Waking Up
I was hopeful I could catch a bike tour, so I made it a point to be up and ready for breakfast. I didn't get WiFi in the room, but was expecting to get a connection in the lobby or breakfast area. Around 9am the woman who checked me in called, she told me my parking was up at 9am and that I'd need another slip. I was pretty certain I paid for parking until 10am, I figured the two slips covered the balance of one day and the first hour of the next. In any case, I was glad she cared enough to call. I made it a point to shower and get to the lobby as quickly as possible. When I got to the lobby and breakfast area I remembered I needed to formally check in and pay - we took care of payment and I had a quick breakfast. I don't think I actually purchased additional parking since I was going to be leaving soon. I was less than an hour over the meter and not ticket awaited when I returned to the car.
Missing the Bicycle Tour...Twice
During breakfast I got a couple of emails back about tours. I though I had inquired about a segway tour, but either I was vague in my request and just requested a city tour. There were openings for the tour, but the tour was a bike tour, not a segway tour. Fine with me, the Segway tour was only 29 euro instead of 79 euro and covered a comparable area. The tour was 3 hours and began in just a few minutes. I wrote asking if joining the tour in 15 minutes was feasible, as I'd likely be late, and was told to head over! I was able to find parking in an underground garage next to the Oprah house which was were the tour group met. I found the tour, but the group leader suggested I join the afternoon tour since it had already begun. The afternoon tour would begin at 2:30pm. I wasn't sure how long I'd be in Vienna, but I figured I'd write the tour company and see if the afternoon tour was available. There was a Starbucks across the street so I jetted over to get some coffee and see if the afternoon tour was available. The tour provider confirmed the 2:30pm was available! I got the feeling groups are formed based on how many people inquire - meaning there really wasn't a limit to how big a group could be. I also made lodging for the night at a hotel that was a little bit more expensive but a bit closer to the town center. There were mixed reviews, but since I was only staying one night I was okay taking a risk.
Heading to the Hotel
I'd spend nearly an hour and a half looking for it. I had the address in Google Maps, but in the end the directions were less than perfect. I had located the street the hotel was on, but the hotel was located on a street that broke off into a pedestrian zone halfway. A pedestrian zone is simply a road or large area cars are forbidden from entering either completely or during certain hours. I was really getting frustrated looking for the place. I walked into a different hotel nearby for advice and the helpful concierge pointed me further down the street. That didn't help much. I stepped into a Thomas Cook retail outlet (travel agency) and they were extremely helpful directing me. The hotel was on the opposite end of the street which wasn't obvious given the maps I was referencing and presence of the pedestrian zone. Given how frustrated I was finding the hotel and the mixed reviews there was little chance I'd enjoy the hotel. All in all though, it ended up being a good short stay. I've become accustomed to sleeping on a twin bed, that's normal out in these parts. From time to time I could sense smoking, but it wasn't too strong. When I checked in the hotel man working reception was extremely helpful with parking. The hotel was a number of permits you can borrow for something like 4 euro a day. They hold a 40 euro deposit to ensure you return the permit. The WiFi also reached the room - I could see they installed repeaters on every floor. It was obvious the hotel was well beyond its glory days. The fact the operators cared enough to make parking easy for guests and they did a good job ensuring WiFi reached each room won me over though. The location of the hotel can't be beat. It's next to a Hilton and other chains that are much more expensive. All in all, I was very happy.
Zentralfriedhof
Noting Beethoven and Bach both died in Vienna, I was curious where they were burried. I did some searching and discovered that both are buried in a cemetery not far away called Zentralfriedhof. Zentralfriedof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world (absolute largest by number interred in Europe) and the quasi-final resting place for Mozart, Beethoven, and a number of other composers. I say quasi-final resting place because the graves have been relocated a number of times since the composers have died. The cemetery was about 20 minutes away by car. I had about 3 hours to kill before the tour, so I figured the cemetery might be a great place visit in between.
After a few missed turns, I eventually made my way to the cemetery. I was able to find street parking without much of an issue, too. After walking into one of the sections, I saw a couple of men who appeared to work on the grounds. One spoke broken English and I inquired about where Beethoven's grave might be. Using pretty solid broken English, he was able to communicate that the correct entrance was a short walk down the street. After entering the second entrance I started to walk around. I asked a couple who were tending a grave site where Beethoven's grave was and they directed me further down. At this point I realized there the cemetery had numerous entrances. I walked further down and noticed a large museum like structure - I figured that might be the final resting place or a monument. I walked in and realized the large museum like building was a church. Inside though was a man with a big SLR camera like mine. To date, he is the only person I've met with purchased the awesome optional GPS dongle for the camera. He spoke English and directed me to the site. He even was able to show me some photos he took to make it easier. Great guy. Shortly after walking out of the Church I found Beethoven's grave site. A couple was outside walking around the grave site and we chatted a bit and swapped cameras for photos. We were both looking for Bach's resting place (all great composers are lumped together) and eventually they found it and called me over. I needed about 20-30 minutes to get back to the Opera house for the tour, so I jetted for the car. Traffic was pretty intense, so I aborted the plan to do the tour. At this point I figured there was too much left to see in Wien so an extra day was a must. The city seemed pretty lively, so seeing how it was on a weekend night would be fun.
Walking Tour
Since the bike tour was food, I figured a self guided walking tour was a must. Sometime before coming to Wein I discovered Trip Advisor's offline iPhone app. I've mentioned the app before, but it's worth repeating how awesome the application is. One of the features of the app is the ability for ordinary people to add walking tours that anyone can do using the app. It's *almost* perfect. I say almost because GPS support is not built into the app map in tour mode. Anyhow, I found a couple of architecture tours and walked around. What's nice is the app plots everything out on the map, allowing you to click each spot for more information about each site. The only thing missing is the iconic blue dot to identify the present location. I got frustrated after a short while trying to make heads or tails of which direction to walk, but the app did give me some insights into what to see.
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
In many respects, the cathedral is the centerpiece of main shopping street. It's impossible to miss as you walk from one end to the other. It's also incredibly beautiful. The Trip Advisor app gave hours, costs, and suggestions for each stop. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before, but the app suggestion inspired me to enter the cathedral. A mass was going on inside, however a huge gate separates tourists from worshipers. The folks who run the Regensburg cathedral should follow lead with how this cathedral handles tourism. A huge gate separates those that want to observe or tour from those that want to practice. Normally I'd feel obligated to attend the mass, but since the gate was there, it wasn't a Sunday, and the service was in German, I simply toured the premises.
As I mentioned, the Trip Advisor app is *almost* perfect. It's not easy (nor probably difficult) to navigate from stop to stop so I gave up on the tour pretty easily. Plus I hadn't eaten...so my next goal was to find dinner.
Dinner
The first idea was to go to the brew pub I stopped by the night before. I was open to suggestion though. I started browsing suggestions listed on Trip Advisor and saw there were a couple of Brazilian steakhouses! Since I hadn't eaten all day, this sounded like quite the treat. Oddly, the only two Brazilian steakhouses in all of Wien were directly down the street from one another. Both were rated well, but one seemed much better than the other. The place I ended up at (the better rated) was called Churrascaria. If I recall correctly, the all inclusive meal was 25 Euro ($32) and featured a selection of sausage, lamb, and beef. I opted for a Caipirinha, a specialty drink often served at Brazzilian steakhouse. It was pretty good, as I could taste the fresh lime juice. All in all, I was pretty impressed with the steakhouse. It fared very well against the Brazilian steakhouses back home. The only thing I didn't like about this recreation was the fact it lacked the zesty bread found at other Brazilian steakhouses.
Austrian Casino
Shortly after finishing a late dinner I walked around town and figured stopping in a Casino is a must. There are several billboards and signs advertising a casino, but I suspect they all redirected to this establishment. The casino was interesting. Instead of a cover they enforce a buy in that can be used at any game, including table games. 27 euro gets you 30 euro in gaming chips. I waited a very short amount of time at the blackjack table and took a seat. 10 euro minimum, not too far off from Vegas on a weekend nowadays. I put some chips down on a spot I thought was my own and the cards were dealt. What I didn't realize is I bet on my neighbors hand. I discovered this when I asked to hit on the hand, the correct move according to basic strategy. Anyhow, I was frustrated because he called the move incorrectly. The game was progressive shuffle so I know card counting wasn't the reason for his his action. Anyhow, luck would be on my side because his move wouldn't kill the hand - it ended up paying off. On my right was a couple playing a single hand. The next hand they'd be dealt a set of aces. The guy appeared to understood he could split but opted not to. For the next few minutes the dealer tried patiently to explain to him he either had a 2 or 13, offering him the choice of either. The man struggled to act, but eventually the dealer pushed him to hit knowing he wouldn't split. The others at the table were patient with the stupid man. For me, the tolerance at the table is a good sign. With both progressive shuffle and multiple decks, the idea that one player can ruin another players hand is nothing short of pure stupidity. The aggression created by another player getting angry is energy I care not to be around and destroys the synergy I enjoy when playing at a casino. That's why I like craps - normally everyone is playing together. After winning the hand, I made friends with the guy next to me. I asked if drinks were complimentary and he said they are not. He insisted on buying me a drink, but I refused. I was done for the night, but if a cocktail was on the casino I wouldn't refuse. After 5 hands my luck went south and I head back to the hotel.
Some differences I noticed when playing blackjack in Austria.
Tomorrow
I wrote the bike tour company and explained that, if they weren't frustrated with me, I'd like to join the tour the next day. The comically wrote back saying they were not frustrated at all and would love to have me on the tour. The goal was to be up for breakfast and head over to the bike tour at 9:45am. I had the permit for 24 hours so I wouldn't have to worry about moving the car. Although the receptionist would tell me sometime afterwards that parking is free on Saturday, allowing me to return the permit earlier than expected.
I was hopeful I could catch a bike tour, so I made it a point to be up and ready for breakfast. I didn't get WiFi in the room, but was expecting to get a connection in the lobby or breakfast area. Around 9am the woman who checked me in called, she told me my parking was up at 9am and that I'd need another slip. I was pretty certain I paid for parking until 10am, I figured the two slips covered the balance of one day and the first hour of the next. In any case, I was glad she cared enough to call. I made it a point to shower and get to the lobby as quickly as possible. When I got to the lobby and breakfast area I remembered I needed to formally check in and pay - we took care of payment and I had a quick breakfast. I don't think I actually purchased additional parking since I was going to be leaving soon. I was less than an hour over the meter and not ticket awaited when I returned to the car.
Missing the Bicycle Tour...Twice
During breakfast I got a couple of emails back about tours. I though I had inquired about a segway tour, but either I was vague in my request and just requested a city tour. There were openings for the tour, but the tour was a bike tour, not a segway tour. Fine with me, the Segway tour was only 29 euro instead of 79 euro and covered a comparable area. The tour was 3 hours and began in just a few minutes. I wrote asking if joining the tour in 15 minutes was feasible, as I'd likely be late, and was told to head over! I was able to find parking in an underground garage next to the Oprah house which was were the tour group met. I found the tour, but the group leader suggested I join the afternoon tour since it had already begun. The afternoon tour would begin at 2:30pm. I wasn't sure how long I'd be in Vienna, but I figured I'd write the tour company and see if the afternoon tour was available. There was a Starbucks across the street so I jetted over to get some coffee and see if the afternoon tour was available. The tour provider confirmed the 2:30pm was available! I got the feeling groups are formed based on how many people inquire - meaning there really wasn't a limit to how big a group could be. I also made lodging for the night at a hotel that was a little bit more expensive but a bit closer to the town center. There were mixed reviews, but since I was only staying one night I was okay taking a risk.
Heading to the Hotel
I'd spend nearly an hour and a half looking for it. I had the address in Google Maps, but in the end the directions were less than perfect. I had located the street the hotel was on, but the hotel was located on a street that broke off into a pedestrian zone halfway. A pedestrian zone is simply a road or large area cars are forbidden from entering either completely or during certain hours. I was really getting frustrated looking for the place. I walked into a different hotel nearby for advice and the helpful concierge pointed me further down the street. That didn't help much. I stepped into a Thomas Cook retail outlet (travel agency) and they were extremely helpful directing me. The hotel was on the opposite end of the street which wasn't obvious given the maps I was referencing and presence of the pedestrian zone. Given how frustrated I was finding the hotel and the mixed reviews there was little chance I'd enjoy the hotel. All in all though, it ended up being a good short stay. I've become accustomed to sleeping on a twin bed, that's normal out in these parts. From time to time I could sense smoking, but it wasn't too strong. When I checked in the hotel man working reception was extremely helpful with parking. The hotel was a number of permits you can borrow for something like 4 euro a day. They hold a 40 euro deposit to ensure you return the permit. The WiFi also reached the room - I could see they installed repeaters on every floor. It was obvious the hotel was well beyond its glory days. The fact the operators cared enough to make parking easy for guests and they did a good job ensuring WiFi reached each room won me over though. The location of the hotel can't be beat. It's next to a Hilton and other chains that are much more expensive. All in all, I was very happy.
Exterior of hotel
Zentralfriedhof
Proper Entrance
Inside cemetery - near Bach and Beethoven's plot
Noting Beethoven and Bach both died in Vienna, I was curious where they were burried. I did some searching and discovered that both are buried in a cemetery not far away called Zentralfriedhof. Zentralfriedof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world (absolute largest by number interred in Europe) and the quasi-final resting place for Mozart, Beethoven, and a number of other composers. I say quasi-final resting place because the graves have been relocated a number of times since the composers have died. The cemetery was about 20 minutes away by car. I had about 3 hours to kill before the tour, so I figured the cemetery might be a great place visit in between.
After a few missed turns, I eventually made my way to the cemetery. I was able to find street parking without much of an issue, too. After walking into one of the sections, I saw a couple of men who appeared to work on the grounds. One spoke broken English and I inquired about where Beethoven's grave might be. Using pretty solid broken English, he was able to communicate that the correct entrance was a short walk down the street. After entering the second entrance I started to walk around. I asked a couple who were tending a grave site where Beethoven's grave was and they directed me further down. At this point I realized there the cemetery had numerous entrances. I walked further down and noticed a large museum like structure - I figured that might be the final resting place or a monument. I walked in and realized the large museum like building was a church. Inside though was a man with a big SLR camera like mine. To date, he is the only person I've met with purchased the awesome optional GPS dongle for the camera. He spoke English and directed me to the site. He even was able to show me some photos he took to make it easier. Great guy. Shortly after walking out of the Church I found Beethoven's grave site. A couple was outside walking around the grave site and we chatted a bit and swapped cameras for photos. We were both looking for Bach's resting place (all great composers are lumped together) and eventually they found it and called me over. I needed about 20-30 minutes to get back to the Opera house for the tour, so I jetted for the car. Traffic was pretty intense, so I aborted the plan to do the tour. At this point I figured there was too much left to see in Wien so an extra day was a must. The city seemed pretty lively, so seeing how it was on a weekend night would be fun.
Little land is wasted, plots are side by side
Paying respects to Beethoven
Paying respects to Mozart
Church inside cemetery
Inside Church
Outside Beethoven
Since the bike tour was food, I figured a self guided walking tour was a must. Sometime before coming to Wein I discovered Trip Advisor's offline iPhone app. I've mentioned the app before, but it's worth repeating how awesome the application is. One of the features of the app is the ability for ordinary people to add walking tours that anyone can do using the app. It's *almost* perfect. I say almost because GPS support is not built into the app map in tour mode. Anyhow, I found a couple of architecture tours and walked around. What's nice is the app plots everything out on the map, allowing you to click each spot for more information about each site. The only thing missing is the iconic blue dot to identify the present location. I got frustrated after a short while trying to make heads or tails of which direction to walk, but the app did give me some insights into what to see.
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
In many respects, the cathedral is the centerpiece of main shopping street. It's impossible to miss as you walk from one end to the other. It's also incredibly beautiful. The Trip Advisor app gave hours, costs, and suggestions for each stop. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before, but the app suggestion inspired me to enter the cathedral. A mass was going on inside, however a huge gate separates tourists from worshipers. The folks who run the Regensburg cathedral should follow lead with how this cathedral handles tourism. A huge gate separates those that want to observe or tour from those that want to practice. Normally I'd feel obligated to attend the mass, but since the gate was there, it wasn't a Sunday, and the service was in German, I simply toured the premises.
Outside Cathedral
(photo taken day before)
Inside cathedral during mass
Note the gate that separates tourists from practitioners
As I mentioned, the Trip Advisor app is *almost* perfect. It's not easy (nor probably difficult) to navigate from stop to stop so I gave up on the tour pretty easily. Plus I hadn't eaten...so my next goal was to find dinner.
Dinner
The first idea was to go to the brew pub I stopped by the night before. I was open to suggestion though. I started browsing suggestions listed on Trip Advisor and saw there were a couple of Brazilian steakhouses! Since I hadn't eaten all day, this sounded like quite the treat. Oddly, the only two Brazilian steakhouses in all of Wien were directly down the street from one another. Both were rated well, but one seemed much better than the other. The place I ended up at (the better rated) was called Churrascaria. If I recall correctly, the all inclusive meal was 25 Euro ($32) and featured a selection of sausage, lamb, and beef. I opted for a Caipirinha, a specialty drink often served at Brazzilian steakhouse. It was pretty good, as I could taste the fresh lime juice. All in all, I was pretty impressed with the steakhouse. It fared very well against the Brazilian steakhouses back home. The only thing I didn't like about this recreation was the fact it lacked the zesty bread found at other Brazilian steakhouses.
Austrian Casino
Shortly after finishing a late dinner I walked around town and figured stopping in a Casino is a must. There are several billboards and signs advertising a casino, but I suspect they all redirected to this establishment. The casino was interesting. Instead of a cover they enforce a buy in that can be used at any game, including table games. 27 euro gets you 30 euro in gaming chips. I waited a very short amount of time at the blackjack table and took a seat. 10 euro minimum, not too far off from Vegas on a weekend nowadays. I put some chips down on a spot I thought was my own and the cards were dealt. What I didn't realize is I bet on my neighbors hand. I discovered this when I asked to hit on the hand, the correct move according to basic strategy. Anyhow, I was frustrated because he called the move incorrectly. The game was progressive shuffle so I know card counting wasn't the reason for his his action. Anyhow, luck would be on my side because his move wouldn't kill the hand - it ended up paying off. On my right was a couple playing a single hand. The next hand they'd be dealt a set of aces. The guy appeared to understood he could split but opted not to. For the next few minutes the dealer tried patiently to explain to him he either had a 2 or 13, offering him the choice of either. The man struggled to act, but eventually the dealer pushed him to hit knowing he wouldn't split. The others at the table were patient with the stupid man. For me, the tolerance at the table is a good sign. With both progressive shuffle and multiple decks, the idea that one player can ruin another players hand is nothing short of pure stupidity. The aggression created by another player getting angry is energy I care not to be around and destroys the synergy I enjoy when playing at a casino. That's why I like craps - normally everyone is playing together. After winning the hand, I made friends with the guy next to me. I asked if drinks were complimentary and he said they are not. He insisted on buying me a drink, but I refused. I was done for the night, but if a cocktail was on the casino I wouldn't refuse. After 5 hands my luck went south and I head back to the hotel.
Some differences I noticed when playing blackjack in Austria.
Dealer stays on all 17
Players can side bet with 5:3 odds on the dealer busting
Players can bet on any hand on the table
Double down is possible on any 2 cards
Blackjack payout is surprisingly normal at 3:2
Blackjack payout is surprisingly normal at 3:2
I did not inquire about surrender - my Purdue Vegas crew will probably not believe this
Tomorrow
I wrote the bike tour company and explained that, if they weren't frustrated with me, I'd like to join the tour the next day. The comically wrote back saying they were not frustrated at all and would love to have me on the tour. The goal was to be up for breakfast and head over to the bike tour at 9:45am. I had the permit for 24 hours so I wouldn't have to worry about moving the car. Although the receptionist would tell me sometime afterwards that parking is free on Saturday, allowing me to return the permit earlier than expected.
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