Billy Joel told me 40 years ago, that Vienna would wait for me. And it did! I chose my hotel very well (Hotel Ruby-Sofie, 17 Marxergasse) in the area directly near the Hundertwasser House. The Sofiensale was a venerable old Waltzing venue back in the Strauss day, turned to rock and roll in the 60s/70s, burned to the ground in 2000 or so, and they rebuilt this wonderful place into a“Lean Luxury” hotel ; it’s all modern and streamlined and white duvets and comfortable foam beds, with a rock-and-roll theme. In each bedroom there is a Marshall amp so you can plug in your mobile and pump up the jam. Oh yes, soundproof rooms! I spent exactly $598.95 on Expedia for a single room “Nest” (5 nights) which was perfectly comfortable and lovely and quiet, room 577, 13 EU each morning for the best breakfast in Vienna – oh the quality and abundance! One morning I spent at Joseph Brot which is just 2 blocks from this place – nice to see young Viennese people, the only tourist there was me, I think.
Spent a lot of time on Strassenbahn 1 and 2, just traversing the ring around and around, hopping on and off, as I wished. Yes, there’s the yellow Ring Tram, but with Rick Steves’ audio tour downloaded, I and another married couple found each other standing at Schwedenplatz, waiting for the normal strassenbahn.
And now the sad report: what didn’t I do? I didn’t eat a Wienerschnitzel – instead I dropped into whatever café I was near, and had something wonderful. (Plus two spectacular meals.) Ate at the Café around the corner from the Hotel Sofie, ate at a forlorn pizza joint right across from the Hundertwasser House, dropped into normal cafes and didn’t bother with the biggies because there were LINES to get into them. Nope!
Went to the Kunsthistorisches to look at the artworks for a day; went to the Zentralfriedhof to bow at the graves of the composers for a day; walked through the City Park for a day, and Stephansdom and the Graben for a day, and 3 nights. One night I walked into the Stephansdom at 8:00 pm, as the Kapellmeister began his organ practice – it wasn’t a recital, none of us were able to sit. But we could stand at the iron fence. An hour, treated to Mozart, Haydn, and others I didn’t recognize. It ain’t music unless it vibrates your heart, you know. The organist was an expert, and that music boomed up to the top of that cathedral.
It’s nice to have friends: a retired Austrian military officer picked me up at Hotel Sofie and took me and his wife to a wonderful restaurant up in the Hills, called Steyrer Stoeckel. I had the baked trout, and some sparkling Austrian wine. Delicious. The other great meal was the Kunsthistorisches Buffet on Thursday night, for 55 EU. Wonderful. Separate post for that.
Great weather, never rained a drop on me the whole week. Perfect Hotel, highly recommend it. Next visit: will see the Hofburg, and Schonbrunn. I realize now that I can only do 1 thing a day – so I slowed it down. It’s OK – something more for next time!