A Trip to Vienna, Austria
A Mini Europe Tour, Part One: The City of Music
I usually try to make the voice overs for stories more immersive, by adding details that may be difficult to convey with just words. So if you’d like to get the full experience, give it a listen while you read.
Enjoy!
I’ve traveled solo before, but never for this long, with no one waiting on the other side for me. It’s both exciting and nerve-racking. I have no real itinerary and plan to play every day by ear. I chose Vienna because it’s considered the city of music and has been home to some of the great classical music composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn.
I arrive on a Friday, and plan to stay here for a week. This isn’t exactly a vacation, as I’ll be working during my time here. Meaning I’ll only have the weekends and evenings to explore the city. So the next day, even though I’m extremely jet lagged and sleep deprived, I’m determined to not waste the weekend. I purchase online tickets for the tour bus and step out of the hotel.
As I walk through the city and towards the bus stop, I admire the beautiful architecture, the well-maintained cobblestone streets, the vibrant atmosphere of locals and tourists going about their day, and I eventually come across a talented street performer playing the violin. I love what I hear and so I stop to take it all in. My attention steadies on the performer as she manipulates the strings. I let the music course through me, and as it does, I think to myself, I’m in fucking Vienna…
I eventually get to the bus stop and onto the tour bus. And as the bus glides through the city, the tour narrator’s voice is now in my ear, thanks to the dollar store earpiece they provide. “I should’ve taken a day to rest before doing this..” I think to myself as I struggle to stay awake. The narrator goes on about how more than half of Vienna’s land mass is green, with loads of parks, gardens, forests and agricultural land. And how it contributes to the increased quality of life the locals experience.
As the ride continues, I would come to learn about the Habsburg dynasty, one of the most influential royal families who ruled over several parts of Europe for centuries, and would later make Vienna their capital around the 1800s. I learn about empress Maria Theresa, under whose reign the music and cultural scene flourish because of her reforms and patronage of the community. And like the hunger games, I learn that Vienna’s also divided into districts, 23 to be exact. I attempt to admire the city’s beauty while drifting in and out of consciousness. In one of my moments of consciousness, we’re making our way past the Schönbrunn Palace, which the narrator explains was a summer residence for the Habsburg’s, and which Maria transforms into the beauty that it is today. It’s quite the residence. Vienna has a lot of imperial palaces like this, including the renowned Hofburg Palace and Belvedere Palace. So far, the city gives an impression of deep wealth and culture.
Once the tour’s over, I head towards the house of music, the one place I knew beforehand I wanted to visit. On entry I’m immediately met by a really cool stair case. Cool because each step has a musical note attached to it like the piano. And each one produces the sound of the corresponding note attached to it when stepped on. The notes increase or decrease in pitch depending on if I’m going up or down the stairs. Despite being tired, I have way too much fun running up and down the stairs to make them sing before I go exploring the other parts of the museum.
The next section I enter highlights classical music and composers. Most of which goes right over my head. Beethoven and Mozart are familiar, not because I can identify their work, but because they’re popular. Others like Johann Strauss II strike no familiar chords, but turns out I know Strauss’s work and you probably do too. He’s the composer of The blue Danube.
I love music, but the realm of classical music is not one I’ve fully explored. My favourite part of the museum is the section on sound. It goes into how sound works, and the general science of it. Like, did you know the ear is one of the first functional organs in a human? Even before the heart and the brain begin their activity? Cool right? Given enough time, I would’ve revisited the museum just to spend some more time here.
In the days that follow, I do a lot more exploring. The city’s so walkable; I do most of it by feet. Gaining me blisters that serve as a badge of honour. I also come to learn a lot of things. For example, imagine my surprise when I discover Austrians, don’t speak Austrian. Turns out the official language of Austria is German, and they’re not alone, it’s the same for Switzerland. While most people speak German, they also speak English, so it’s easy to get by as a tourist. Also, Vienna truly feels like the city of music. Rarely did I go out and not see some talented musician on the street performing. It felt ingrained in the city’s culture, almost like music is the unofficial language of the people.
Moving through the city, I try to identify what the city sounds like. What sound or sounds are unique to the city. While I couldn’t pick any one sound, three stand out to me. The first is the police siren. It’s quite different from its North American counterpart. I heard it frequently, multiple times daily. I found it annoying, but over time got used to it. The second is the sound of the pedestrian push button, also different from what you’d hear in Canada, whereas the one in Canada makes a beeping sound. This sounds more like a ticking clock. I like it! Then the third, which is my favourite, is the sound of the ambulance. It sounds really musical, like something I can jam to. I’m not sure if that’s how they always sound, or the drivers were just having fun, or perhaps it’s the city of music, and that’s just how they roll. Whatever the reason is, I love it.
Sound of the Police Siren:
Sound of the Pedestrian Push Button:
Sound of the Ambulance:
I also notice some similarities with a few cities from back home. For example, the red and white color scheme of their public buses and cable cars is reminiscent of the buses in Ottawa and the cable cars in Toronto. Their subway system (the U-Bahn) is not much different from what you’d see in North America either. It does, however, have one pleasant difference. It operates based on a trust system, meaning there’s no one or machine present to validate train tickets. Imagine that.
Two days before my stay here is over, I walk through the city streets after spending the evening exploring the Belvedere Palace and its extensive grounds, followed by a visit to St. Charles’s Church where I watch a string performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; I walk through ResselPark in District 4, and take the U-Bahn to District 7, where I have a quick late-night snack at the Addicted to Rock cafe. Just before 11, I’m back on the street, walking through the shopping strip in District 6 and 7. It’s usually scanty by this time, since most of the shops are closed. I’m almost at my hotel when something grabs my attention.
I don’t know what I notice first, the sight of two young, beautiful black girls walking in front of me or the lovely voices that reverberate through the street in perfect harmony, as they sing to a song I’m not familiar with. Yeah, there’s no way I’m not stopping to say hi.
“Holy shit, those are some beautiful vocals…”, I say as I make my way into their line of sight.
“Thanks“, they say, as they both chuckle.
“Do you guys live in Vienna? “
“No, we’re just visiting, on some school stuff”, one of them replies in a heavy London accent. I would later find out her name’s Precious and her friend is Bianca. It’s no surprise when they later say they both live in London.
“So do you just go around, serenading the streets?..”
They both chuckle.
“Bianca’s actually a recording artist..” Precious says.
“Well then, let’s get your Spotify profile, Bianca.”
I hand Bianca my phone, and she pulls up her Spotify profile, which I promptly save. We continue to chat as we stroll down the street; I find out they’re both Nigerian aswell. And someone makes a joke about how you can find a Nigerian, in any corner of the globe and we have a good laugh. Eventually we get close to a Mcdonalds, which is their final destination. We exchange contacts and I wish them a goodnight.
When I eventually make it to my bed around 11:30pm, I pick up my phone, put on my Airpods and hit play on one of Bianca’s songs - Fashun. Her sound is distinct, yet, it evokes a sense of nostalgia. Despite having heard her sing a few moments ago, I still felt uneasy about pressing play. I didn’t want to be disappointed, and I wasn’t. The instruments blend well with her voice and the bass player understood the assignment. I love it! Bianca gains a new fan tonight.
In my last days in the city, I go for a ride on the Viennese Giant Ferris Wheel, from which I enjoy stunning views of the city’s rooftops. I also visit the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the most important religious buildings in the city. And on my last night, I attempt a pub crawl, because, why not?
On my Uber ride to the airport, I reflect on the trip. Despite having one or two underwhelming days that perhaps good company could’ve fixed, overall the solo-trip has been positive. Vienna’s been great. The people are friendly; the city’s filled with beautiful gardens and parks, and the streets filled with so much music and culture. It really has been lovely.
When I get to the airport, and try to get my bag checked in, that’s when I realize it, “fucckkkkkkkkk….. “, my Airpods will not be joining me on this flight. I mourn my loss, and try to move towards acceptance when I can’t get a hold of the Uber driver, and can’t find the Airpods where he dropped me off either.
I return to the airport, check-in, and silently wait for my flight to Berlin.
To be continued…
Part Two comes out soon-ish. Thanks for looking in, until next time.
Notes
The Girls
Shout out to Bianca Baz (Singer, Songwriter & Producer) for letting me use her song in the voice over for this.
Turns out Precious is killing it too as a Film maker, Writer & Actress, checkout her short film.
In hindsight, the similar red and white color shceme for the public buses in Vienna makes perfect sense when you realize the Austrian flag 🇦🇹, is just the Canadian flag 🇨🇦 sideways, without the maple leaf.
Take a sunscreen with you if you’re visiting in summer. I went there as hot chocolate and came back as black tea. Don’t be me!
Trip advisor was pretty handy for all the things I needed to know about Vienna before travelling.
thanks for sharing!
Chocolate and caramel ohh weee