The next leg of the trip was inspired by one of Keira's favourite movies, Before Sunrise, the mid-90's romcom based around a single night in Vienna. The movie starts with the two main characters, Jesse and Céline riding a train to Paris (via Vienna) and serendipitously meeting, before falling in love with each other through the night as they walk the streets of Vienna, amazed by the beauty of the place, each other and their conversations.
So we ensured that we had opportunity to visit some of the key sites from the movie (which was filmed in the streets of Vienna). On the train (which has been upgraded quite a bit since the movie's release 30 years ago) Keira got into the spirit of Vienna by re-watching the film and setting down her own memory of the trip.
Firstly, Maria-Theresien-Platz, where the young couple walked and enjoyed the Kunsthistoriches Museum and statues in the park.
Klein's Cafe, where they sat and met the palm reader (alas closed at both times we passed the square, though it looks relatively unchanged).
Teuchtler Schallplattenhandlung und Antiquarität, or Alt & Nei, the vintage record store which they browsed and listened to music. The store's changed a little, but is still a hidden gem and very true to the original memory. The store allows visitors to recreate the experience by listening to an LP as they did in the film.
Next was to Prater Amusement Park, to ride Das Wiener Riesenrad, the worlds oldest running ferris wheel, having begun operations in 1897.
And by luck (or good planning), we happened to be on the wheel at sunset (like the movie) so we could see the lights coming on across the beautiful old city.
The next key site to visit was ironically one of the first scenes of the movie, where the couple cross an old rail bridge, the Zollamtssteg Bridge and meet two theatre nerds (and talk about the play with the cow). The bridge, constructed in 1900 crosses the river Wien and the train line.
And then, the final spot was Cafe Sperl, where Jesse and Céline pretend to call their friends on the phone and explain what's transpired. We didn't go in as we'd eaten too much, but we did go past!
And thats a wrap. Whilst the young couple part ways at the train station (her heading to Paris, him to the airport) with the plan to meet again in 6 months... we continued our stay in Vienna and have more to share in the next post!
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