Travelling Around Austria With a Local: #028 Vienna: where illusions get their own museum

Aaaaargh - where did the rest of me go? Picture by one of my boys

Mind-boggling illusions and puzzles

Hi, Servus - and welcome to my blog Travelling Around Austria with a Local!

I'm Theodora from Austria. Together with friends from abroad, I'm exploring my home country - and I talk about its beauty and its curiosities. The twenty-eighth episode takes you, me, and the Belarusian kid, who is currently visiting, to Vienna's Museum of Illusions. Be prepared for some really weird and fun stuff!

No need to stand in line - even if you have to wait

Now the maker of this museum has really thought everything through: Have to stand in line? Why not play mind-boggling puzzles in the meantime? In fact, by the time I'd got us the tickets, the boys were already so busy trying to solve all those puzzles that it took us some time until we finally made it into the actual exhibition.

Feeling dizzy right after losing my head.

Coincidence? I think not. (You've seen the picture!)

So, be prepared for your head to land on a dinner table and get dizzy afterwards in what I would describe as the silent disco tunnel. Ever wanted to shrink your husband, wife, boy-/girlfriend, friends? Be prepared to shrink them several times until they feel like Alice in Wonderland (no worries, there are no biscuits or drinks labelled "drink me" anywhere)!

Why is this picture tilted? Go through the tunnel and see for yourself! Picture by @theodora.austria

The photo opportunities in this museum are pretty awesome, by the way, so it's also great fun for all you hobby photographers and instagrammers (or steepshotters) out there! But it's actually more than that - if you want it to be: If you take some more time to go through the exhibit and if you stop and read about the exhibit, you will not only be amazed by the mind-boggling illusions but also learn why your brain is playing tricks on you. The museum may be just the size of a (pretty big) flat but it's full of pretty amazing stuff and if you're really interested in how the mind works and if you enjoy exploring the illusions from all angles and if you love challenging puzzles, you can easily spend half a day there. (If you just love the fancy pictures, you'll be done within 30-60 minutes.)

Tips from a local

• Bring a camera / smartphone! Some illusions are even better visible once you've taken a picture of them. And there are some really cool photos to be taken in there. So seriously: Don't forget your camera!
• As in most other touristy places in Vienna, English is spoken. The illusions are explained in English, German, Spanish and Italian at the moment.
• The museum is also open to work outings, press conferences, video producers and pretty much anything one could imagine. For further details, visit their event page.
• The museum is small BUT there are puzzles and games everywhere in addition to the illusions. Also, bigger puzzles that you can't buy in the museum's shop. All the puzzles and games I've seen are made of wood and come at a reasonable price.
  
  
  Those puzzles are not only there to entertain you while you're waiting to buy tickets and get instructions, they can also be bought for a reasonable price. Pictures by @theodora.austria