Right in the heart of Europe, Vienna is a city that is bustling with activity and at the same time provides a lovely break for anyone wishing to spend a few days without having to move around much. Conveniently located within a ring-road that makes it impossible to get lost and easy to move around, Vienna offers history and entertainment within short distances. Stephen Calleja writes

My previous stay Vienna had been during Christmas-time, when I probably felt the coldest ever in my life, as temperatures had dropped to minus eight. I still remember wearing as many layers of clothes as possible – and mufflers, gloves and a beanie - with the inconvenience that then they were too much when I went indoors, as the heat inside public buildings, shops and the hotel became unbearable.

And so I saw a completely different Vienna when I visited a few days ago, for a journalists’ trip organized by the Malta International Airport.

There was no snow, no sleet and certainly no cold. Actually, it was like being in Malta because temperatures climbed to as high as 35 degrees in the four days we were there, and it’s a good thing that I remembered taking Bermudas and T-shirts with me. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to go out.

Being in a city in central Europe during a heat-wave is not ideal, but who was to know that Vienna would have gone through one of its rare moments of tropical weather when we were there? Still, the city has so much to offer in terms of history and archaeology, not to mention business and shops, that the visit was all the more worthwhile.

Having already been there and knowing the streets was helpful, as it did not take me long to re-orientate myself in the Viennese surroundings. That the heart of Vienna has as its perimeter a ring-road and is relatively small that you can walk across its radius in 30 minutes – more if you take it at a leisurely pace – makes it easy to muster. It is impossible to get lost there too. Their underground transport service is efficient and reliable, and with some time available a trip around the city on the tram that goes around the ring-road is also a pleasure.

I’m not into shopping, and this is why I was glad to be on my own there as I am sure that the myriad shops lined one after the other in the core of the city would have been a great attraction to my wife and daughter. I was imagining my son and me grumbling in the heat as they checked dresses and shoes, or else the two of us would have been forced to make a different plan for ourselves.

I prefer learning more about the places I visit, their history and cultural traditions, rather than going in and out of department stores for things I can, these days, also find in Malta. Shopping abroad was interesting when we could only find Malta-made (horrendous) products here.

From what I could see as I walked in the pedestrianised centre of the city – the part with St Stephen’s Cathedral in its centre – the most famous names in the clothes, jewellery and perfume industry are there. But, again, they can be found here too. And I’m sure that this argument would not have been valid with the women of the family.

But that’s enough about shopping now – except to say that a visit to Vienna should also include a stop at the Naschmarkt; it should give ideas how food markets should be organized: with restaurants offering a wide array of typical Austrian cuisine interspersed with other delicacies from all over the world on one side, and food stalls selling all imaginable products on the other. It would be good if our own “monti” could be organized in a similar way – and kept clean too.

Vienna is, of course, the city of music, the city where Strauss and Schubert were born, but also the city where Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn came to work. And all the Viennese one comes across are proud of their musical heritage. But then they are ready to admit that they have little to offer in terms of art, so much so that they are very happy with the only artist who, they say, had made a name for himself internationally in this regard – Klimt. A visit to the Secession museum took us close to his most famous piece of art.

It is clear that the influence of the Habsburg family on Vienna is still evident in the buildings that dot the city. The Habsburg Monarchy ruled Vienna – and not only – for centuries during the Middle Ages right up to the end of the First World War. The palaces they built in Vienna still stand, with most of them open to the public.

One of them is the Schoenbrunn Castle, former residence of the Habsburg family at the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Seeing these palaces from the outside is already an experience – I am no expert in architecture, but had nothing but admiration for the builders who, it must be remembered, did not have today’s technology to help them create these masterpieces. I had seen this palace covered in snow and with its front outdoor open space turned into a Christmas market when I had last visited Vienna a few years ago; seeing it in bright sunshine gives it a different splendor.

The same goes for St Stephen’s Cathedral, which is undergoing refurbishment. The sheer magnificence of the building is breathtaking. It is similar to other cathedrals in other cities that were built in the same period – when each city seemed to want to have one – but such sights have always drawn my fascination because I try to imagine how such structures are built. Perhaps this is why Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth is one of my favourite books – as the story is based on the building of a cathedral in a fictional town, but which goes into great detail on the real hardships faced by the builders in the years when cathedrals were a must in all big towns.

Just one small note – it took 65 years for St Stephen’s Cathedral to be built, between 1368 and 1433. One thing I would however do away with is the stationing of horse-drawn carriages next to it. The animal smells are unbearable. I was told there’s an issue about this in the Austrian capital.

Of particular interest was The Third Man Sewer Tour – yes, a 45-minute trip in the belly of the city. It may sound strange, and the initial minutes were not the most pleasant, but I must admit that at the end I was pleased to have made it.

We did get some respite from the weather when we were taken to Kahlenberg, the highest place of Vienna, where one can get a breathtaking view of the city below. It was rather misty when we got there, so we could not appreciate the beauty in its entirety. But we did get a chance to take a rather long walk in the woods – with several signs placed on trees to show you the way. The shade provided by the trees protected us from the heat of the day, even though I must admit that at several points I thought I was not going to make it up the steep paths. Thank God I stopped smoking.

One word about the food – a veal Schnitzel , one of the specialities in Austria, is a must. Each and every restaurant will tell you that they have the “best Schnitzel” in Vienna. What is sure is that they all taste good. Still, they have other food typical of central Europe that one should try.

The Malta Independent managing editor Stephen Calleja was the guest of the Malta International Airport. The visit was also possible with the collaboration of the Vienna Tourist Board, the Grand Hotel Wien and the Third Man Sewer Tour. There are direct flights to Vienna every day in summer and five times weekly between November and March, and are operated by Air Malta, code-shared with Austrian Airlines.

The first part of this article was carried in yesterday’s issue.