There’s no question about it: Vienna is beautiful. And has a lot to offer. Magnificent buildings, outstanding museums, music is in the air. And as a visitor to Vienna, you will also be spoiled with culinary delights from morning to evening. However, Judith Weibrecht shows that one can approach such a cosmopolitan city in another way in her travel guide “Vienna – City Adventure” (Michael Müller Verlag, ISBN 978-3-95654-829-1). In this way, she gets to know the city through experiences, not through sights.
We talked to Judith Weibrecht about Vienna and special experiences.
In the Mercer study, Vienna is repeatedly voted the most livable city in the world. What do you think makes the imperial city so special?
website of the Michael-Müller-Verlag.
Something very special is the close connection between metropolis and nature: Where else is a hike up a mountain just a tram ride away? Or a visit to an island with a jump into the Danube water, just a few minutes on the subway? Above all, however, it is the Viennese themselves: the humour always puts a smile on your face.
In your book “Vienna – City Adventures” you deliberately deal with experiences away from the mainstream. From the strudel bakery to an overnight stay in the museum for children. What does the perfect day in Vienna look like for you?
For me, it starts at Café Jelinek, where I slowly wake up to a melange or two and one or two daily newspapers. Then I take a walk through Josefstadt, because I always discover something new there. Afterwards I take a ride on the Ringbahn to rest my feet and still see something. At noon, I take a break at one of the legendary sausage stands to fortify myself and set up the eavesdroppers. Do I understand anything of what the neighbor is saying? I go for a walk in the Central Cemetery in the afternoon, or I take one of the guided tours described in the book. Especially those of homeless people or “Vienna ugly” I always like and each time a little different. Where I will have dinner and which concerts with original Viennese songs are really worthwhile, I won’t tell you now … Even an author has to live on something 😉
Which of the 33 city adventures described above has particularly shaped or inspired you?
I found the dialect workshop “leiwand”. You have to imagine that you attend a course in your own language and learn new words and pronunciation rules. We had a lot of fun and applied what we had learned right away at the sausage stand. Now I also know what a “Krokodü” and “a Oarschpfeiferl” are.
They are often on the road by bike. Which part of the city is particularly suitable for friends of the bike?
The whole of Vienna is crisscrossed by cycle paths, and it is difficult for me to single out one part of the city in particular, as I have been cycling almost everywhere. The Wiental cycle path is beautiful and a highlight is the cycle path around Lake Neusiedl, which is easy to reach from Vienna.
Vienna always has something to offer. Is there still a season in which Vienna lets its charm play out in a very special way?
In spring, because in the middle of the city there are many gardens such as the Burggarten or the Volksgarten. But I also find Vienna particularly charming in winter, when the city belongs more to the locals and you can, for example, skate on the Rathausplatz and drink orange punch.
About the author:
Judith Weibrecht has been writing for as long as she can, and has been travelling since she is allowed to – preferably by bicycle.
She likes to get off the saddle again and again to listen to the stories of an old woman, browse a curious bookstore, taste local specialties or simply experience little adventures.
After studying pedagogy, psychology and modern German literary history in Erlangen, Weibrecht worked as a lecturer for “German as a Foreign Language” before devoting herself entirely to her passion. Since then, she has been traveling and cycling around the world, working for magazines (e.g. Radwelt, Slow Food Magazine), daily newspapers (e.g. taz, Nürnberger Nachrichten) and websites (e.g. schwarzaufweiss.de) and telling stories about people, countries or landscapes as a freelance journalist. www.judith-weibrecht.de.
