What to do in Vienna for two days?

[jolinar of malkshor]

I have to go to Syria soon, will only be in Syria for the day but will have two days to spend in Vienna, Anyone been there? Anything I should go see in particular?

[the_only_turek_fan]

Hitler had a getaway place (forgot the name) which is absolutely beautiful.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Hitler had a getaway place (forgot the name) which is absolutely beautiful.

Have you been there?

[DuffMan]

I've been there.
Go to Schoenbrunn palace.
Other than that, go dt and just walk around and hit up some pubs.

http://www.aboutvienna.org/sights/sc...unn_palace.htm

[4X4]

Hate to get nosy, but Syria for one day? Vienna for two? That's a weird trip... Hope you're going to be over there for longer than three days.

[jolinar of malkshor]

It's a work trip and I will only be there for the two days basically plus flight time.

[Frequitude]

Holy crap I'm jealous. I lived there for a year and its my favorite city in the world.

How touristy do you want to be?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Holy crap I'm jealous. I lived there for a year and its my favorite city in the world.

How touristy do you want to be?

What ever I can do in two days, I will have to stay in the city over night though.

[fredr123]

That's an odd trip. I hope you don't get much grief from the border guards at the airport on your return. I know a lot of people who do weird/short international flights raise suspicions for drug trafficking and the like.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by fredr123

That's an odd trip. I hope you don't get much grief from the border guards at the airport on your return. I know a lot of people who do weird/short international flights raise suspicions for drug trafficking and the like.

Speaking from personal experience?

[Language]

Vienna is absolutely beautiful and one of of my favorite cities.

I recommend just walking around the centre within the 'ring' road as the architecture rivals any other city renowned for its architecture IMO.

The Schonbrunn Palace is huge and kind of like Versailles, but it's a bit further out of town, so if you want to stay within the city centre, I'd recommend going to Belvedere Palace instead which is just off of the 'ring' road, and IMO is just as beautiful.

There's the Hofburg Palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephensdom), and tons of other cool things to see within the city. It's not too big so I'd just walk around to be honest with you and take in the city as it's awesome.

[DFO]

There are some catacombs under one of the old churches - easy way to kill a couple hours.

http://www.planetware.com/vienna/st-...-a-w-steph.htm

http://theunaustralian.wordpress.com...hes-of-vienna/

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Speaking from personal experience?

I've read the vast majority of your posts over the years. Customs probably doesn't look too kindly on whatever it is that you're smoking half the time

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by fredr123

I've read the vast majority of your posts over the years. Customs probably doesn't look too kindly on whatever it is that you're smoking half the time

I should be ok, I will be traveling on my government passport.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

It's a work trip and I will only be there for the two days basically plus flight time.

Piece of advice about jet lag: to avoid having it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to bed until it is your normal bedtime. If you're a midnight person, stay awake until midnight Vienna time. Do whatever you have to do to accomplish this or else you'll be screwed for days. And since your trip is only a few days, you'll ruin your trip.

I believe Vienna is on the same time as Italy so that means they are 8 hours ahead of us. I'm posting at 1pm; in Vienna it's 9pm. If you were to get on a plane right now and fly there, it would take about 11 hours. Depending on the departure time of your flight(s), it could make for a really long day or a really short day. Either way, you have to force yourself to go to bed on time and stay awake during normal awake times. Otherwise you'll find yourself awake at 4am and then ready to pass out again at noon.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Piece of advice about jet lag: to avoid having it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to bed until it is your normal bedtime. If you're a midnight person, stay awake until midnight Vienna time. Do whatever you have to do to accomplish this or else you'll be screwed for days. And since your trip is only a few days, you'll ruin your trip.

I believe Vienna is on the same time as Italy so that means they are 8 hours ahead of us. I'm posting at 1pm; in Vienna it's 9pm. If you were to get on a plane right now and fly there, it would take about 11 hours. Depending on the departure time of your flight(s), it could make for a really long day or a really short day. Either way, you have to force yourself to go to bed on time and stay awake during normal awake times. Otherwise you'll find yourself awake at 4am and then ready to pass out again at noon.

Thanks for the advise 4X4, this will be my first overseas flight so I won't be use to that long of jet lag, normally it is only 3-4 hours for me.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Thanks for the advise 4X4, this will be my first overseas flight so I won't be use to that long of jet lag, normally it is only 3-4 hours for me.

First time over there, eh? Then I have another warning for you. There is a weird insect over there that bites you and gives you this infection where all you can do forever is think about when the next time you're going to go back and for how long.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

What ever I can do in two days, I will have to stay in the city over night though.

Vienna is kind of built like a dartboard. There's the very centre district (District 1) which is the oldest. It is surrounded by a ring road. 95% of the sites you'll want to see in two days are on or near this ring road, namely the Northwest to South portion (counterclockwise).

1. Stick to that arc of the ring road. It has all the cool museums, the townhall, the opera house, etc.
2. Walk the Kärtnerstrasse, from the south part of the ring road to the centre of the city. Its a huge walking street with tons of shops and stuff. At the very middle of the city is a massive church called Stefansdom. It's the most famous church in Vienna and its massive.
3. The one "off-ring" thing you should do is go to Shönbrunn Palace. It's just that, an old massive palace that used to be the winter residence (might have been summer) of the old monarchy. It has a huge gardens, a zoo and a big tour of the palace. It's the most touristy thing to do in Vienna, but probably shouldn't be missed.
4. Go to at least one museum. I recommend one of the museum of natural history (Naturhistorisches museum) or its twin building right across the park, the art history museum (Kunsthistorisches museum). Pick one depending on your fancy (I'm a natural history guy), or maybe both!

In general, my favorite part of the city is the Northwest-South portion of the ring road at night. Simply beautifull. Every building is an architectural wonder and they are all lit up beautifully.

I'll make up a map to summarize the sites in the next post.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I should be ok, I will be traveling on my government passport.

Have fun. No matter how crappy the business, make sure you mix in a good deal of pleasure. That's probably the best part of the job. So jealous...

[troutman]

Locals call it Wien (pronounced Veen).

Pervert Germans go there (and Bratislava) on the weekends to party.