I’ve posted two accounts (November 4 and November 13) covering our first four days in Vienna. This one is about our last two days there before flying to Rome.
Wednesday, October 7
It was another fabulous day in Vienna with our new/old friends, Friederike and Franz. We spent the whole afternoon together, meeting them at Alte Danau Metro station around noon.
It was still another gorgeous fall day. F & F rode the Metro down two stops from their home to meet us, and we walked together to a nearby public park that surrounds the “Danautrum”, a 200-meter-tall observation tower with stunning views of the entire city. The park itself featured bounteous flower gardens, numerous playgrounds, and hiker-biker trails that were well used. We took a miniature train (the “Lilliput”) from one side of the park in a circular path to the tower.
We rode the elevator up to a circular restaurant near the top. The views on all sides were stunning. And the restaurant itself slowly revolved. So over the course of a sumptuous two-hour meal, we got to see Vienna from all angles.
Our hosts had invited us and were most generous in ordering an excellent Sauvignon Blanc to accompany our first-class food. Mine was a reprise of the creamed salmon dinner I had on Austrian Airlines last Friday night. The rest had the classic Viennese Wienerschnitzel. Our spirits were lifted by the elevation and the wine, and we all shared deeply about our families and our lives.
After riding the Lilliput back to the park entrance, we walked together to the Alte Danau Metro station and rode two stops up to the neighborhood where our friends live. We stopped for cappuccino and a delicious apple strudel at their favorite cafe, and then proceeded to the nearby Catholic Church of St. George where Rike was the main organist. She gave us another brilliant organ mini-recital, including a powerful rendition of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. Andrea got to play the small church’s first-rate organ, too. We sang a few of her hymns and one of mine — quite different from Rike’s sublime renderings, but beautiful and soulful in their own right, complemented nicely by the full sound of the organ.
It was close to 6pm before we headed back to our apartment. We were both tired but happy, feeling that we had encountered Franz and Friederike at a deeply personal and soulful level. But we also had to focus on packing for the next leg of our trip to Italy the following evening.
Thursday, October 8
After having packed our bags the night before, Andrea and I planned to make one last sortie into old Vienna before catching our flight for Rome that evening.
The brilliant autumn continued into a sixth day, and we were happy to just follow our noses into the heart of the city. We allowed ourselves to stop and take in some of the many lush plazas and parks that abound there. One of them was a lovely park dedicated to Mozart, and we sat there for a while, taking in the landscape architecture and the many people passing through. Still another park not far from there had a large statue of Johannes Brahms, another renowned composer who made Vienna his home for many decades.
In the course of our wanderings, we came upon the famous Vienna Opera House. We were disappointed that tours were not being offered inside that day. Andrea and I are both opera lovers, and this theater was legendary. We also visited the equally famous Musikverein, home of the acclaimed Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. We noted that the New York Philharmonic was scheduled for concerts there later in the month.
We got a cab to the airport late that afternoon. We left with the sense that Vienna was a city that we would be very happy to return to. We’d bonded nicely with Friederike and Franz, and the beauty and charm of Old Vienna was truly memorable.
John Bayerl, 11-15-2026
