Less than 24 hours in Vienna, Austria

From Budapest I took a 2-hr-30 minute train ride to Vienna for around 23EUR. Again, buy train tickets early so it’s cheaper!

I had less than 24 hours in Vienna and the constant walking and changing of countries took a toll so I decided to just do two things: visit a museum and a library. It was a good itinerary. Along the way I found myself walking in the old town area and shopping street so I could say I saw a bit of Vienna.

Vienna Austria Travelanyway — Small Alleys of Vienna

I decided to do a stopover in this area before going to Prague because of the movie Before Sunrise. I liked the artistic and chill vibe of the place. It’s also a place I don’t mind going back to so I can explore the Salzburg area. Sound of music, ring a bell?

Vienna, the capital and largest city of Austria, sits in the eastern part of the country with neighboring countries like Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. It’s a German-speaking country known as the City of music because of the many known artists that came here and the City of Dreams because of Sigmund Freud. The city has a Medieval and Baroque influence because of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

I stayed in Westend hostel, located near the city center and the Goldenes Quartier, a premium shopping area.

It’s a good hostel if you plan for an overnight. The room is spacious and you have your own toilet.

Westend hostel Vienna Austria Travelanyway — Westend Hostel – It’s quite decent for an overnight

What to do when you have a quick stopover in Vienna?

Visit the Hundertwasser Village & Kunst Haus Wien

This is probably one of the most memorable museums I’ve seen in all my travels (another one is the war museum in Vietnam) because of his vision in making humans and nature co-exist in a symbiotic environment and how this is transformed into useful art. In a way, it resonates with me since I am in favor of being able to find sustainable ways to live and travel.

Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, born in Austria, used his art and influence to protect the environment. He is most known for the Hundertwasser village project showing how buildings and architecture should blend with the natural formation of the environment.

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (10) — 3 level museum featuring the works of Friedenrich Hundertwasser

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (8) — How art should be translated to architecture design according to Hundertwasser

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (9) — When you enter the museum, the floor is uneven. This is the explanation.

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (7) — Hundertwasser’s vision of how a village should be to co-exist with nature

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (2) — There is also a cafe when you get tired of walking

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway — Outside cafe

You can check out the museum and then walk a few meters away to find the Hundertwasser village, an actual implementation of his art. If you want to know more about his life and maybe why his name is so long, you can buy the book 100x Hundertwasser found in the souvenir shop.

In page 116 of the book, the author summarized into 7 main ideas about living in harmony with the laws of nature according to Hundertwasser. You can also see this in his paintings and the protests he made throughout his life.

We must learn the language of nature in order to reach an understanding with her.
We must give back territories to nature which we have misappropriated and devastated. For example, according to the principle everything which is horizontal under the open sky belongs to nature, including, for example, roofs, roads.
Tolerance of spontaneous vegetation.
The creation of man and the creation of nature must be re-united. The schism of these creations has had catastrophic consequences for nature and man.
Life in harmony with the laws of nature.
We are only the guests of nature and must behave accordingly. Man is the most dangerous pest ever to devastate the earth. Man must put himself behind ecological barriers so the earth can regenerate.
Human society must again become a waste-free society. For only he who honors his own waste and re-uses it in a waste-free society transforms death into life and has the right to live on this earth. Because he respects the cycle and allows the rebirth of life to occur.

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (3) — There are art murals going to the Hundertwasser Village / Kunst Haus Wien

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (4) — Hundertwasser Village

Hundertwasser Museum Vienna Austria Travelanyway (5) — Souvenir Shop

The Austrian National Library

For a person who loves to read and loves the smell of old and new books, this place is wonderland! Yes, you will need to pay a fee to enter the State Hall but sure is worth it. The Austrian National Library is the largest library in Austria located in Hofburg Palace. When I went there, they had an exhibit about Freemasonry which was also quite interesting.