It’s the end of the year, and what a year it has been. There’s no getting away from the pandemic it seems, with 2021 feeling like a rerun of 2020, but with a fresh cast of new varients. (Thanks Omicrom!) This has provided a few…logistical problems when it comes to producing content for a travel blog. The idea behind Wiener Wanderland was always to explore Austria and share what I discovered with all of you. our last big trip was a night away in January 2020, spent in the German capital Berlin. Since then, getting away for a break has been almost impossible. Between lockdowns and general travel restrictions, planning for a weekend away has become an act of pure frustration. Assuming you can move around, there are tests to consider, grün passes to carry and masks have become an ever-present companion. None of this is onerous in itself, and we holy support any measures that keep this rampant pest of a virus at arm’s length. But the inescapable truth is that the measures required can take the shine off of the whole wonder of travel.
So with all this melancholy should we give up? pack it all in? Of course not! Let’s take a look back at the last year and remember the trips, the mislaid plans and most of all, the fun.
March 2021, The MAK museum, Vienna.
March saw us attempt our first video report by visiting the MAK here in Vienna. The museum was very kind in allowing us to film inside the museum and we had a great time. The MAK is Vienna’s answer to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, having been set up deliberately to follow the V&A. It’s a fantastic museum that’s home to vast collections of furniture, fixtures and fittings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The MAK is also home to one of the biggest collections of Asian artefacts in Europe. Best of all are the various temporary exhibits that come to the museum over the year. On our visit, they included a wonderful exhibition of Architect Adolf Loos original drawings and models of his most well-known buildings. The big exhibition hall featured a temporary exhibit by Sheila Hicks who could do things with wool and textiles that were simply astounding. If you fancy a look at that very first video, check it out below.
The Wiener Linien Remise.
A Few weeks later, we got to visit the Wiener Linien Remise or transport museum. It was a fantastic experience, despite the cold and Wiener Linien not only allowed us to film but also provided us with a guide to show us around. The Museum is a veritable love letter to the Viennese transport company, with all bar two exhibits inside still in working condition. Highlights include a plethora of trams through the ages, from the pretty to the ungainly. Our favourite exhibit was the U-Bahn simulator, where Jess was impressed enough to be offered a job driving the on the underground if this whole blog thing doesn’t work out. (It could happen Wiener Linien!) A small annoyance occurred when our footage got corrupted, leaving our video a little short in places. But we were two videos down and loving our new Niederösterreich cards, which had allowed us free entry into both the MAK and the Remise. Nothing could stop us now!
Back Into Lockdown, Then out to Semmering.
April arrived and we promptly found ourselves back in lockdown. Plans were scuppered as a short 5-day lockdown over Easter became a month-long shutdown. It would be June before we fully recovered and found ourselves out and about again. This time we headed out with no plan to the mountain paradise of Semmering. We had no plan, and Lynda had no idea of where we were going at all. What followed was a chaotic video where we got lost trying to follow the various signs, found out our Niederösterreich cards gave us a free ride to the top of the Zauberblick mountain, and we enjoyed a wander around the area. We videoed it of course and you can enjoy our muppet-like behaviour here.
S-Bahn Wanderings!
Feeling the wandering vibe, Jess set out to explore Niederösterreich, using the ÖBB S-Bahn lines that surrround Vienna. She chose the S4 and spent the day wandering around Absdorf and surrounding area. You can check out her artice by clicking here. She filmed the experience of course, and foloowed that up with a visit to Gaisruck and Hausleiten, Also on the S4 line. A third video has been shot, but the S-Bahn wanderings videos didnt really do that well, so to date, it remains unpublished. You can check out parts 1 and 2 below.
Keeping things local.
While the S-bahn wanderings videos died a death on Youtube, our most popular written article concerned things closer to home. In mid June Jess tackled Stadtwanderweg 1. She covered the climb from Nussdorf all the way up to the beauty of the Kahlenberg that looks out over the whole of Vienna. You can read about the experience below.
2022, The year of the Train!
Planning ahead is difficult, but we do hope to fill our pages with more great experiences next year, and we have the Austian Governement to thank for that.
On October 26th, The Austrian Government launched the Klimaticket. We wrote an article about the new ticket, and you’ll find it here. For just €1149 a year, you get unlimited travel on public transport, anywhere in Austria. Initially, the government hoped to see 100,000 tickets in the first year, but demand for the ticket has been exceptional. in just one and a half months since its launch, more than 128,000 have been sold. It seems like the new klimaticket has been a success. We bought our tickets in October with plans to travel the length and breadth of the country almost immediately, annnnnnd here we are. So all we can say for 2022, is watch this space.
All that’s left to say is……Prosit neujahr!
Yes from us at Wiener Wanderland, we want to wish you a happy new new and let us all hope that 2022 is a great year for us all.