We marched to Zürich Hbf, in comparatively balmy weather, to catch the 08:57 to Sargans, from where we would pick up the Railjet to Vienna.

Saturday 1 June

Neither of us had ever been to Vienna, although it had been on our minds for at least 10 years. My knowledge of Germanic culture is patchy and what little of the language I know has been picked up in a haphazard way, aided by “studying”, over 40 years ago, the first eight chapters of Living German.

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I’d visted Austria once before, in summer 1968, when I was 13. It was our first family holiday in Europe, and, come to think of it, the only one until my parents came to visit me in Spain in 1976.

We went with local tour operator Arrowsmith to a resort near Innsbruck called Pertisau am Achensee. Despite it being July, it snowed on at least one occasion; the Brits in our hotel amused themselves and baffled the locals by singing Christmas carols. We had an evening of Tyrolean song and dance, an outing to Salzberg (The Sound of Music was fresh in the imagination), and to a schloss somewhere. And to Brenner(o) – probably for the novelty of crossing into Italy. I was amazed to find a shop that would take schillings, lire and anything else that you had in your wallet. On another occasion we went to a nine-pin bowling alley, which I enjoyed as I won most of the time. I quite fancied our rep, Valerie, and developed a craving for Apfelsaft.

Another thing I recall, and it embarrasses me to this day, is going to the local Spar shop to buy something – probably postcards – entering, paying and leaving without uttering a word. As I reached the door the shopkeeper said something to me, and I fled rather than reply, “Sorry, I don’t speak German”. A born coward, me.

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The views of the lake at Zürich were as gloomy as they had been the previous day. But it still looked a nice place to live! Our train raced on to Sargans, a pleasant if unremarkable-looking little town by the border with Liechtenstein.

Sargans has a schloss

But we did not have time to visit it, and in any case it was not a good day for walking. We bought a snack from the bakery then sat nursing a coffee, wasting an hour until the Vienna train pulled in.

The Railjet is an express train, and very luxurious in first class. However it arrived half an hour late owing to the floods in southern Germany. At the next stop there was a further delay when the Polizei arrived to nab and remove a passenger (we did not find out why).

We hoped for better weather as we tore through the Arlberg Pass. It was still a bit wet but could have been worse, and we had good views of the impressive mountains and valleys of the Tyrol.

We passed hours in glorious silence: no phone conversations, no unnecessary chatter, no dismal music. The announcements, though in four languages, including English, were shorter and more focussed than the incessant Avanti West Coast nattering (invariably ending with the intensely annoying “See it. See it. Sorted”).

Please can it be like this in the UK?

There were suggestions of sunshine – for the first time in three days – as we approached Linz. By the time we got to Vienna the late afternoon sun was encouragingly warm and it seemed safe to stash our jumpers in our bags.

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Vienna Hbf is as slick and glossy as you might imagine. We took an S-Bahn to Praterplatz. No ticket barrier at either end. As we made our way to our apartment I realised that all the shops were closed.

Warning: if you are self-catering and arrive in Austria on a Saturday afternoon you may not be able to buy anything until Monday morning – unless you use one of the little shops at the stations. Eventually we found a Japanese restaurant, where I was told off – for the first time in my life – for failing to leave a tip! Practices differ from country to country: in France service is always included, elsewhere it is “suggested”, but in Austria it isn’t, and tipping is compulsory. Hmmm.

Sunday 2 June

I love trams; they are the fastest and easiest way to get around a city. We took tram no.2 from our front door to the Ringstrasse then walked for a few minutes to the Gothic Hofburg Chapel to hear a performance of Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D Major. It turned out to be a complete Latin Mass, presided over by the bishop, followed by a cameo appearance by the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

We followed the tourist trail to the iconic Secession Building with Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, then to treasure-laden St Stephen’s Cathedral. A stop at Hawelka for a beer and goulash soup, then onto the Jewish Museum and Mozart’s house.

It was a warm and sunny day, so we decided to take a tram (of course) to the Heurigen (wine gardens) of Grinzing. This is a brilliant thing to do in summer; although technically still in Vienna you can visit villages to sample wines direct from the producers while you enjoy a meal. Fun and relaxing.

Still with a little energy left we headed for the Prater amusement park with its famous Ferris wheel. The day ended, you won’t be surprised to hear, with a refreshing pint.

Monday 3 June

After coffee at über-deli Julius Meinl, we returned to the Hofburg Palace to see the Sisi apartments and the Royal Treasury.

Then came a modest lunch of open sandwiches and wine Zum Swartzen Kameel.

Not cheap, but cheaper than Zürich!

We popped into the baroque church of St Michael, then took a tram up to the Belvedere Palace. What a collection! Famous principally for The Kiss, and other works by Klimt, Schiele, Kirchner etc. But there are also superb medieval artworks.

By then we needed a refreshing beer, so it was a tram to the canalside for a pint.

The long-expected thunderstorm finally hit town.

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It was still raining when we arrived at the Muzikverein for an evening of bleeding chunks by Mr W.A. Mozart (what a surprise).

We’d spent so much money by then that we thought we might as well finish up with negronis at the Hotel Bristol. Two action-packed days of Viennese culture (omitting the chocolate cake and Wiener schnitzel) and I loved every minute.

Impressions of Vienna

The home of German high culture, but not as stuffy as you might think. Perfumed public buildings. Great transport (and I was never asked to present my ticket). Able to absorb large crowds of visitors. Affordable, though Lidl is always a good option!

The following morning we continued our tour of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire with a train to Budapest Keleti.

Click to read part III >