St. Anne's Church in Vienna

“Music Exclusive at St. Anne's Church - simply breathtaking!”

Gorgeous church with thousands of years of history, outstanding performance, music that you can listen forever. In the program that night were Mozart, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” Schubert’s serenade and as a bonus Bach and Strauss. The evening you will never forget. Highly recommend.

You can buy the ticket at the door, however depending on the season and the program there might not be seats left. So if you're in Vienna for a short period of time you might want to book online in advance to be on a safe side.

The church is tucked away in the alley not far from the Opera. Dinner at a good Italian restaurant after concert is perfect way to end the day (when out of the door go left, it’s first on you right, just 2 seconds away, called SOLE).

 

Visited October 2012

SOLE Restaurant in Vienna

“Fantastic pizza!”

After a long day of walking and sightseeing it is important to find a lovely place for dinner to have a complete experience, so to speak. Look no further! SOLE restaurant just steps off the main shopping avenue (on the side of the Opera) is exactly what you need.

From the second you enter you have a feeling you've stepped through a portal to a restaurant in Italy. As we were shown to our table I heard staff speaking Italian which only added to the impression we had.

David & Jenny's B&B - Qala, Island of Gozo, Malta

"Home away from home"

David and Jenny are wonderful hosts. They have welcomed me as a friend and from second one I felt like I was at home. The house is just lovely, very nicely decorated and the terrace upstairs where you have breakfast has a beautiful view down the village.

The room is spacious, very clean, shower’s very hot and strong, the bed is insanely comfortable and there are even towels that you can take with you to the beach, which is very convenient. You wake up every morning to a fabulous breakfast: bowl of fresh fruits, juice, coffee, homemade jam, different kinds of bread (toast or not how you like it) and “main course size” plate of tomatos, mushrooms, bacon or sausages and “David’s Special” - omelette that is to die for – so delicious. If you lucky and stay there more than 1 night you get to try yet another omelette.

Grimm: 2x22 “Goodnight, Sweet Grimm”

“And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”

Nick: “You get the feeling we just walked into a trap?”

Lots of attention is paid to a season finale. Stakes and expectations are higher than ever. It is the episode that could turn the scale either way and be a decisive factor as to whether one will tune in next fall or not. So as a season finale this one definitely had a lesser impact than season one finale.

 

Show of hands: How many of you knew who the fake passport and the death certificate were for? Everyone? It was very obvious, wasn’t it? Who else could it be? Granted for few minutes I thought it was going to be Renard, but after the two brothers met and nothing major happened I realized that Eric came to Portland for something else or rather for someone else.

Grimm: 2x21 "The Waking Dead"

“Papa Ghede is a handsome fellow in his hat and coat of black.
Papa Ghede is going to the palace!
He’ll and drink when he gets back!”

Nick: “Anybody care to comment?”

Well, I do. As a penultimate episode of season 2 this one does get the job done in terms of building up for the season finale. It’s the zombie part of it that I have serious problem with.

So far Royal Families in the person of Eric alone have been very much on the background. What do we really know about them? They are looking for the rest of the keys that will reveal the map of where the “treasure” was hidden. That’s about all we know.  And I’ve been waiting for this plot to unravel, to have the two brothers meet. Obviously Eric is planning something really bad with a container full of zombies, I just wish it was something more on a royal level.

Grimm: 2x12 “Season of the Hexenbiest”

“Oh there is a terrible witch in that house
who spewed her poison over me
and scratched me with her long fingernails”

Monroe: “The dark does have its bright side.”

I think I finally understood what was missing – some personal drama. The world of Grimm, as we know it, though in parts scary and all, is still relatively safe when it comes to home. It would have been nice for a change to shake that world up a little bit. I think it’s what the writers tried to do with Juliette, but either they didn’t think it through or they not moving with this story fast enough, because as exciting and promising this twist was in the beginning, I for one am losing interest in it and starting to hope for a better handling of the other side of this coin – relationships between Nick and his Captain. It will be interesting to see how their work dynamic will change.

Cafe Sacher Vienna - Sacher torte!

"Sacher Torte...hmmm..."

Well, the torte itself was not all that fascinating as one can imagine after reading all these “Oh” and “Ah” and “Yam” everywhere. My opinion is absolutely subjective because we all have different taste and this was just not my type of cake. But it is THE most famous cake, and it felt like a must, like being in Paris and seeing the Eifel Tower kind of thing! (I wonder if that’s why everyone’s eating it, but is anyone’s actually liking it?).
Having said that, going to that cafe, sitting by the window and looking at the Opera – all this is an experience in its own.

Visited October 2012

Vaux-le-Vicompte & Fontainebleau Tour from "Paris Vision Tours"

"Fantastic!" 

I loved this tour! Very well organized. All went smoothly. The departure is at 9am from the Agency on Rivoli street. When you get in the bus the company representative gives you a program with your name on it and entrance tickets to both castles + tickets for audio guides. Before we left the lady explained the route/bus stops/times in French, then asked who speaks a different language and explained once again for certain tourists in English and Spanish.

Albertina Museum in Vienna

"Do visit!"

The permanent exhibition “Monet to Picasso” worth seeing for everyone who has a soft spot for the art. Matisse, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Picasso and others. Not many paintings, for some just one or 2, Picasso however is well presented.

State Rooms are marvelous and some paintings and drawings are presented on the walls. There’s no need in audio guide, unless you really want it. All paintings and drawings are signed and as far as rooms there’s an indication of who and what and when but only in German. I don’t speak the language, but I could read names and sort of imagine the rest. The only one paragraph I was interested in and a nice fellow tourist near by were kind enough to translate for me.

The Exhibition “Maximilian I” is interesting and whether you’re a fan of the emperor or never heard of him it is definitely worth seeing. There’s an audio guide but the information is extensively presented in English on the walls, so if you’re not a fan of audio guides skip it. I did.

11 Euros for all exhibitions.
After you treat your soul stop for lunch or dinner in Augustiner Keller (same building).

Visited October 2012

St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna

"The best guided tour of my entire life!"

The Cathedral is simply stunning and breathtaking! But in order to lean about it and actually remember it all, to find out interesting facts and listen to fascinating story do yourself a favor – forget about audio-guide. Sure, they are comprehensive and detailed and in most cases are better than the guide-person, but not this time. If you early, wait for it, if you’re late come back next day (if you can), it is absolutely worth it. The man’s got a real talent and knows the Cathedral very well. I only wish I had written down every single word he said so fascinating it was. Having said that you don’t really need to write it down, you will remember it all anyway, because the history of the Cathedral is presented not in a form of boring lecture, but in a form of a very interesting story. I didn’t quite catch the guide’s name, I believe it was Florian (or something close).
The English tour is at 3.45pm. The price is 4.50. And that was the best 4.50 Euros I’ve ever spent.

Before tour, I went up to the top to see a bell (4 Euros). Well worth it, if the weather is good, nice view from up top.

time and price valid for October 2012, so please recheck.

 

10 tips for first-time travellers to Vienna

When you go somewhere for the first time it is always a good thing to do some research before your trip to avoid unnecessary troubles. Please find below some basic tips for your first-time trip to beautiful Vienna