Imagine my surprise: I got on a train in Bratislava, Slovakia, bound for Vienna, Austria — the land of mountains and snow, high lakes and skiing skiing skiing!

Austria: More than just Alps

But out the window all I saw was flat land. As far as the eye could see, it was flat. And covered in wind turbines generating electricity. What was going on? Was I on the wrong train? Lesson number one about Austria: it’s not all alps. Eastern Austria (officially called Lower Austria), bordering Slovakia, is in fact flat – hence the name, I guess. Another time, I approached Austria by train from Slovenia, headed to Graz. Slovenia was mountainous and gorgeous, we hit Austria and suddenly it was flat! So, south-eastern Austria: also flat. As, apparently is some of the north.

It’s the centre and western Austria , including the south-west, which contains the Alps. The area with Salzburg in it. And it is magnificent. Flying over this part of Austria is magical. You feel like you can reach out and touch the snow blanketing the ragged peaks. Like you want to jump into its gleaming white softness – or maybe not…

Why & how have I visited Austria so many times?

Austria was never a country I thought about visiting. It had none of the big attractions I’d dreamt of – I don’t ski, you see, and I got over the Spanish riding school horses around the age of 12. Mozart was so jammed down my throat at school that I think I deliberately set out to avoid his hometown. Then again, when I studied art history I loved the work of the Vienna Secessionists, and I am obsessed with chocolate. Why was it not on my list?

Anyway, suddenly I was living and working in Bratislava, Slovakia, and I was a little culinarily challenged – try being a vegetarian and having to eat pasta with sugar for lunch! (I do I love Bratislava in other ways, though.) But Vienna was just up the road by train and I was sure that I’d find a feast for a vegetarian easily enough. My first surprise was the train itself: one carriage – could this be right? Yes, the two cities are so close, it was like catching a small commuter shuttle, but with a border crossing in the middle. (A note: if you book a cheap flight to Vienna they often land you at Bratislava airport and then it’s a bus to Vienna itself – takes about an hour and they are quite regular.)

My second surprise was discovering Vienna Sudbahnhof train station is not right in the middle of the old town; imagine! I came out of the entrance and had no idea where the centre of town was; I had to ask. Talk about being ill-prepared! A nice man pointed me in the right direction, gave me the look that told me I was extremely strange and then walked away, fast. But I found the centre of town and it was beautiful. As was the walk past the Botanical Gardens and Schloss Belvedere to get there – definitely worth a visit.

Old Vienna, I do love thee

Old Vienna is contained within the ring road and you can just wander and wonder at its beauty and history. Also the hot chocolate is very good. As are the shops. I found a great little market (Spittalberg Market), just by following my nose and stocked up on lots of delicious treats to last me the week. Grocery shopping in another country: how decadent! Then it was back on the train to Bratislava.

The next time I got hungry, I went up to Vienna by boat along the Danube River. This promised to be romantic but wasn’t really – the boat was very serviceable and not made for viewing as much as getting you from A to B. But we did pass through some locks on the river which always makes it exciting! Again, I landed nowhere near the centre but this time I was more prepared and caught the Metro – very easy to negotiate. Like a creature of habit I returned to the same charming outdoor market, bought food, then wandered around the magnificent museum quarter appreciating the architecture.

Vienna is beautiful. I was propelled there by hunger, next time I will take the time to actually stay and see the sights more thoroughly. I do regret not going to the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) but it was July and August and the horses, being typical Europeans, take their summer holidays then. But next time I will definitely indulge my 11- year-old self: you’re never too old to spoil the kid inside.

What?! Graz is beautiful

My next visit to Austria was to Graz in the south-east. I was spending a weekend at the fabulous and eccentric Bad Blumau Spa resort about an hour’s drive outside Graz and caught the train there from Croatia.

Graz and its beautiful river

Graz is beautiful! I had no expectation, only a few hours to kill but I am so pleased I have been to that town. It is the second-biggest city in Austria at a population of about 250,000 and has UNESCO World Heritage status. I think it might be the prettiest town centre I have ever seen, with colourful and quirky Renaissance, Baroque and modern buildings. It also has an amazing cultural life with festivals, opera and galleries galore. The modern Kunsthaus (art house) is known as the Friendly Alien and does indeed look like a blob of a spaceship has landed in the midst of the historic buildings. And inside the gallery spaces are great, showing impressive exhibitions of international art. It’s next to the river, and suspended in the middle of the river, overlooked by the looming hill of the Schlossberg, is the Murinsel, a manmade ‘island’ of metal and plastic where you can drink a coffee, see a show or let the kids play. Magic!

To really see Graz, you must climb the Schlossberg, or, if you like strange public transport as much as I do, catch the glass lift from Schlossbergplatz, then catch the funicular back down. Don’t miss the famous clock which overlooks the town: the Uhrturm.

I also have to recommend at visit to the spa at Bad Blumau. If just for the crazy architecture. Designed by the famous Austrian architect Hundertwasser (1928-2000) (who ended his days in New Zealand), it does not have one straight line in it. Even the bottom of the walls curve and wave; it can be quite disconcerting after an hour floating in the thermal pools. But to see these crazy, colourful, organic buildings in this rural setting is fabulous. And, as a bonus, you get to have massages, lie in the sun, and float in thermal waters or play in the wave pool. Did I mention that grass grows over the top of many of the buildings? Or that there is a forest of plaques naming all the people who got married there. A lovely place. You can reach it from either Vienna or Graz - they even sent a driver to pick us up from Graz.

Salzburg - finally, the Alps

Salzburg, so many things to do

My final Austrian city experience is Salzburg. Hello Alps. And lakes. I arrived there by train from Munich – a nice journey that passes through some great scenery. Salzburg is another experience again – smaller (145,000), quainter, dominated by churches and with the white Festung Hohensalzburg castle overlooking it all – which by the way you can travel up to by Funicular – yay!

Another cultural city with a great modern art gallery on a cliff above the town; visit the restaurant there for a meal with a hard to beat view. I was told there is a civic program in Salzburg which enables local artists to live and work in the castle which makes me feel very warmly towards the local government. Sadly, I believe it is only for Austrians but I may investigate further.

Salzburg is a great place for taking tours out into the Alps and seeing lakes and mountains and small pretty villages. Also cows, if you like cows, which I do.

Naturally Mozart has a big presence in Salzburg – he lived here for the first 17 years of his life. I relented on my school-scarred attitude and ate Mozart Balls – great chocolates. I admit I did not visit his houses though I walked past them often. It really is a battle of the musical greats throughout Salzburg; Mozart and the von Trapp family vie for greatest number of souvenirs and tours. I fear the von Trapps and The Sound of Music win. Alas for high culture. (See my other blog for a shameful wallow in the joys of that film …)

So, that is my Austria – a country I inexplicably forgot for so many years then visited three times in 18 months. And loved.

-Philippa Burne

* Apologies to Linz…

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Destinations, Europe, Suggested Itineraries, Travel Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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