Trip to Danube Tower, Sunday afternoon, 9th November 2014
We caught the bus in Walfischgasse and travelled on the same route we'd used on the previous afternoon (described in Part 3).
Donauturm (Danube Tower).
By the time we'd arrived at the Danube Tower, it was already dusk, so we hastened to purchase tickets in the souvenir shop and make our way to the lift, manned by a charming girl. The roof of the list is transparent and, once underway, the attendant switched on powerful lights facing upwards. The view looking up as we sped skywards was quite hypnotic.
View from lift looking up.
At the top of the tower, the lift serves two levels, quite close together. Rita and I disembarked at the upper level. There were good view of the sprawling city and the River Danube, although reflections from the windows made photography less than ideal.
Vienna and the River Danube.
There is a restaurant at this level which requires reservation but a flight of stairs led down to a cafe, quite crowded but offering a variety of food at reasonable prices which was served promptly. The ring shaped cafe was rotating slowly around the fixed central core containing the kitchens. Each table was set at right angles to the adjacent window, offering all diners good views. It took me a while to get used to the fact that, every few seconds, the rotating cafe gave a little judder. I was amused that, each time one of the staff came out of the kitchen with food, their position relative to the tables had altered. The ceiling of the cafe was also fixed to the core, allowing a series of edge-lit signs to be provided pointing to various landmarks around the city. Both Rita and I enjoyed our simple meals.
Rita in the cafe at Donauturm.
We then moved to another viewing gallery, this time provided with doors leading to an outside viewing area. I toured the outside area, trying to take more photographs but the wind at that height was quite cold.
The tall building (with red aircraft warning lights) is part of United Nations City. The row of white lights is the Reichsbruke bridge over the Danube. The coloured lights beyond the right hand end of the bridge are at the Prater Amusement Park.
We descended to ground level and walked to the bus stop where we'd got off. We were supposed to be in time for the last 'Red Bus' of the day but it was dark, cold and not many people about (none waiting for the bus) so it was a great relief when we saw our brightly-lit bus approaching. By the time we were dropped off in the city, we were both tired and appreciated that it was only a few minutes walk to our hotel.
Walk to the Imperial Hotel, Monday morning, 10th November 2014
We started Monday morning with our usual excellent cooked breakfast, plus pancakes with chocolate sauce. Rita wanted to see the Imperial Hotel and we decided that would provide a suitable walk. This hotel was built as a palace for one of the princes, but a few years later was converted into a splendid hotel. After a pleasant interlude whilst we enjoyed morning hot chocolate, we walked back to the Ambassador Hotel to complete our packing.
We were picked up by car on time, arrangements at Vienna Airport worked well and we arrived at Heathrow about right time. Rita had booked a car to take her home - he was a little late because of traffic congestion at the airport. Once I'd made sure that Rita and her luggage were safely in the car, I made my own way home (tube to London, Virgin train from Euston to Wolverhampton and taxi home) after a fascinating but tiring introduction to Vienna.
Related posts on this website
A Weekend in Vienna (Part 1).
A Weekend in Vienna (Part 2).
A Weekend in Vienna (Part 3).
A Weekend in Vienna (Part 4).
Books
[1] 'Imperial Vienna' by Lina Schnorr, published by H.B. Medienvertrieb GesmbH (ISBN: 978-3-9502396-9-0).
[2] 'Vienna: Art and Architecture', by various authors, published by h.f. ullmann (ISBN 978-3-8331-6006-6).
My Pictures
Click on any picture above for an uncropped view or search the albums below for pictures at different resolutions which may be downloaded for non-commercial purposes.
The albums below relate to this post:-
'Red Route' City Tour.
Donauturm, Wien (Vienna's Danube Tower).
Imperial Hotel, Wien (Vienna).
The collection below includes all the albums on the Vienna trip (except the Imperial Hotel):-
Austria.
