#TakeARide! Going Underground in Vienna! Unique Train, Bus & Subway Stops
Since I am back in my hometown, refusing to buy a car, I had no other choice than to go "underground." (a new tag #takearide is born)
So, here is another article, keeping my airbnb guests in mind!
Many times I have to explain how great the transport system is in Vienna, which has one of the most efficient and probably the cheapest in Europe.
In 1969, subway construction (U-Bahn) began on the U1 line. Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn lines were converted into new subway lines, one of them ("Vorortelinie") into a rapid transit line (S45 since 1987). In the process, several of the old station buildings were beautifully restored (Wagner's Court Pavilion in Hietzing, Schönbrunn, Stadtpark, Rossauer Lände, Währinger Strasse/Volksoper, Gersthof). - Source
Otto Wagner, the pioneering architect of Vienna's Art Nouveau era, was the designer in charge of the construction of "Stadtbahn", a rail service running underground in some sections, as an elevated system in others, around 1900. - Source
The old entrance pavilions to the former Karlsplatz Stadtbahn station, particularly elegant with their marble slabs and gilded ornamentation, were also carefully restored. - Source
Image Source for the most famous Subway stop Karlsplatz
Today I don't mention all the airports I passed by and keep it simple, sharing a few photos of unique local spots, I never experienced when I grew up.
Why? I always owned a car and saw my town with different eyes back in my child and teenage days.
Some subway stops in Vienna are simply amazing and maybe locals do not realise it as much as I did, knowing Paris, Amsterdam, NYC and other cities quite well.
Vienna is clean, civilised and very practical, even safe.
Night view from Neue Donau Stop
I am not always happy to jump on the intercity rides by subway but somehow I got used to and I feel that it makes so much more sense to leave those cars off the busy streets anyways.
This upcoming spring and summer I will get myself a bycicle to cruise those streets, like I used to back in New York City, with my girl in the backseat, floating behind the bus on 5th avenue.
You are allowed to bring your dogs and bicycles with you on the trains.
Neue Donau
Vienna’s Network doesn’t have ticket barriers. If you're caught, you will have to pay a fine of aprox €100, so I do not recommend to risk such a situation. Your tickets are also valid on all trams, buses and S/Bahn overground trains but you have to validate them first.
72-hour Vienna Card costs around Euro 17.- which gives free travel on all public transport as well as various reductions to museums and galleries and most tickets can be bought online.
View from Neue Donau Stop
Prater
Vienna U-Bahn, subway, tube or underground is a transit system serving the city of Vienna with the urban, suburban & commuter train, the tram or the bus. The metro network has 5 lines and 104 stations forming a rail network of 49.2 miles (79,1 km). The subway system consists of five lines - U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6.
Dresdnerstrasse U6 in winter
Otto Wagner's large bridge spanning Wienzeile and the Wien River was also preserved; it is now used by the new U6 subway line, basing on the former Stadtbahn line on the Gürtel. Source
Burggasse on the U6 Line
Public Library
Millenium City and Handelskai
That's the stop, where you will arrive via Airport on S7 to reach my flat.
In summer you can step out and go to the Danube for a walk and have your lunch in the grass.
Spittelau
Spittelau Waste Incineration Plant in Vienna designed by Eco-Architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Steemit Restaurant Review! The Classic & Popular Dish Of The Viennese Cuisine - Der Tafelspitz
OEBB!
There is something about train stops what makes me feel nostalgic and I remember many routes, I took throughout my life where "OBB" takes you to.
Never without my red suitcase
When you are riding with public transport you will come across people from different parts of the city and different countries you will never see taking a car.
Flixbus Stop
Enjoy your visit and have a wonderful stay in Vienna!
Suggestion for a traditional Restaurant:
Eat Like A Local! The Traditional Viennese Gourmet Cuisine At The Famous Gasthaus Kopp!
Yours @mammasitta
Follow also my minnow profile @massivevibration to keep on spreading those MassiVe Vibes.
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Absolutely the best - I keep raving about it myself! I rode the public systems in many cities, but Vienna is ahead of them all in every aspect!
Like, try Paris, for example - and imagine you are in a wheelchair or have special needs! Hardly a elevator or escalator to be found, and going from the Metro onto a bus, you have to pay again! Not so in Vienna. Your ticket is good on any public transport, and also the S-Bahn and trains of the ÖBB within the city Zone 1. Want to go to the airport? Fast and efficient, and at less than half the price of the highly advertised CAT airport train (just buy 2 regular tickets to get to the airport, since it is outside Zone 1). And here is some additional advice to visitors going to the airport: go with the regular ÖBB train, because you also use the same ticket (plus one additional) to go from anywhere you are in the city. Don't think the CAT train gets you there faster: it runs between the ÖBB schedules on the same track! I live in Floridsdorf, and I am at the airport within a half hour.
@mammasitta - We have something in common: since I moved back here, I do no own a car (I had, out of necessity, 3 vehicles when I lived in Canada). There is no need for it in this city. My sis sometimes offered to drive me home, and I used to decline, because its an easy choice between sitting in traffic jams for over an hour, or getting home in comfort within half hour even from the furthest place.
And the absolute hammer for residents is the Yearly Pass! For the price of a few parking tickets, you can travel all year long as much as you want.
It costs € 365,-, so one € a day! Being a Senior, I pay even less.
Check it all out at WIENER LINIEN the site is in German, but there is a (somewhat different in content) tab for English, top right navigation. I also want to add that the Schedule Info is now also available on Google Maps: just enter your starting and arrival point addresses on the map under Directions, and click the icon for public transport.
Baaaaang!!!!
Thats a massive comment and deserves to be put on top of all:)
There is nothing much to add anymore and Ich danke Dir vielmals fuer so ein tolles ADD-ON!!!
Echt Leiwaund!!
Superbe!
I forgot Tokyo. Not one word in English or any other language to be found.
#WienWienNurDuAllein!!!
I am really impressed since I am back in town!
I forgot to mention the amazing app called "QANDO WIEN" everybody should get!!!
Yes, and thank you for your reply - I do have Quando Wien on my handy (just didn't know that's what it was called).
Never been to Tokio, so would not know, but that would be frustrating. Bad enough that French is rarely translated into English. Rarely in France, and seldom in Quebec (Montreal is bilingual, the rest of the Province not) where they even have a law that forbids any business signs in English. Maybe we should start using that tag .....
@mammasitta happy to see the swing and people near river just relaxing .i have interesting article on my blog you should give it a look and how can i improve y blog thanks friend <3
Ich werde die alten Straßenbahnen sehr vermissen wenn sie erstmal verschwunden sind! Wobei ich an den alten U-bahn Sprecher auch nur noch sehr selten denke :D
What a plethora of beautiful photos for this subway #walkwithme! I loved it so much, you're a real artist @mammasitta!
Hard to pick a favourite, this one really stood out to me though....
That's so so nice to hear that you enjoyed my rides .....Your tag was such an inspiration for me.
The most typical subway stops in Vienna's famous "Jugendstil" architecture style , are for sure the first 2 green/white ones....
Thank you und Danke Vielmals!!!!
Sehr schöne Stationnen :)
"72-hour Vienna Card costs around Euro 17" - Das ist echt gut, es ist richtig Turistenfreundlich :)
Ich war noch nie in Vienna ... das muss ich so bald wie möglich korrigieren :)
so bald wie möglich!!!!
VIENNA TOPS MERCER’S 19TH QUALITY OF LIVING RANKING - 2017 - Zürich is in second place, but you know we Viennese joke about Zürich: The Vienna Central Graveyard is half the size of Zürich, but twice as much fun!
Thats funny!!! I just remembered one of my previous articles about that graveyard :)
https://steemit.com/travel/@mammasitta/alive-not-dead-yet-graves-at-the-central-cemetery-vienna-es-lebe-der-zentral-friedhof
I have a large album about the Zentralfriedhof on my Flickr. Maybe I should share a few shots from there sometime.
haha Ich wusste nicht dass Vienna und Zürich konkurrieren :)
Bei uns ist Düsseldorf - Köln .. :)
I think Zürich couldn't care less, lol. I was just there a few weeks ago, and it is not so bad as this joke implies. I even had coffee and some cake at the Odeon there where Einstein, Lenin and Trotsky used to hang out once upon a time. Unlike Cafe Central in Vienna (the only place in town you rarely see any Viennese, but mostly Tourists, queued up outside waiting to get in), I had no problem finding a seat.
Big misstake on my part - I was only there for a few hours crossing over from Germany - I never shut off my data roaming on my phone. So within hours, background loading of data (I never used the phone) got me about € 60.- in charges from the Swiss provider. Highway robbery is a cultivated art in Switzerland!
I love historical places like this cafe :)
As i lived in Freiburg i went often to Basel for the weekend and made same experience with the roaming, but not with so high amount. Its really good now that its no more roming in the EU.
Yes, but Switzerland is not in the EU (now I clued in, won't let this happen again). About Freiburg: I was there also, a year earlier. I had several exhibitions already in Bad Säckingen, and a friend who lives near Waldshut always drives me around sightseeing.
1 Monat nur 50k
Na dann wird's Mal Zeit :)
Ja ich hoffe dieses Jahr :)
Ich vermiete ein Zimmer und nehme sogar STEEM :)
Cool gut zu wissen :)
Great idea for a post. Such interesting stations, old and refurbished.
I found this tidbit of great interest. No barriers. The likely result? Ease of flow. Trusting the integrity of the citizens to pay. What a great idea! Has it always been like that?
Yeah ....Trust !!
Lets ask @thermoplastic because I don't have the answer if its always been like that. I forgot but I think so.
Has it always been like that? I've been away for 40 years, and in my youth, every tram car had a conductor. So I really don't know when it changed to the honor system.
I remember we got away without tickets on overcrowded streetcars coming from the stadium after a soccer match. The cars were open in those days and we were riding on the running board, some even on the coupler on the end, holding on to the destination sign. As far as I know, nobody got hurt doing that.
Today, there are not only the controllers sometimes checking on the trains, but at times the exits are cordoned off by uniformed controllers and police, to check all the passengers.
But I do like the honor system, no fumbling for your ticket once you had it validated and you change trains. Not like the gate locks in Paris.
A bit of propaganda for a Video I took in 2008 while on vacation from Canada to Vienna. It's on the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn:
Now 10 years later I live here, and we have even more modern trains..
Sooo cool!!!
It's interesting how there seems to be a different level of trust in most European cities-- you ride on the "honors system" without ticket barriers or even regular ticket control, but if you DO get caught there is a large fine. It is pretty much the same way in Copenhagen where I grew up. Here in the US, pretty much anything "passenger related" is behind a security fence.
So true! I am very glad that I was taught to be honest and responsible at school:) I like the education in Europe a lot compared to the more " wild" places like Indonesia for example. USA is a whole different story :)
Thanks for the sightseeing and the deep dive into the tram and bus lines available.
So many Nice places to See, so much to do.... wish I was there and feel the cityvibes!
I hope it helps all my airbnb guests and visitors to get a little idea how it is here in beautiful WIEN.
The public service in Vienna is amazing! :) I love it.
Total begeistert :) bin ich
Me too. :)
I loved taking this trip with you. It is only a dream in my country where all public transport is very unsafe.
I am kind of curious to know more about your home and why unsafe? I love Europe, especially Vienna!
I'm from South Africa, and our crime rate is exceptionally high. It is not safe to travel alone almost anywhere, especially if you don't know what you are doing, and trains are a big no no!!!
I do remember that you are from South Africa but I didn’t know that it’s that bad. It’s a shame that you can’t feel safe. I am very thankful.
It's balanced by other good, so I'm not complaining. I would love to ride in a train again though. I did when I was very young.