Vienna, Austria

April 6-9, 2025.

I flew in and out of Vienna, to attend a conference in Brno, Czechia, which was 2 hours be bus from the Vienna airport. After the conference, I spent 2.5 days, from the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 2025 through Tuesday, April 8, 2025 as a tourist, and then flew back Wednesday morning (literally traveling about 24 hours, a tram, a train to the airport, 3 flights, some long-ish layovers, and a 1 hour drive from the airport to get back home.

I only had a small amount of time to get a sense of this amazing, ancient, modern city. So I did the best I could. I also had a light cold, which reduced my energy level a little. And at times it was a bit cold and windy. But there was nice weather too. I hadn't made a lot of plans, since there was so much in Vienna to see. So I explored the area near where I was staying, walked to the Blue Danube (I know "blue" is not actually part of its name), and explored the old town area near Stephensplatz, the area around the massive St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom). The Prater is an amuement part that was a couple blocks from my hotel. I wandered around there one night among the lights and rides.

77 photos.

Click here for photos of Brno from the same trip.

Displaying all 77 pictures


The Blue Danube

I walked from Praterstern on the Lassallestraße to the Reichsbrücke (Imperial Bridge) which is the bridge that crosses the Danube river connecting Leopoldstadt to the south to Donauinsel (Danube Island) to the north. Technically the river runs nortwest to southeast at this point, but I'm simplifying it to be east-west which is kind of how it is more or less in this area, give or take some twists and turns. Automobile traffic is on the top, below that in the middle is train and subway traffic. And to the sides are foot and bicycle paths. There's a nice view of the river on both sides.

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Tegetthoff memorial memorial at the Praterstern station.

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Looking southwest towards central Vienna.

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Looking northwest at the Danube.

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Looking northeast towards Donauinsel (Danube Island).

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Looking northwest at the Danube.

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Looking at the Reichsbrücke from Donauinsel.

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St. Francis of Assisi Church on the southwest side of the Danube river.

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I can't find anything on the eye building, I guess it's just a building.

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A few big buildings in Vienna; the one on the left is PWC.

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Again the St. Francis of Assisi Church next to the Reichsbrücke.

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The Reichsbrücke, Danube, and Donauinsel from the mini island.

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I thnk this is some functional dock rather than art. The Donauturm (Danube...(more)

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Yup, that's German for "I am the terror that flaps in the night!"

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The subway entrance on the left of the bridge over the Danube (Reichsbrücke).

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Why did I take this picture? Ever get the feeling you're being watched?

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The Vienna International Centre (VIC) is one of the major UN sites (New York,...(more)

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Odd blurry art on the side of one of the UN VIC buildings in Austria.


The Prater Amusement Park

The Prater itself is a large park just north of the Danube. The Wurstelprater is an amusement park that occupies a small part of the Prater though often people refer to it as the Prater as well. The name Wurstelprater comes from Hanswurst ("Johnny Sausage") a buffoon character in rural carnival theaters and touring companies. The Wurstelprater is an à la carte place. It's free to walk around the park—people only pay for the rides. So I wandered around, explored, took some night pictures, and bought some postcards. It was around 9pm and there were a lot of people but it wasn't insanely crowded. Several restaurants and bars are there too.

The rides include the Riesenrad (Giant Wheel), which is almsot 65m (212 ft) tall built in 1897 and the Blumenrad, a smaller ferris wheel. The park has 14 roller coasters, two log flumes, bumper cars, ghost trains, a fun house, several chair swing rides including the Praterturm which is 117m (384 ft) tall, arcades, museums, and a planetarium.

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A monument in the Prater to Robert Stolz, a famous composer.

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A big-ass ferris wheel (Riesenrad).

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Composite picture of the ferris wheel (Riesenrad).

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A planetarium. I believe the show is in German.

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The ride cars briefly emerge from the dark on the bottom.

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Now it's red—ooh, scary!

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Geisterbahn, literally "ghost train," is an amusement park ride in the dark.

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Praterturm (Prater Tower) where people hang down and are spun around for fun.

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Another ferris wheel and some arrow-sign in the foreground.

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The Extasy ride (in the red zone) are groups of 4 cars that spin like a tire...(more)

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The bumper cars weren't seeing much action that night.

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I thought the colored balls of light in the trees looked cool.


Vienna at Night

Technically, this was all in the Leopoldstadt district and all within a few blocks of the Praterstern station. I had walked around the area during the day, but after dinner, I walked a little looking for a cafe where I could get dessert. I passed by a church and a cute little cafe.

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I found it interesting that an IEEE office was here.

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I wanted to remember what church this one was.

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St. Johann Nepomuk Vienna was built between 1736-1737. It's on Praterstraße, a...(more)

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A proper dessert at a Vienna cafe: tea and a sacher torte. I hadn't removed a...(more)

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The Cafe Wiener Melange, where I had dessert Tuesday night.


St. Stephens Cathedral

St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom in German) in Vienna was consecrated i 1147 and was built on the ruins of two earlier churches. Over the centuries, it has been extended and restored. It is huge and open to the public. A small lift (elevator) in the north tower allows people to go up to the top and can walk around part of that area and take in the amazing view.

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Nice stained glass windows in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

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To be honest, the windows aren't super intricate, but they're also quite...(more)

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A small concert/performance was just ending. The stained glass windows here...(more)

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A view of the ceiling.

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People beyond where I was had paid or were members of the church or something.

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The folds in the clothing is quite impressive, and it's stone!

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More ornate columns.

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Another 'wing' off to the left side.

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A depiction of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

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Organ pipes at the back wall above the entrance.

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The City of Vienna and Republic of Austria coat of arms on the north roof.

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The Riesenrad (giant ferris wheel) of the Prater is visible in the center.

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Narrow stetps on the north tower but with a sturdy fence on the left.

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Note that to the left of the study fence is just down and death.

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One of the spires of Stephansdom.

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Frank on the north tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

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Frank on the north tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

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A not-great composite image of the north tower bell at St. Stephen's Cathedral.

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Candles in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

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Candles in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

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Part of the cathedrawl was under rennovation.


Stephensplatz

Stephansplatz is the plaza or square that's at the center of Vienna and named for the biggest, most notable building there: Stephansdom, or St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in the world (see the previous section). There used to be houses between Stephansplatz and Stock-im-Eisen-Platz before the 20th century, but since then Stephansplatz now refers to the entire area. The U-Bahn (subway) station there is the busiest one in Vienna.

Stock-im-Eisen ("staff in iron") is a part of a tree trunk into which hundreds of nails have been hammered, since the Middle Ages and it is ringed by an iron band closed by a large padlock and the earliest written references to it date back to 1533.

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It's the wAnker Clock! Didnt know what it was till now.

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Stock Im Eisen (Staff in Iron) supported by the muses of the wet tunic...(more)

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The plaza by the Stephenplatz U-Bahn (subway) exit.

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I like the coyote slammed into a wall sticker on the back.

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Vermählungsbrunnen (Marriage Fountain). The wiki page is in German.

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The curvy buildings, all about the same height, feels very European. Or...(more)

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The color and cubical theme of my hotel room. I took a few afternoon naps, as...(more)



Click here for photos of Brno from the same trip.


This page last modified May 10, 2025.
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