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The heart beat of the city can be found along Ringstrasse. Vienna is a 19th-century invention. As one walk around the area one has to take a break at a sidewalk cafe and have one of the citys superb pastries. The Viennese invented cafe society and there is no better pastime than to linger over a torte read a newspaper and watches the Viennese. Each caf has its own personality; while the lavish cafes inside the Ringstrasse are most impressive the smaller ones just outside have a charm and authenticity that should also not be missed. Dont just try only coffee one can even try the Austrian fruit teas and black teas; they are so flavorful that one will wonder what one has been drinking all these years. Other cafes that are not as stodgy and expensive as the ones on the Ring are the illustrious, beautiful and comfortable Cafe Sperl; any of the cafes near the Naschmarkt, Freuds house, the house designed by Wittgenstein, and gorgeous St. Charles Church which a must visit site Hawelka; Brauenerhof, where the lacerating and hilarious writer Thomas Bernhard spent his mornings; and many others. While the Biedermaier pulse of Vienna, long associated with the upper-middle class and collective repression, may be found along the Ring, its darkly satirical flip side is found in these and similar haunts. If the Ringstrasse is the pulse of the city the old city is the heart. This is where the citys main attractions are located and this area being a pedestrian zone it is also a great place to stroll. For an overview climb the bell tower of the St. Stephens Cathedral. The cathedral built in 1258 is easily identifiable by the zigzag pattern of its roof tiles. Between St. Stephens and the State Opera House is Karntnerstrasse Viennas main shopping street. Nearby is the Albertina museum which houses more than 200 000 drawings and works by Albrecht Durer among others. At another corner of the old city is the Hofburg Palace a massive complex that contains the Burgkapelle - the chapel where the Boys Choir sings Mass, the Stallburg - where the Spanish Riding School performs on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings the Imperial Treasuries - Habsburg Crown Jewels- and the elaborate Austrian National Library. All this and much more is Vienna. |
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