wagram: where Napoleon's French army defeated Austria in 1809
LONG; how-to
(All things mobile & cellular refer to Apple's iPhone and iOS mobile operating system; prices listed for June-July 2026.)
This summer as I've done the last couple of years, I've been staying in Vienna's 6th district (Mariahilf), nestled comfortably between 4 U-Bahn lines & 3 bus routes. Prior to arrival in Vienna, I already purchased a 31-day pass on Wiener Linien's app "WienMobil", which allows full use of bus, tram, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, & regional train routes inside city limits.
I've spent parts of several days to various destinations just outside of Vienna and in the neighbouring federal state of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich). On a given day trip by train, I only wanted to pay for the section that's outside city limits. Fortunately, buying train tickets with the VOR regional transport authority app, "VOR A nach B", allows the selection "Wien Kernzonengrenze" (Vienna central zone border), so that I don't pay double for starting a day trip from inside Vienna. Among various ticket choices are: single ticket (Einzelkarte), day-ticket (Tageskarte).
With the VOR A nach B app, I've purchased during this summer stay:
Einzelkarte 2,30€ : from Flughafen Wien (Vienna airport) to Wien Kernzonengrenze. I took the S-Bahn train S7 from the airport to city station Wien Mitte/Landstrasse. The VOR ticket was only for the stretch from airport to Schwechat, and my pre-purchased WienMobil month-pass took care of the rest from Schwechat into the city of Vienna.
Tageskarte 5,90€ : between Wien Kernzonengrenze and Hinterbrühl via Mödling. Ludwig van Beethoven spent parts of the summers of 1818, 1819, and 1820 in Mödling and Hinterbrühl, where he wrote parts of the mass "Missa Solemnis". I was lucky to gain entry inside the summer apartment in the Hafnerhaus in Mödling. Admission was by donation for my visit; all displays were only in the German language.
Tageskarte 4,50€ : between Wien Kernzonengrenze and Kierling (Klosterneuburg). In 1924, Franz Kafka came down with a bad case of tuberculosis, and he ended up in the private Hoffmann sanitorium in Kierling where he died on 3 June 1924. Today, the building is partly used for private apartments, but also includes on the 2nd floor a modest memorial and museum about Kafka. I saw from their website about their "open door" dates in the summertime. Admission was by donation; all displays were only in German.
Tageskarte 4,50€ : between Wien Kernzonengrenze and Deutsch-Wagram. After losing the Battle of Aspern-Essling on 20-21 May 1809, Napoleon gathered up his French coalition forces, continuing north to Deutsch-Wagram where they defeated Austria on 5-6 July 1809. With a number of memorials in the area marking Napoleon's advance, Deutsch-Wagram also has a modest Napoleon- and City museum, with artifacts, maps, paintings, dioramas, etc. about the opposing armies and about the history of the town. Museum admission was 3€; many displays had basic descriptions in English, French, & German.
Other notes:
- Both VOR A nach B and WienMobil can be switched between English and German languages. Interested users can also go to their respective desktop websites: WienMobil desktop --- VOR desktop
- Canadian credit cards work on both WienMobil and VOR A nach B. WienMobil also utilizes ApplePay on mobile.
- I've had no problems using ApplePay in both Austria and Germany. This summer, I finally experimented with a lot less cash in hand. Buying groceries, getting a quick coffee and pastry on the go, entry into attractions and museums have all gone quickly and smoothly, as expected.