Are you ready for the part II of Vienna’s rich and exciting heritage? In this post, I’d like to share some more of my personal favorites.

Being the longest river in Europe, Danube has developed it’s own legend and myth. But I have always had my own image of the river probably because of that famous waltz from J. Strauss II: On the Beautiful Blue Danube. Well, Danube is as beautiful as in my imagination, hehe~~ We rented a paddle boat and rode it around Donauinsel (Danube Island) for an hour, it was so pleasant and romantic. We also went to the Old Danube to have a look of the idyllic part of the river.

Belvedere is actually Italian and means “beautiful view”. It is used as an architectural term to refer the belvedere structure (remember that famous Belvedere painting by M. C. Escher?). But this magic word has been used for many other gorgeous things too.

The Belvedere in Vienna is a baroque palace complex contains a lower part, an upper part and gardens. At the upper Belvedere resides the Austrian Gallery Museum, which houses the world’s largest Gustav Klimt collection, along with the masterpieces of Egon Schiele and Claude Monet. It is really worth a visit! BTW, for museum lovers, Albertina is another museum I’d like to recommend.

The Giant Ferris Wheel is a perfect example of a good old thing of Vienna, it was built in 1897 and has been a landmark of the city ever since. Be sure to take a ride if you visit Vienna, it was such a wonderful feeling to be carried by something which is now more than 100 years old, like riding the wheel of time…

Talking about tradition, I have to mention the typical Viennese cuisine too. Enjoy the famous Wienerschnitzel (Viennese Schnitzel) and Spareribs at Pürstner, a restaurant has been run by Pürstner family for over three generations. For dessert, don’t miss the original Sacher-Torte (a famous chocolate cake introduced in 1832) at Hotel Sacher. And there is a very nice selection of cakes and sweets at Kurkonditorei Oberlaa too. Last but not least, try the Steckerlfisch (grilled fresh fish) at Strandcafe near Old Danube.

Oh gosh I have to stop now, writing the yummy food makes me wanna go back to Vienna NOW. haha~~  It’s Friday again, have a wonderful weekend my dear friends!

The capital of Austria has again been named by Mercer as the best city to live in the world. With the curiosity of how the city actually is, we made our 4 days trip to Vienna last week.

It’s hard to write a travelogue coz Vienna has so much to offer. From Stephen’s Cathedral to Schönbrunn Palace, from Danube River to the Giant Ferris Wheel, from the Imperial Palace to the Museum of Fine Arts, From the Belvedere to the Albertina… Hmm…where to start? Maybe I’d better let pictures tell the story this time.

Schönbrunn is the former summer residence of the imperial family and one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Europe. It contains an enchanting park, a palm house, a labyrinth and even a zoo! At Schönbrunn, I couldn’t help think of the Summer Palace in Beijing. The architecture genre is totally different, but that lavish and luxurious life style is quite the same.

Vienna’s City Hall is a magnificent building in neo-Gothic style. It was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt, the architect of the Cathedral of Cologne.

The Stephansplatz is named after the city’s most prominent building, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in the world.

The University of Vienna is one of my favorite spots during the trip. It was founded by Duke Rudolf IV in 1365 and is the oldest university within the German speaking area. What I love most is the university library. The old time interior is so beautiful and impressive. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of the library to share, since it is very rude to disturb the students who were reading there. So you gotta go there by yourself, see and be amazed.

…to be continued