Viennese Summit: Take Two

For our second excursion in the beautiful and now warm city of Vienna, we explored the region called Döbling in the 19th district. Döbling lies north of the inner city and is mostly residential and suburban. We had previously explored this area to some extent about a month ago when we hiked up Vienna’s “mountain,” Kahlenberg. Previously there was a tremendous amount of snow on the ground. However, in the last month the Viennese climate has pulled a 180, and there was no trace of winter whatsoever.

Our initial hike up to Kahlenberg complete with snow.

At the beginning of our excursion, we accidently boarded the streetcar heading in the wrong direction. This was only a minor inconvenience because once we noticed we simply jumped from one moving vehicle to another. Once we successfully arrived in our area, we started off by exploring the small, quiet residential area at the bottom of the hill. Here we found many small shops, houses, and other such places that convey a noticeable difference from that of the inner city. Mostly the architecture was quainter than the inner city and looked like what an American would stereotype as a small European village.

The shops of Döbling were exactly how we pictured European villages.

After grubbing on Wienerschnitzel and bier at the cheapest restaurant we could find, we made our way up the treacherous mountain path. It was a difficult trek, along the way we had to push through the beautiful personal wineries of the large estate houses and gaze upon the beautiful greening hills of the rural surrounding areas. Worst of all, this time we actually had the luxury of having foot traction while climbing the somewhat steep slopes near the summit.

Some snazzy personal vinyards.

Eventually, and through many hardships, we made it to the summit and we were rewarded for our difficult journey with a beautiful view of city. In contrast from the last time we scaled the mountain, this time the view was clear and spectacular. We could see for miles.

The glorious view from the top that made the grueling hike worth it.

After some time at the summit we took the bus down the back side of the hill while we happily rested our tired legs. We recommend that all of should return to the trail again so that you all can see the difference between winter and summer because it was a really fun, beautiful, and rewarding hike.




Adam and Stacie