Vienna Off The Beaten Path Tips by Ekaterinburg

The Not-so Blue Danube Canal.

The DonauKanal flows through quite a large part of the city and in the abscence of the Danube itself ( which is further away) makes a quite pleasant counterpoint to the streets and buildings it seperates. Some stretches of the canal are prettier than others and this particular stretch was my favourite. As you can see in the photo lots of the trees along the bank still had their Autumn colours and if you throw in the occasional houseboat you have a very pleasing vista indeed. You must climb down some steps to get to the banks and here there are seats and sculptures and all the ingredients for a waterside walk. This picture is taken from Schwedenplatz and in the distance you can see the Badenschiff, a relic of summer past. Here you could swim and sunbathe during the hot summer weather and it proved to be very popular indeed.

Other Contact: Near Schweden Bridge

Website: http://www.vienna.info

The Power Station Hundertwasser Review

This last stop on the Hundertwasser trail involves a much longer trip north to the Spitelau area of the city. The best way to do this is to catch the U-Bahn to Heligenstadt and from the station and the nearby bridge you have superb views of the power plant. Thiswas a real highlight of the day for me and I absolutely loved it . The Fernwarme Wien is actuallya paper incineration plant used to generate electricity and whoever thought of asking HW to decorate it deserves a medal in my opinion. It stands proud against the sky, its huge chimney resembling an upmarket Mosque, apart from the plumes of pink smoke being disgorged into the atmosphere. This chimney and the cheeky cap on the roof are the most outstanding features but the whole plant is done in characteristic rectangles of colour with golden domes on many of the uprights. A sight to cherish and totally spectacular in the glow of the setting sun

Phone: 0810 900 400 ( Info Hotline)

Website: http://www.fernwaermewien.at

Hundertwasser Landing Hundertwasser Review

KunstHausWien overlooks the banks of the Danau Canal, a canal which has several landing stations for boat tours. A very short distance away from the Kunsthaus is a a disembarcation point designed by Hundertwasser. This landing, the Weissgerberlande has four brightly coloured ceramic pillars over which the name is written in large letters. Though this is a fairly insignificant affair by any standards, the four pillars immediately proclaim Hundertwasser's involvement and make a nice splash of colour on the canal bank. Wholly appropriate for people disembarking here to visit the KunstHaus,and a foretaste of what's to come. This walk along the canal is absolutely gorgeous and at he level of the water, so rural you could almost believe you were in the countryside.

Website: http://www.vienna.info

KunstHausWien Hundertwasser Review

Next stop on the Hundertwasser trail is KunstHaus Wien, about a 10 minute walk away further up the canal bank. This building, a former furniture factory has also been redesigned by Hundertwasser and is immediately recognisable as such. At the rear of the crazily black and white splashed building, entry is through a delightful yard sprinkled with trees, pumpkins and wooden furniture. Once inside you are immediately walking on floors that rise and fall and surrounded by a myriad of colourful tiles and pillars. There is a shop and a cafe here also but upstairs is a huge gallery where HW's paintings are exhibited. Temporary exhibitions are also housed here but there is a distinctly un-museum feel to the whole place. If you don't want to go to the museum you can still visit downstairs and get a really good feel for the place.

Open daily from 10am to 7 pm. Admission EUR 9 but it is half-price on Mondays.

Other Contact: Untere Weisgerberstasse 13

Phone: +43 1 712 04 91

Website: http://www.kunsthauswien.com

The Village Hundertwasser Review

Hundertwasser Village is rather an odd name for what is essentially a shop and a cafe across the road from the re-designed apartments. Apparently, tenants in these apartments were so annoyed by people badgering them to see inside that HW decided to build this village so the general public could see for themselves how the interior matched the dramatic exterior. Of course HW was a shrewd operator and the fact that this building serves as an outlet for his artwork can hardly have escaped his notice. Inside we have all the trademark HW feature: the uneven floors; the mosaic tile work; the ceramic pillars; curved passageways and balconies popping up all over the place. Some may find it tacky but I thought it was colourful and amusing and extremely interesting. The shop has a great range of souvenirs, as you would expect but what I didn't expect was that some of them, notebooks and diaries especially, were very reasonably priced. Walking away my guide remembered that we had not visited the Hundertwasser toilet but we decided to give it a miss. You can see pictures of this most quirky WC on Globetrott's Vienna page.

Open 9 am -7 pm daily. ENTRANCE FREE.

Other Contact: Kegelgasse 37-39

Phone: +43/1/7104116

Website: http://www.hundertwasser-village.com

All aboard for Hundertwasserland Hundertwasser Review

To see the Hundertwasser buildings you must leave the Innere Stadt and take tram N to the third district. Here in the north-eastern corner of Landstrasse, within a very small area, you will find most of the important landmarks. Whether you think of HW as an eccentric genius or a crazy old hippie it would be a shame to miss these colourful quirky buildings. As a long-time fan of Gaudi, I was very keen to see HW's work as in terms of originalityand colour he seems to me to be the Gaudi of Vienna. The Hundertwasser House did not disappoint me and seeing it in brilliant winter sunshine greatly enhanced the experience. It's far bigger than I expected for one thing and seeing it in the flesh, so to speak, you notice lots of little details that photos simply don't do justice to. I loved the way the deep umber colour contrasted with the blue; the little pot-bellied balconies and the trees sprouting up from all angles. Mostly, I loved the weird symmetry that manages to happen in the midst of this jumble of style and colours.This is local authoruty housing re-designed by HW in 1983 and all I can say isthat we could badly do with some public housing like this in our corner of the world.

Other Contact: On Lowengasse & Kegelgasse

Website: http://www.hundertwasserhaus.at