Vienna – Second Visit

My other visit in Vienna took place in April 2014. I already knew by leaving Vienna, that I have to visit this area in all seasons of the year. I did not expect, that I will be back so soon, but this time I was only here for 3 days. I was on my trip to Malta for my new job and have not had the time to stay for longer. Therefore I have to come back to this city. Once I will make it during summer time and another time I will see how the city and surroundings look like in autumn. Another reason to visit Vienna again are the friends I have found there.

17th April: From Bratislava to Vienna

I was very punctual for the boat. We started at 14:30 and arrived in the heart of Vienna (at “Schwedenplatz”) around 4pm. During the trip on the Donau and Donau channel I took some pictures and enjoyed the nature around me.

Bratislava Castle – Seen from Twin Liner

In Vienna I was continuing by underground to my host. This host has been my first host ever, we became friends and I am anytime welcome at her home – also for a whole week, if I want. You see, couchsurfing is not only for one or two nights, but for a life time! My friend and I started the evening with an extensive chat also planing the following days.

18th April: A special day in Vienna

The first thing I learned that day was, that Good Friday is not a holiday in Vienna. Now I have to tell you something, what only a few of my friends and relatives know: I am a fan of Freddy Quinn, a former artist (singer, actor and entertainer). He is still alive, but does not work anymore. If I remember right, he did it until he was 75 years old. I missed a lot of his work while I was living in Sweden. So did I during my stay in Ireland (Republic of), but in the last named country I had no longer to care about my children, therefore I often were watching “you tube” and listening to the songs of Freddy Quinn. Back in Germany, the country of my birth, I googled Freddy Quinn and find out a lot, so also, that there is a “Freddy-Quinn-Archiv” (http://www.freddy-quinn-archiv.at/) in Vienna.

Since I found the archives on the Internet my wish was to go there and try to find out more about his work. I tried it in October 2013 for the first time, but I did not have spare time enough to do it. My wish was still there, when I was in Vienna around Christmas that year, but I did not ask for visiting because it is not an official museum, but a private collection and Christmas time is not that time I usually visit unknown people. This time was different and I made an appointment in advance, when I was planning my trip.

My host and friend told me, she likes Freddy Quinn, too. So she took the car and we were going to see the archives. That was the start of this crazy day! The address were hard to find, but after a while, we did find the house, but not the apartment. Though we called the owners of the archives, one of them met us in the shopping mall and took us with her. The archives are in a separate room in the basement of the house where the owners live. When we were coming in there, we first have seen all and nothing, because it is really to much in a little space. The owner of the archives started to show us some things and explained a lot. My host and friend soon got bored about it, but not me. She left and after that the whole situation changed! I have not had the possibility to see really much before we were leaving for lunch, but the owner took some DVD’s for showing later in the apartment – I paid my own lunch of course, because it was in a restaurant.

Actually we did not stay for a very long time in the archive, but for hours in the apartment of the owners of this. They played some videos for me – videos I never would have had a possibility to see if I had not been there. Furthermore I have got some registration numbers of records, which had been done for the Swedish market. I promised to try to find them. Unfortunately I am not in Sweden, therefore it will be hard to do.

I spend hours and hours with the owners and we became friends. I also translated text from a DVD, they have got of an unknown donator. There were a lot spoken in Swedish on that DVD and it was recorded, when Freddy Quinn was in a TV-show with an Swedish artist. (Later I also found out, when that DVD was recorded by writing to the Researchers of the Swedish Royal Library – it was from the Swedish TV-program “I Myggans vänkrets and recorded on 14th March 1981.)

I have got a cake and a coffee before the translation and later on also an evening meal (a kind of sandwiches). I have been shown some of the robes Freddy Quinn was wearing in films and on stage and I also was allowed to touch them. At least that evening we watched a record of the theatre play of “Charlies Tante”, Freddy Quinn playing the aunt – and he did it really good!

Around 11pm I was leaving, going home to my friend by underground. It was a wonderful day only possible by all the time and money these fans are investing in the archives. I think, nobody can imagine how much time, work and money they already have invested in it. I am so greatful to Brigitta and Eduard for their work!

19th April: Overcoming my fear!

This day I owned the green Vienna, starting with the green Prater. I also planned to take a trip with the old Ferris Wheel or better, I hoped I will do it, because I am afraid of high and all times I tried Ferries Wheels before I did not feel well because my fear. I started with a ride by the Lilliput train,

One of the Lilliput Trains – Wiener Prater

because my friend recommended me to do and it was really cheap. One ride was for 4 Euro, a combined ticket with the Ferris Wheel was for 10,70 Euro, a ticket for the Ferris Wheel alone (I checked before) was for 9 Euro. Of this reason I took a combined ticket and also because there were a long queue at the ticket office for the Ferris Wheel, but not here.

The cars of the Ferry Wheel seen out of one of them!

After a little more than half a round with the Lilliput train I left and continued by walking the green Prater, buying an ice cream, taking pictures of flowers, trees etc. and a squirrel. I went back to the Lilliput train just at the right time. OK, I have been waiting for it around fifteen minutes, but the one, which was coming, had a steam engine! That is the only one of this kind in the Prater, the others were driven by diesel engines.

Afterwards I did it! I took the old Ferris Wheel. Because I already have had a ticket, I did not need to queue. For the car, there were only a very short queue, so I made it in the second car, which was coming. I took a seat because I was afraid, I could not stand it otherwise, but after a short while I took place in front of a window for taking pictures and I took a lot. I also switched to the other side of the car, when the wheel were moving down again, standing in front of an open window. This kind of Ferris Wheel make me feel save during the whole trip and it is the only kind of Ferries Wheel I ever will use.

Some times later I took the underground for “Stadtpark” because I have to see this park also in green and with flowers. The small river “Wien” was a little bigger now as last time I have seen it – in January. I did also see a wedding in the park. A photographer was with the pair and their guests and took pictures in front of the lake. I walked the whole area, actually it is quite small. The weather was still nice even some dark clouds came up on the sky.

The Flower-Clock – Wiener Stadtpark

Afterwards I walked in the direction after my feelings and they were right, because I came to the Urania and the Donaukanal. I continued at the side of the channel all the way until “Spittelau”, where I had to take the road up to my friend. A little tired, but happy as usual, I shared the evening with my friend.

20th April: Knowing “Grinzing” and the “Buschenschank”

I did not plan a lot for this day, but my friend invited me for a trip with her car. We were going to the church “Kirche am Steinhof” in Art Noveau av an Austrian called Otto Wagner, a well known architect for the period the church was build. The church belongs to a hospital. It is situated on the top of a hill, so you can see the city of Vienna from here, but the church is beautiful, too – inside as well as outside.

Interior of the St. Leopold Church, also called Otto-Wagner-Church

Vi continued to the other side of the town to “Stift Klosterneuburg” (Klosterneuburg Monastery). We tried to visit the church, but there was a gate, so we could only look through it. It was a nice one two, but I thought “less would be more”.

StiftKlosterNeuburg

The trip by car ended close to the “Wiener Hofburg”, where we looked at the violin key out of orange flowers in front of the statue of W. A. Mozart. We were going home to my friend after that for a while.

In the Park of the Wiener Hofburg in front of the Mozartstatue

Around 7pm we took the tram 38 to the stop “Grinzing”. The line was ending there. We walked a little around, choosing a restaurant. At the first place, we looked, there was a whole bus group of tourists, though we left. I do not mind about that, but a Wiener does.

The “Buschenschank” we chose, was waiting a group from somewhere, but they had not arrived at this time. So we hoped they will not come for a while and got seated. We have had a nice evening with usual musicians in the room beside, so we could here the music in the background. By the way a “Buschenschank” is a kind of a restaurant, in which the owner of a vineyard is only allowed to sell his own wine. However the owner is also allowed to sell something to eat to the wine. In former times, it was only allowed to sell cold dishes, but today it has changed. If you are German, you maybe know the term “Straußwirtschaft”. A “Buschenschank” is the same kind of restaurant. We were lucky, that the group was not coming before we have had eaten our meals. We left, when they came and were going home by tram again.

21th April: From Vienna via Graz to Ljubljana

There are so many lovely people in the world, my Viennese friend is absolutely one of them. I chose a direct train from Vienna to Graz, because I want to see a bit more of Austria before I leave the country. Unfortunately, I have just a few hours to do so, but it is certainly not the last time that I have visited Austria.

My friend followed me to the station Vienna-Meidlingen, where the chosen train departs, helping me with my luggage. This was of course a big relief for me. To get the suitcase in the train, she asked a man on the platform to help me and give me an example for doing so in the future, because there is not always a “strong” man standing close to me when entering a train.

To read about my hours in Graz follow the link Graz