Wien on Foot

Wien, like any other town, is best explored on foot.  After accomplishing my Haus Mann chores, which included trimming the hedge on this frosty day, that is exactly what I intended to do. 

Walk almost anywhere in Vienna and one will see Gemeindebau, the community construction buildings.  I refer to them as the Stadt Blocks, which is not correct but it suits my needs.  At the end of World War One the old Austro-Hungarian empire was but a memory.  In December of 1918 the Socialists swept to power in Wien, the capital of the newly formed (and much smaller) republic.  The city was in a shambles, suffering from the ravages of war followed by hyperinflation, poverty and disease.  In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish Flu would kill many across the city, including the great painter Egon Shiele.  The economy was shattered, the middle-class was all but broken and the working class no better.  By the early 1920's the financial situation stabilized and the socialist government of Vienna commenced a concerted effort to build housing for the masses.  The results of these efforts were the Gemeindebauten, often built around large open courtyard spaces and equipped with laundry facilities, kindergartens and bathing buildings.  The largest and most famous of these structures is Karl-Marx-Hof, located to the North of the city.  I had the pleasure of visiting Karl-Marx-Hof on one of my earlier jaunts this summer.

On each of the Stadt Blocks (forgive me, it is easier to write) is the year it was erected.  The first early boom of construction was from 1925 until the 1934, during which over 60,000 flats were created for the residents of Wien.  

While the socialists eventually fell from power in other parts of Austria, overcome by the conservative politics of the countryside, Vienna remained solidly in the socialist camp until civil unrest broke out in 1934.  This shadow of much darker things to come also saw the end of the first building boom of the public housing blocks.  Many more blocks would follow in the second building boom of the late 1950's and 1960's, but few of these more modern versions had the elegance and Art Deco grace of the originals.

 
George Washington Hof, just south of the Stadt, is a fine example of the Community Construction Buildings from the first building boom of the 1920's and 30's.  The archways lead to inner courtyard areas and public spaces.

Before I got anywhere near George Washington-Hof I had to walk and I had to walk a long ways on a typical cold and gray December day.  I usually delude myself with some trivial reason for a walk.  This day the reason was to stop by OBI, the giant hardware store, and shop for some special storage boxes.  I didn't really care about the boxes, OBI just being an excuse that happened to be in the right general direction.

A few hundred meters from our apartment is the Liesing-fluss, the Liesing River.  Running from the hills of the Wienerwald to the Danube and lined with walking and bicycle paths it makes a great route into the Stadt.  If you are with someone who warrants a kiss, there is plenty of mistletoe hanging from the bare trees.

I wandered along the little river past herons and the gray shouldered-shouldered Hooded Crows, keeping a steady pace in the cold.  The way meanders past parks and industrial areas, ducks under a few freeway overpasses and is generally lonely and lovely.  Leaving the Liesing, I turned due North up busy Trieste Strasse and then detoured into the Wienerberg, a large park and hill that is just South of downtown Vienna and the main Banhof.

Walking in Vienna is like walking anywhere except that no one speaks English and every so often I expect to see Jason Bourne go running by, being chased by Clive Owen.  I guess I will get over that when the police sirens start seeming familiar.  Will the sirens in the USA ever seem foreign to me?  I doubt it.

Back on busy and noisy Trieste, there is not much of a tourist ambiance.  Ugly housing blocks crowd the sidewalk on the East while soulless new construction goes up on the West.  The only thing of note along this stretch of cacophonous avenue is the number of brothels along the East side, more than four in a kilometer.  I don't think this particular bit of city street is in anyone's walking guide to Vienna.  Exploring on foot is not always a pretty business, yet a city without warts does not exist.  Better to see a place as it is.

And then I am past the train lines, past OBI (a bust) and into the part of the city that I love.  I hop aboard a tram for the Alt Stadt, gliding along Wiedener-Hof Strasse past wonderful shops and cafes, coffee houses and bakeries.  I have more to ground to cover.  There is my cafe to visit for a cigar and a coffee.  Then it is down Wiedner-Hof to meet my Baby when she gets off work.  I am a busy man with things to do. 

Not everything goes as planned.  Loos American Bar is my cafe'.  When I arrive, tired and ready for some sitting and smoking, I discover that the outside tables have disappeared for the winter and the tiny inside bar is full.  Gott in Himmel!!  Then my Baby calls to tell me that she has taken sick and is heading home early and thence to the doctor's office. 

At quick walk pace I am to the U4 station in a flash.  With the magic of the Viennese transit system, I step from a U4 train into the closing doors of the U6 which whisks me home to my ailing Sweetie.  Another day in Vienna, with many kilometers covered, draws to a close.

Editors Note:  My Baby is on the mend and all is well, except Loos will not have the tables out until early spring.  Mein Gott!!