Tag: Vienna Travel Blog

The quirky house of Hundertwasserhaus
The architectural designs of Friedensreich Hundertwasser are often compared to Antoni Gaudi of Barcelona for the uniqueness or quirkiness depending on who you ask. Hundertwasser was first known for his paintings but wanted to have his say in architectural styling. He is totally against monotonous architectures and detests standard geometry of any kind and straight lines.
His envision led him to design many buildings with irregular forms while incorporating natural features. Everything which the famous Austrian designed gets plenty of attention for its unconventional concept.
And one of them is the apartment building of Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna.
The out-of-the-norm Hundertwasserhaus is located in a quiet neighbourhood of Landstrasse district, just 10 minutesâ€™ walk from Vienna Mitte station. The first thing which caught my eyes are the vibrant primary colours that matched up very well.
The irregular floor levels and windows make every unit looks unique. If there is one thing missing from the building, it would be uniformity.
Even the sidewalks are carpeted with wavy-patterned bricks. Not like those neatly paved ones which we commonly see.
Likewise, the use of bright colourful mosaic dÃ©cor makes ordinary pillars stand out too.
The natural features like trees and bushes on the rooftop, vines on the wall faÃ§ade and those big trees somehow blend in very well with the colourful Hundertwasserhaus.
There is also a nice looking fountain right in front.
The unique architectural styling must be equally stunning at those apartment units. But I will probably never know since it is not accessible to general public. Perhaps many had tried their luck, so much so that the residents decided to put up a signage. Understandably since Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna is so popular.
But interestingly, all the original residents had moved out. The reasons cited were sprained ankles and wobbly furniture LOL. How do the current residents cope with that?
Directly across is Kalke Village or Hundertwasser Village. It was previously a car tyre factory transformed to what it is today by the master himself. Inside of Kalke Village are mostly souvenir shops, art shops and cafes.
After seeing the masterpiece of Hundertwasser, we found ourselves back at Stephansplatz for dinner. Schnitzel of course!
We also bumped into Mr Mozart in the streets promoting his famous chocolate balls LOL.
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What are your thoughts about Hundertwasserhaus? Leave a comment and share it with me.
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July 3, 2016
Imperial Summer Residence of Schloss Schonbrunn
Not far from the city centre is Viennaâ€™s most famous attraction – Schloss Schonbrunn. The grand showpiece of Habsburg legacy is often known as the Austrian version of Versailles with a similar awe-inspiring palace and the massive garden. Though interestingly, Schonbrunn which means â€˜beautiful springâ€™, started out as a royal hunting ground. Before it was decided that a palace will be built and the magnitude was â€˜go big or go homeâ€™. Hence, the grand palace has got 1,441 rooms, a mixture of large garden spaces and even its own zoo!
Prior to the visit, I have gotten the tickets online and that saves me from joining the snaking queue in the early morning. Therefore, do remember to bring along the printed tickets and take note of your selected entry time – be punctual! We went to check out the gardens while waiting for our allocated entry time.
The parterre behind the palace is nicely done up with very well-maintained grass lawn, swirling patterns and beautiful flowers. It looks to be a great place to laze around on one of the benches and chillax.
Some highlights of Schonbrunner gardens are the Neptune’s Fountain and the Gloriette atop of Schonbrunn hill.
It takes a little more walking from the fountain to the Gloriette which was built as a war memorial and the centre portion is now being used as a cafÃ©.
The Gloriette offers some great surrounding view of Schloss Schonbrunn.
I obey to no human rule!!
Imperial Tour of Schloss Schonbrunn
As mentioned that there are 1,441 rooms in total but only 40 rooms are open to the public. And that kinda makes sense because I seriously do not think any tourists will want to visit all of them anyway. So depending on the ticket, you can either go all 40 rooms with Grand Tour or choose to see 22 rooms with Imperial Tour.
The balcony room
The Billiard Room
The Gobelin room
The great Gallery
The mirrors room
The rosa room
The vieux-Laque room
The yellow salon
Seeing the incredibly ornate rooms and the magnificent interiors reminded me of Versailles, very comparable if you ask me. But for me, it is the sad love story of Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph which left a deeper impression.
The beautiful Empress Elisabeth or affectionately known as Sisi by the Austrians, married Emperor Franz Joseph when she was only 16 years old. She struggled with the strict royal court life and was constantly at odds with her mother-in-law. Sisi has no said around the palace and was not even allowed to look after her young children. Things got worse when her youngest daughter died of fever and her only son in a bizarre suicide. Deeply affected by the tragedies, Sisi withdrew from her all duties and travelled around but was assassinated and passed away in Genevaâ€¦
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What are your thoughts about Schloss Schonbrunn? Leave a comment and share it with me.
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June 28, 2016