We had been spending eleven days in Europe by then, from Surprising Warsaw (Poland), mesmerising Prague (Czech Republic), Classic Bratislava (Slovakia), Beautiful Budapest (Hungary), and The amazing Lake Bled in Slovenia. On the day twelfths , we had planned to spend the best time in Vienna. It was my friend’s first time in Vienna and Austria, and it was the second time for me. My first time in Vienna was back in 2017.
One day was all we got before moving to Rome, and my friend were dying to visit Sistine Chapel.So, we squeezed Vatican City in our itinerary.
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How to get to Vienna (Wien) from Ljubljana (Slovenia) by Train
We arrived in Vienna on Monday January 7th 2019. It took 6 hours train trip from Ljubljana (our previous destination) to Vienna. I bought the ticket online via Austrian Railway Company Official Website. But, we needed to print the ticket at Ljubljana Train Station. There are direct and indirect train, but we took the direct 6 hours and 17 minutes train that costs EUR 34,9 (IDR 608,000 or USD 40). Back then it costs EUR 49,8 for two people ( EUR 24,9/pax). We departed at 15:47 and arrived at 22:02 at Wien Hauptbahnhof.
How to get around Vienna
Public Transportation
There are four mains of transportation in Vienna, they are U-Bahn (subway), Schnellbahn (S-Bahn or local train), Straßenbahn (tram), and Autobus (bus). We used subway most of the time, as well as walking.
The tickets
Ticket are sold in variety of durations of travel. If you are planning to visiting Vienna from one day to 7 days, short term passes are available for your purchase. It covers unlimited trip for all type of public transportation inside Vienna core’s zone where the ticket is valid. For example, if you purchase 24-hours ticket at 1 January at 08:00, ticket is good for unlimited travel on Wiener Linien network until August 2nd 08:00. However, you must validate the ticket by punching it at validating machine.
Other passes
There is also alternative passes that combine transports with attractions entrance fee such as Vienna Pass and Vienna City Card. For Vienna Pass it allows you to go free on numerous attraction and hop-on hop-off bus (but transport card is optional). Meanwhile Vienna City Card has two options (one that include public transportation card, and one that includes public transportation plus hop-on and hop-off bus). You can read their official websites for comparison and weighing.
As for us, we only had one day and had our eyes fixed on specific attractions only (I will detail it here in this blogpost).So, we only purchased 24-hour pass at Austria’s Wiener Linier when we arrived at the train station. It costs EUR 8 for 24-hour pass.
Belvedere Museum
Belvedere is one of famous museums in the world that houses precious collections from Middle ages to present day. The museum building consists of two parts, Upper Belvedere and Lower Belvedere which architecture style is Baroque Style. Lower Belvedere was built on 1712, while the Upper Belvedere was built from 1717-1723.
Lower Belvedere is currently closed for construction. The entrance fee for Upper Belvedere is EUR 16 and it opens from Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. You can purchased the ticket online on its official website.
Visiting Belvedere was like sensory overloading to me. Every room and exhibitions has their own dimensional passage of time. It is the kind of everlasting museum that rejuvenate every cell in your body no matter how many times you see it.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral
St Stephen’s Cathedral is Roman Catholic Cathedral with Romanesque and Gothic Architectural Style. It was built at 1137 and finished at 1160. It is a very extraordinary church in its interior and exterior. From the outside, its’ tall pillars and unique colourful roof makes it very stand out and gothic-y. It has two spires, and both heights are 68 meters (north spire), and 136 meters (south spire). The interior of this cathedral is otherworldly. It has 18 altars and many chapels. The main Altar is the high altar, built from 1641 to 1647 by Tobias Pock.
This cathedral has free entrance and open from Monday to Saturday from 6 am to 10 pm, and from 7 am to 10 pm on Sunday and public holidays. Visiting time is 9am to 11:30 am, and from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. Sunday and public holidays is from 1pm to 4:30 pm. I left this cathedral speechless with lingering sense of astonishment.
Taste the Original Sacher-Torte at Hotel Sacher Wien
It was my friend wish, and she was a pastry chef. So, off we went to Hotel Sacher and had a taste of the sacher Torte. We both have a sweet tooth though, and i was so excited to taste it. Sacher Torte is Austrian chocolate cake. It was found by 16 years old Franz Sacher as a chef replacement when the main chef fell ill. However, his cake stood out and soon it became favourite at the imperial court and the world. What makes sacher torte unique is the thin layer of apricot on top, coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides.
