Strolling in Vienna

D1-D4 Strolling in Vienna

D5-D8 Munich—Füssen Neuschwanstein Castle Five-Day Independent Trip

D9-D14 From Northeast to Southwest, traveling by train through Switzerland (St. Gallen—Lucerne—Mount Rigi—Geneva)

D1 Landed at Vienna Airport at 7 AM, arrived at St. Stephen's Cathedral in the old city center around 9 AM. The cathedral was first built in the 12th century and underwent restorations and expansions, blending Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance architectural styles; the south tower stands 136 meters high, second only to Cologne Cathedral in the world. Since it was early, there weren't many visitors inside the cathedral, which felt lofty and solemn. The north tower now has an elevator for sightseeing, offering a view of Vienna from the bell tower; the south tower, which is taller than the main cathedral, requires climbing stairs to reach the top, offering different views of the old town on both sides, each with its own charm.

At noon, the café next to the cathedral was packed, so we settled for McDonald's to save time. After lunch, one metro stop brought us to the Vienna University of Technology, and a 200-meter walk led to the Karlskirche. Then we visited the Musikverein Golden Hall as per our reservation, with an English guided tour. It included both a modern, somewhat dim "Modern Technology Hall" and the historic, lavishly decorated "Brahms Hall" (no casual photography allowed; only a few minutes for photos in the Golden Hall at the end of the tour). There are concerts every evening, but since they weren't performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, we skipped them. At dusk, we returned to St. Stephen's Cathedral, enjoyed Sachertorte, apple strudel, Melange coffee, and apple juice (not overly sweet, delicious) at a nearby café, then strolled to the Ankeruhr clock, picked up our luggage, and checked into the private hotel Private Comfort STEPHANSPLATZ. Located in the old city center, we had to pass the cathedral whenever going out—perfect location, convenient and quiet.

Note: The doors on Vienna's U-Bahn do not open automatically; you need to open them manually.

D2 In the morning, we took a tram to Schönbrunn Palace. Since we only had tickets for the palace interior in the afternoon, we first wandered the gardens. The gardens are vast and can be explored by mini-train or horse-drawn carriage, featuring both French-style gardens and natural woodland, with various themed sculptures and elevated viewpoints. At noon, we had local Viennese dishes at a nearby restaurant: pumpkin soup, beef and millet soup, braised beef, and Wiener Schnitzel. Photography is not allowed inside Schönbrunn Palace, but there are Chinese audio guides. We slowly toured while listening to the commentary, learning about Franz Joseph I, Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), Maria Theresa, and the history of the Habsburg dynasty. In the evening, we returned to the old city center, but unfortunately it was Sunday, so shops closed early, leaving only pizza (eggplant and mushroom flavors) for dinner.

D3 It is said that a Viennese day begins with coffee from a café. Today we experienced it: we arrived at the reserved Café Central at 8 AM for breakfast. The exquisite pastries, delightful beverages, and palace-like architecture made us feel at ease. Historically, Café Central was favored not only by scholars and thinkers but also by politicians. Mozart, Peter Altenberg, Kafka, Hitler, Stalin, Tito, and others once visited; now it's mostly tourists.

Leaving the café, we walked to the Hofburg Palace complex. First we passed the Sisi Museum and the Spanish Riding School, which we didn't enter due to time constraints. Then we reached a square surrounded by palace buildings, one side of which is the famous Imperial Treasury, housing centuries of Habsburg treasures. With Chinese audio guides and photography allowed, the crowns, garments, and religious artifacts were so exquisite that we lingered for over three hours.

At noon, we had a simple meal of bread and sausages in the connecting area of the palace complex, then took a horse-drawn carriage tour of the old town. Keep in mind that the entire old city of Vienna is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the coachman introduced the main buildings along the way. Afterwards, we visited the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church. Since 1633, this has been the primary burial site for members of the Habsburg dynasty. No matter how prominent or glorious they were in life, here they are laid to rest in elaborately crafted metal or stone sarcophagi. Compared to the grand mausoleums of Eastern monarchs, the compact crypt of European royalty seems quite modest, completely overturning personal perceptions—a clear demonstration of cultural differences between East and West. In the evening, we enjoyed a local mushroom-themed dinner at a restaurant downstairs from our hotel.

Note: There are several types of combination tickets in Vienna, and they seem to be operated by different entities. You need to check carefully and choose as needed, e.g., the Sisi Ticket (Schönbrunn + Sisi Museum + Furniture Museum), the Hofburg Ticket (Imperial Treasury + Sisi + Spanish Riding School + Armory), etc. We ended up choosing the Kunsthistorisches Museum + Imperial Treasury (not required to visit on the same day), and bought a separate ticket for Schönbrunn.

D4 Today's focus was the Kunsthistorisches Museum (also part of the Hofburg complex), which houses centuries of collections from the Habsburg family—comprehensive and extremely rich (with Chinese audio guides). The European master painting galleries are spacious and not crowded, with sofas to sit on, offering a very comfortable viewing experience; the tapestry and Raphael drawing gallery felt somewhat special, perhaps because I hadn't seen similar exhibits before; only glanced at a few works in the German and Austrian painting gallery (too tight on time).

At noon, we had lunch in the dome hall. Along the corridors, there were coins, sculptures, and other small items, followed by the Egyptian mummy and burial chamber, densely packed with impressive artifacts. Being able to view them up close was truly stunning. The Greek hall featured exquisite sculptures and intricate mosaic floors that left a strong impression; the Mesopotamia hall displayed ancient painted pottery and bronze sculptures, also rich and varied. In fact, the Kunsthistorisches Museum's collection is so vast that, for a thorough viewing, I personally think at least two full days are needed. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we hurried out at 3 PM to catch the 4:08 PM Westbahn train via Linz and Salzburg (where police boarded for a quick check) heading to Munich.

Note: The Kunsthistorisches Museum is closed on Mondays; we only discovered this on Sunday and had to adjust our itinerary on the fly.