European Railroad Discussion > Austria Part 2, around Vienna

I spent 2 days in Vienna with a friend and his family.  Rode the subway, checked out the main train station.  October 2019.  

The main station eas busy, and had a grocery store and all the other amenities you just can't fathom here in the US.  But it was quite new and blans, and the trains were also new and bland.  

Austria wasn't part of my plans for this trip, but I had made a single Facebook post a week earlier, and Johann, and old friend from the Bike Coop in Vancouver BC in the late 1990s messaged me and suggested I come visit and stay with them.  So I did.  That's one of many advantages of not having a set itinerary...  (I wish Facebook had a way to see where all of your friends currently call home.  Seems that that should be an easy thing for them to do, and when you are travelling you can pull it up on a map and see if you ahve any friends nearby).  

I'm sure I could have sought out mainstream cultural attractions, as Vienna is a developmental hub for music and many other things.  I went to a cathedral and listened to VIvaldi's Four Seasons, met my buddy after hockey pracrtice.  The next day he and I bicycled around the southern outskirts of the city, harvested turnips in his garden, went with his wife and daughter to the winery/deli in the farmland.  

It's quite amazing how compact European cities are.  It's only about 10 km from their house on the absolute outskirts to the city center, and nothing but farmland beyond.  Having a bicycle is a really good way to experience this, as you can just shoot out of town and enjoy the farm lanes.  

Compare -- same scale on opentopomap.  

Potland, OR, 2.5 million people 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon
https://opentopomap.org/#map=12/45.5157/-122.6862

Vienna, Austria, 2.9 million people 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna
https://opentopomap.org/#map=12/48.1870/16.3877

(And Portland is a compact city for a western American city!) 

These are all known facts to anyone who knows a bit about geography.  But, seeing it on the ground is an entirely different matter... 

Location
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1848982,16.3787574,829m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m2!1e3!1e4
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=48.18476236522366&lon=16.378930807113647&zoom=17
https://opentopomap.org/#map=17/48.18498/16.37807

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/22 22:18 by gobbl3gook.

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I bicycled to Bratislava, Slovakia on the next day.  I made a point of following a bicycle route that went through the main freight yards and junctions on the east side of town.  

I'm always impressed with the *frequency* of trains in most places in Europe.  Always something going on.  

Also, the availability of bike paths next to railroad lines!  

Location
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1382766,16.4364296,147m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m2!1e3!1e4
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=48.13813689495895&lon=16.43658220767975&zoom=19
https://opentopomap.org/#map=17/48.13807/16.43742
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/22 21:38 by gobbl3gook.

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My route out of town also went through the main cemetery.  Chopin, Beethoven and Mozart are all buried here, if I remember correctly. 

As usual, I sought out the mundane, rather than the famous.  

Location -- somewhere in here... 

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1431663,16.4409526,349m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m2!1e3!1e4
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=48.13813689495895&lon=16.43658220767975&zoom=19
https://opentopomap.org/#map=17/48.14515/16.43912

Ted in OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/22 21:40 by gobbl3gook.

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And of course your 3rd-to-last shot mimics the opening and closing shots of "The Third Man" starring Orson Welles, which had 2 scenes shot in that cemetery! 

Dwarty -- very interesting!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9yyDEDGlr0

The trees are a little bigger now.  

Ted in OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/22 21:44 by gobbl3gook.

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Thanks for the neat views! (Love The Third Man.)

I always enjoy your travel reports, and this one is no exception. Thanks for sharing it all with us once again.

I would only differ on one point, but it is a matter of taste. The Vienna Hauptbahnhof (main station) is, in my view and that of many people, not "bland" at all, as you stated. It is quite an architecturally distinguished building. Very modern, yes, and that is not to everyone's taste. But to those of us who have a liking for contemporary architecture that is well done, it's a gem. Very elegant in its styling, and functionally efficient as well. Likewise, the west station, Vienna Westbahnhof, another very stylish modernist building.

A link, with views: https://www.seat61.com/stations/vienna-hauptbahnhof.htm

As always, your results may vary. In any case, keep up the great work with your posts. It's always a delight to find them here.

MC