The day after our return from Bratislava, we visited the Vienna International Center and then the Danube Park with the Danube Tower, where we met two friends from Rosenheim (Germany). They had come from Rosenheim to Vienna and returned in the afternoon. The friendship has existed for decades, since our time in Munich. We hadn’t seen them for a long time and were happy to see and talk to them again. After they left, we drove to Freyung and visited the Café Central.
In addition, the Austria Center Vienna is Austria’s largest conference center, with a capacity of 20,000 participants in 19 conference rooms.
The main hall has a capacity of 2900 participants but can be combined with two other halls to reach a capacity of 4300 participants. Several office towers and apartment buildings have been built around these conference areas.
The bank of the new Danube has now been developed, and restaurants, cafés, and leisure facilities are being built on Copa Beach. From here, you can reach the Sunken City on the Danube Island via Porta Cagrana. Across the Reichsbrücke bridge, we reach Mexikoplatz with the Catholic Church of St. Francis of Assisi.
But we turn back and walk through the green Danube Park with its monuments and beautiful flower beds, past the Papstwiese to the agreed meeting point with our friends from Rosenheim at the Danube Tower.
The viewing platform and the restaurant offer a good view of many of Vienna’s sights. You can even see the Gloriette in Schönbrunn and Klosterneuburg. As an attraction, a slide was built outside at a height of about 160 to 170 m with a glass roof.
We enjoyed the elevator ride to the top of the tower. On the way down, you have an interesting view inside the elevator shaft, which lights up in different colors. The elevator operator can choose between various pieces of music
We take the subway to the city hall and walk to Freyung. A series of palaces frame the square, such as the Palais Daun-Kinsky, the Palais Ferstel with the Ferstel Passage, and the Bank Austria building, which houses the Austrian Constitutional Court and the Bank Austria Art Forum. In the middle of the square is the Austriabrunnen fountain.
To the north, the square is lined by the Schottenkirche church and the Schottenstift monastery. This monastery was founded in 1158 by Irish monks (Iro-Scottish Mission) and got its name from them.
The Palais Ferstel was converted into a stock exchange and trading center by 1859. The building, severely damaged in the Second World War, was rebuilt between 1975 and 1982 and now serves as an event, conference, and meeting venue. The Ferstel Passage is a bazaar with many shops. At the passage to Herrengasse is the Donaunixen fountain with a column surmounted by the friendly Danube woman
Café Central is on the corner of Strauchgasse and Herrengasse. It is one of the most famous coffeehouses in Vienna and was a meeting place for many regulars such as Peter Altenberg, Sigmund Freud, and Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
Impressed by the many pleasant memories of the day, we returned to our hotel.
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