At barely an hour from Vienna, Mayerling Austria holds both a tragic love story and an eye opener. Certainly, fans of the opera Mayerling and history buffs will know the Mayerling incident. On a sunny July morning, I toured the former Mayerling lodge where Habsburg Crown Prince Rudolph’s once shot Mary Vetsera and then committed suicide. Read my review. The …
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Hermesvilla Vienna is a charming off path manor in Wien that unites Empress Sissi fans, nature and culture lovers. In fact, Empress Elizabeth of Austria’s romantic bolthole is set in 6,000 acres of Natural Reserve in Lainz, a few kilometres West of Schönbrunn Palace. Honestly, I am totally biased as I have been there and loved it. To help you decide, I’m …
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If you love Art Nouveau and modern art the Otto Wagner Villa in Vienna opens an other-worldly experience. Hiding on a hillside in Western Vienna the Jugendstil mansion and museum blends Fin de Siècle art and Fantastic Realism. Find out what to encounter in the villa and how to visit. The Villa’s Story Otto Wagner Villa. Yes, it’s Otto Wagner, but …
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Seegrotte Tour Review. Originally, the Seegrotte caves just South of Vienna were a gypsum mine that operated from the 1840s until 1912. The mine’s caverns, with their impressive stalactites and stalagmites, provide a glimpse into the history of mining in the region. Gliding across the quiet underground lake a boat tour takes you through a subterranean world of beautifully illuminated …
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Private Dining in Vienna. Whenever a Viennese friend invites me, I get easy private dining. But where can you go private when you travel to Vienna? Asta is a private dining host. The blond 30 something and her cat Hase (rabbit) live in Vienna’s trendy urban neighbourhood Neubau. I am as hungry for her Viennese cuisine as I am for (re) experiencing …
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Gustav Klimt art is everywhere in Vienna. But only one of his studios has survived as such. In fact, it’s the closest you can get to the Art Nouveau painter’s working environment. Following a stroll through nearby Schönbrunn Palace I once visited the Klimt Villa in the 13th district of Hietzing. It’s the result of a tenacious attempt to restore authenticity …
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Quite dramatically, the Leopold Museum, aka Egon Schiele Museum in Vienna, throws you head first into Vienna 1900’s haunted soul. To fully grasp the Fin-de-Siècle in Wien Schiele’s artwork is key. In general, Schiele was not an eye pleaser but a radical Expressionist. I only understood that after visiting the Leopold Museum which houses the world’s largest collection of Schiele …
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What would a local private Vienna boat tour look like? Far from the large ships, I tested a personalized Electric Boats Island. One a warm August day our family ventured across the Old Danube, without prior boating expertise. Read my review if you like authentic places, charm, design and style, fun, and taking things into your own hands. The Old …
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This Vienna bicycle tour has two eye openers in store: It will change the way you perceive Vienna, and it may change the way you perceive a bike. I joined that tour on a warm July day. Here is what happened. Vienna bicycle tour. Our small group of three met where town meets green, where plain meets hill, and where capitalist meets marxist. Heiligenstadt in …
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Jewish Vienna Walk. Certainly there isn’t much left of the Jewish Vienna you or your ancestors may have known. But what is left, together with the recent ‘renaissance’ of the local community, fascinates. Since I wanted to get to the bottom of Jewish culture in Wien I joined a Jewish Vienna tour. Here is what to expect from it: “There is no Jewish …
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Vienna Unwrapped Inspiration and Planning For Independent Travellers who are visiting Vienna
