Page 46 iStudy Guide 2019/20
P. 46
46
iStudy
2019/20
Within the bourgeois setting of Vienna, a trip to the
opera is as commonplace as going to the cinema. The
accessibility of high-culture was something that I adored
about the city; standing tickets at the Opera House cost
as little as €3, and outside screens allow you to watch
live ballet performances without spending a penny.
The Sommernachtskonzert is a particularly spectacular
free concert, and over 100,000 people descend on the
grounds of Schonbrunn Palace, picnics in hand, to watch
the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform.
The most notable of Vienna’s museums is probably
the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which features artistic
masterpieces from Raphael and Pieter Bruegel the
Elder, but there are over 100 museums to choose from.
Exhibitions showcase everything from chocolate to
hats – there’s even an entire museum dedicated to
condoms – so rainy days in Vienna are never dull. The
Long Night of Museums is great for the indecisive, as
one ticket allows admittance to over 700 museums
and galleries throughout the night.
Four seasons aren’t enough for everything that goes
on in Vienna so they added a fifth – ball season. Over
400 balls take place between November and March,
and they really are the stuff of fairytales. And it isn’t
all about classical dancing; The Confectioners’ Ball for
example, was one of my favourite nights in Austria,
and it wasn’t least because organisers installed a
bakery in the middle of Hofburg Palace, making bread
for revellers until the early hours, as well as party bags
containing the next morning’s breakfast. Other balls
include the Coffee Makers’ Ball, the world-famous
Opera Ball, and Life Ball, an LGBT celebration that is
Europe’s biggest charity event.
CULTURE
Vienna is slap-bang in the middle of Europe, and
excellent coach services make travelling very cost-
effective and simple. Slovakia’s charming capital
Bratislava is only an hour away, and it was so accessible
that people take the trip just to stock up on cheap
beer. Prague and Budapest make for great weekend
trips, whilst Zagreb and Ljubljana are underrated
capitals that are also only three to five hours away by
coach. Other excursions included an amazing 28 hours
of donning a Dirndl in Munich for Oktoberfest, whilst
many people paid a visit to Auschwitz Concentration
Camp in Poland.
You don’t have to leave Austria to visit beautiful cities
other than Vienna; Graz and Salzburg have a mix of
avant-garde and old architecture that rival the capital
in their quaint loveliness. Each city also boasts its own
culinary specialities, and in Graz I discovered a new
favourite – the traditional Styrian salad. This dish is
made up of fried chicken coated in pumpkin seeds, a
regional delicacy, and enough creamy potatoes and
puddles of dressing for it to defy every convention of
a healthy salad.
The Salzkammergut region in Upper Austria is stunning
– particularly the town Hallstatt (pictured, above),
which is so delightful that the Chinese have built
their own full-scale replica in Guangdong. Austrians
are also keen hikers, and areas like Kahlenberg mean
that you can take in the mountain air without leaving
Vienna. The Alps run straight through west Austria,
making it one of Europe’s best skiing locations with
its reliably white winters. Zell am See was my favourite
for snow spot, but there are plenty of hills and smaller
mountains within a short distance of the capital.
TRAVEL & EXPLORATION
iStudy
2019/20
Within the bourgeois setting of Vienna, a trip to the
opera is as commonplace as going to the cinema. The
accessibility of high-culture was something that I adored
about the city; standing tickets at the Opera House cost
as little as €3, and outside screens allow you to watch
live ballet performances without spending a penny.
The Sommernachtskonzert is a particularly spectacular
free concert, and over 100,000 people descend on the
grounds of Schonbrunn Palace, picnics in hand, to watch
the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform.
The most notable of Vienna’s museums is probably
the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which features artistic
masterpieces from Raphael and Pieter Bruegel the
Elder, but there are over 100 museums to choose from.
Exhibitions showcase everything from chocolate to
hats – there’s even an entire museum dedicated to
condoms – so rainy days in Vienna are never dull. The
Long Night of Museums is great for the indecisive, as
one ticket allows admittance to over 700 museums
and galleries throughout the night.
Four seasons aren’t enough for everything that goes
on in Vienna so they added a fifth – ball season. Over
400 balls take place between November and March,
and they really are the stuff of fairytales. And it isn’t
all about classical dancing; The Confectioners’ Ball for
example, was one of my favourite nights in Austria,
and it wasn’t least because organisers installed a
bakery in the middle of Hofburg Palace, making bread
for revellers until the early hours, as well as party bags
containing the next morning’s breakfast. Other balls
include the Coffee Makers’ Ball, the world-famous
Opera Ball, and Life Ball, an LGBT celebration that is
Europe’s biggest charity event.
CULTURE
Vienna is slap-bang in the middle of Europe, and
excellent coach services make travelling very cost-
effective and simple. Slovakia’s charming capital
Bratislava is only an hour away, and it was so accessible
that people take the trip just to stock up on cheap
beer. Prague and Budapest make for great weekend
trips, whilst Zagreb and Ljubljana are underrated
capitals that are also only three to five hours away by
coach. Other excursions included an amazing 28 hours
of donning a Dirndl in Munich for Oktoberfest, whilst
many people paid a visit to Auschwitz Concentration
Camp in Poland.
You don’t have to leave Austria to visit beautiful cities
other than Vienna; Graz and Salzburg have a mix of
avant-garde and old architecture that rival the capital
in their quaint loveliness. Each city also boasts its own
culinary specialities, and in Graz I discovered a new
favourite – the traditional Styrian salad. This dish is
made up of fried chicken coated in pumpkin seeds, a
regional delicacy, and enough creamy potatoes and
puddles of dressing for it to defy every convention of
a healthy salad.
The Salzkammergut region in Upper Austria is stunning
– particularly the town Hallstatt (pictured, above),
which is so delightful that the Chinese have built
their own full-scale replica in Guangdong. Austrians
are also keen hikers, and areas like Kahlenberg mean
that you can take in the mountain air without leaving
Vienna. The Alps run straight through west Austria,
making it one of Europe’s best skiing locations with
its reliably white winters. Zell am See was my favourite
for snow spot, but there are plenty of hills and smaller
mountains within a short distance of the capital.
TRAVEL & EXPLORATION
