RED RIDING HOOD

I studied here.

So coming back to this place brings memories. Of everything.

Let me start with the view on Danube river. We used to drink coffee at the top of the buildings on the left side, having the Austrian cakes and enjoying the view from bars.

Most of my time there I spent living in the times before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

So let’s start from the beginning.

I studied political sciences at Universitat Wien.
It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is one of the oldest universities in the German-speaking world.

I was spending loads of my time in the called Harry Potter library: old wooden tables and chairs that make squitchy noise everytime you move a bit, green art nouvea table lamps, chandelier, tall book shelfs that go up until the ceiling…

Making breaks was important so we would sit in the atrium of the University in the back chairs.

Or simply at the near by Votiv Park in front of the Votiv Kirche (church).

As the University is at the Ring 1 or 1 Bezirk (in Vienna the districts are circled areas of the center), at Schotenring the nearby places had other famous Baroque-era monuments like Rathaus or the City Hall.

Once we had organized visit to the Rathaus. I remember the jar dropping down as it houses the office of the Mayor of Vienna as well as the chambers of the city council.

Or the another neo – gothic building such as Volkstheater.

The Innere Stadt is the Old Town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna. Traditionally it was divided into four quarters, which were designated after important town gates: Stubenviertel (northeast), Kärntner Viertel (southeast), Widmerviertel (southwest), Schottenviertel (northwest).

The nearby is beautiful Cathedral of Sankt Steffan.
The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral started to be built in 12th century.

On the façade of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is a figure of Christ with a Toothache. 
How it came to this name tells the following story?

Once upon a time three jolly fellows lived in Vienna. They often sat together and drank until late into the night and on their way home they used to play tricks on one or the other Viennese. 

One night after the curfew of their favourite pub they strolled frolicsomely through the streets of Vienna. On their way they passed St. Stephen’s Cathedral. 

”Hey, this looks as if the Lord had a toothache! No wonder he definitely stands at a draughty place!”

For a while they continued joking. Finally they went to their homes. 
But that night they couldn’t fall asleep as their cheeks began to burn and a short time later they got a very bad toothache.  They immediately went to the doctor, but the doctor said all teeth are fine. So they went back to Cathedral to apologize for blasphemy and sarcastic comments.

If you walk towards the Hofburg – the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty rulers and today the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria – you will see this:

The left and the right wing continues to big big museums called Naturhistorische Museum and Kunst (Art) Museum. Left building was erected in the name of Joseph I Habsburg and the seconf to his mother Empress Maria Therese. 

From Schwedenplatz up again towards the old city:

… will bring you to one of my favourite places in Vienna: Alt Wien – a beer house. To meeting point Saturday evening with my friends from Uni. 🙂

If you are looking for something more relaxing, then the coffee Julius Meinl with sweet marzipan Mozartkugeln might be for you. Or perhaps Sachertorte? Cakes and pastries in Vienna are a must try. Actually, even the croissant is comig from Vienna, not from France!

For the good concesrts we used to go to Donauinsel. It kinda makes parallel excavated channel Neue Donau (“New Danube”). I remember celebrating my name day in June with the song Brenna tuats gut – some dialect of austrian german… don’t ask!

For the good Sunday time was the Praterstern. It is a major square in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna but also the amusement park. It derives from the old Latin word which means meadow.

Talking about the fun and amusement – the high fashion is gathered in MariaHilferstrasse.
It is the city’s longest and most lively shopping street. It will be worth your while to explore the side streets in the 6th and 7th districts. This is where many out-of-the-ordinary shops and outlets have sprung up recently.

The same is true for the Naschmarkt area. Although night life there is better 🙂 Pubs, pubs!

When living in Vienna, it feels like a fairytale. The architecture, the politeness, the curtsy, the lifestyle…

Perhaps, the main reason for that is the must visit castle called Schönbrunn. The residential palace of Habsburgs dynasty who rulled half of Europe in its times.

This Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country.

The most important rulers and adresees of the palace were Empress Marie Therese and her son Franz Josef l who married Sissi or Elisabeth. Her beauty was astonished, her good heart even more, However, she died from a terrorist act at the lake of Geneva.

However, Vienna is famous for its Christmas markets. So I will finish with the photo below: