My 2nd Day in Vienna

Vienna

Listening the “Blue Danube” my memory travels back to the second day spent in Vienna, when I had the chance to go to a classical music concert in the Auersperg Palais. The sound was excellent and the orchestra passionately played melodies of Mozart and Johann Strauss. There were opera singers and ballet dancers in historical costumes, who impressed me with their talent and performance. That was the day when I started listening to classic music and that is how the second day of my trip ended. But let’s start from the beginning …

The day started with a sightseeing tour in the famous Schonbrunn Palace, where Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Sissy, Empress Maria Theresia and others rulers stayed during summer months. I visited that place in January and the landscape was snowy, but in spring and summer the endless garden of the Palace is planted with flowers. Also, there is a labyrinth, which is kept closed in winter, and a zoo with 3.500 animal species. I saw a lot of sculptures in the garden of the Palace, but what impressed me the most was Poseidon’s statue “emerging” from a lake, under the Gloriette. Nikos, our tour guide, told us that the Palace was planned to be built on the hill, where the Gloriette is, but this didn’t happen for financial and technical reasons.  The tour continued inside the palace, where we saw some of the 340 rooms of it. To be honest, the inside tour wasn’t very good and I got a little bit bored of seeing furniture all the time.

Schonbrunn Palace

Poseidon’s Statue

Garden of Schonbrunn Palace

That day I visited so many sights that are a little bit difficult to remember them.  One of them was the magnificent St. Stephen's Cathedral in the centre of Vienna, which is built in Gothic style, has a gigantic roof and beautiful works of art. Another sight was the Parliament, which is identical to the Greek one. But the sight that impressed me the most was the Danube Tower. It is ~350m high and it turns around itself in approximate 20 minutes. If you go there, I suggest you using the elevator.  The closest underground station is the  Alte Donau station and the Tower is a 10 minute walk from that station. I liked Danube Tower for its amazing view, as I had the opportunity to have a full picture of Vienna. Lefteris and I sat a couple of hours at the Tower’s cafe and enjoyed the traditional Viennese hot chocolate, while seeing the beautiful sunset. That was the most colorful moment of the second day in Vienna!

View from Danube Tower