Next stop in our inter-rail tour: Vienna

The next city on our inter-railing route was Vienna. I had been there once before, but I was much younger. I’d forgotten how grand all the buildings were, creating a romantic city.

The imperial palaces left by the Habsburgs and the legacy of many artistic, musical and intellectual geniuses still shape the city.

German is spoken in Vienna and the currency is euros - both helpful as my travelling friend Niamh Finn and I had the basic terms learned from Leaving Cert German.

After another early morning train, we got a tram to our hostel. This one was hippie themed with the name ‘Be Free’. We had two comfortable single beds in our own room, with a wardrobe and mirror. Downstairs was a shared kitchen, bathrooms, showers and lounge area.

We’d gone to Lidl and bought bread rolls, cheese, ham and fruit to make lunch in the hostel after check-in. We were able to use the fridge so our shopping would serve as breakfasts and lunches to follow as well.

After relaxing for a bit, we booked a tour of the Sigmund Freud museum.

We were amazed at the heat, it was much hotter than Prague or Berlin, and I stocked up on sun cream in my fanny pack.

Psychoanalyst Freud lived in Vienna for 47 years and worked in Wien IX, Berggasse 19 before he fled the Nazis in 1938. 

The museum has been extensively renovated and expanded since it was founded in 1971. It displays the private and working rooms of Freud and his daughter, Anna, along with his writings, books, letters and old trinkets.

The museum has placards explaining Freud’s theories and psychoanalytic ideas: the Doppelganger effect, the uncanny idea, theories about addiction, self-image, childhood trauma, and much more.

The museum also had a cafe and incredible book shop downstairs, stocked with psychology books, fiction novels, philosophy books and freud’s work. We each picked up a book here. Niamh and I are fascinated by the human mind and our behaviour!

Before grabbing a scenic tram back to our hostel, we stopped by the parliament building at sunset. A massive, white, decorated building, it was truly a spectacle.

We sat on the steps, gazing at the fountain with twinkling water glimmering in the light of the changing sky. Water swirled around the stone feet of the statues.

That night, we freshened up and took advantage of the hostel’s extensive facilities. We rested, relaxed and prepared ourselves for the busy next day exploring Vienna.

Next morning, we went to the Leopold Art Museum, which is filled with an amazing collection of expressionist and post-expressionist works. I found these exhibitions really interesting, each of the paintings seemed unique. The characters’ form or expression was often slightly distorted. The sitters’ postures were strained while the colour was either immensely vibrant and deep or the tones dark and gloomy. These distortions help to create a dramatic impact and evoke emotion.

The museum was adorned with modernist statues, paintings, drawings and sketches.

As you enter, there is a photo booth where you can take high quality pictures of yourself. Niamh and I sat in to pose for a souvenir.

Niamh and I had a fabulous time wandering through the Leopold gallery, which has more than 8,300 works. The museum now houses one of the world’s most important collections of Austrian art from the second half of the 19th century and modernism.

Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold created this unique collection over five decades, and my favourite section was the room dedicated to Klimt, which included information about his background and life story, along with a mockup of his work studio. I also discovered a myriad of other artists I’d never come across.

We then spent a little time sauntering in and out of the shops before heading to a walking tour. This was free to book and advertised by the reception in our hostel’s partner hotel.

It took us to the Jewish memorial statue in Vienna and through the parks. We saw Mozart’s statue, which overlooked a treble clef of pink roses in the grass.

The tour brought us to the Archduke, Alexander Habsburg’s statue and explained the history of the Austrian empire. This included delving into the ruler’s reign and the legacy of his adored wife, Sisi.

We also saw the palace, which was utterly astounding. The size and scale of the royal home was enormous. What’s more, they had a second, enormous palace called Schonbrunn outside the city, for when the humidity and smells of Vienna became too intense during the summer months inside the city walls. Schonbrunn is now the site of Vienna’s zoo.

We learned so much about Vienna from this free tour and got to see most of the sights.

We then strolled down the impressive shop street and visited St Stephen’s Cathedral. The stained glass was so striking and just magnificent. The ceiling seemed to continue forever, as though it was miles above our heads. Niamh and I each lit a candle.

The architecture and attention to detail in the cathedral stonework was awe-inspiring. I was particularly struck by the colourful, bright tiles that lined the roof.

Across from the cathedral, we shared a Kaiserschmarrn. This is a traditional dish that we tried in a place called Demel. They are fluffy, sweet pancake pieces served with a spiced plum compote and raisins. It was delicious.

By now, we were exhausted by the amount of steps we had done in such incredible heat.

So, we filled up our bottle with the street’s tap water, having been informed it is some of the best and safest in the world, then got the metro back to our hostel.

Once again, we found the transport system really easy to use, and affordable. Even given the high temperatures, it was an especially helpful way of getting around the city. Not only that, horses were readily available for taxi rides.

Overall, I thought Vienna was a beautiful city. It had an air of Parisian romance and every corner we turned seemed to be prettier than the last. I hadn’t realised that the city was connected to so much culture, from great music, artists, psychologists and so on.

As well as that, I found the history of Vienna and Austria fascinating and this same history is very connected to Hungary, which was brilliant, as our next stop was Budapest!