Vienna at Night: A Magical Place

The magic of Vienna comes alive after dark.

After the Danube game, Christie and I said goodbye to our teammates and caught a quick metro into the city of Vienna.  The following morning we were catching an early train out to Budapest for two days, but that still left us the hours of 11pm until 2am to explore the Grand City of the Hapsberg Empire.  While the city itself is on par with Paris for its overall feel and scale, its true charm comes alive after dark when the beautiful old city is lit up for all to enjoy.   

The Natural History Museum, just one of the countless imposing buildings inside the "Inner Ring."

This 30 foot tall wooden door leads into the Old Section of the city where large parks, Baroque buildings, and cobblestone streets give it a timeless feel.

Few people realize how large Vienna actually is.  Today there are around 1.6 million people (not counting the dogs), yet in the year 1900 it was the fifth largest city in the world! (Behind only New York, London, Paris, and Berlin.)   It served as the home for those infamous Hapsbergs and the Austrian Empire, who ruled from the city from 1273 until 1918.  They were lovers of music, fine wine, dancing, chocolate, and coffee... and it shows in the way this majestic city is laid out.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is at the very center of town and is the Baroque spoke from which this city spins.  Yes, I have considered a career in writing captions.

One thing Emperor Franz Josef did in the 1860s was tear down the Old City wall and replace it with a grand 190 foot wide boulevard that circles the center of the city.  As a basic rule of thumb, everything inside this ring is cool.  Our exact walking route began at the edge of the ring, at the Museums Gallery, crossed the Natural History Museum and meandered into the Old Town.  We explored the imposing Hofburg - comprised of a number of blocks-worth of buildings - and then proceeded into the main shopping district.  Unfortunately, it was late on a Saturday night and the stores were closed, so Christie was unable to buy anything.  Eventually we reached the center of the town, St. Stephen's cathedral, and we amazed by how it shot into the night sky.  

While she didn't find him at Como, Christie finally found her man...

"I like big butts and I cannot lie." Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1994.

This quiet street was filled with quaint hotels, leading to...

A pub showing the final four!

Of course, the most authentic way to end your romantic Vienna night walk is to find an English-style pub at 3am to watch the FINAL FOUR!  It was almost surreal seeing a large crowd of people inside a pub at this hour watching the last 8 minutes of the UConn - Michigan State game on ESPN: America.  To be more accurate, I think I was the only person watching, but it still made me stop and say to myself, "Am I really watching the Final Four in the middle of the night from Vienna?"  Such is the case when you play American Football in Europe!

~ J. Twice