Vienna's Modern Fairy Tale

Eco-friendly, affordable and artsy

The exterior of the Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment building in Vienna designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Note: This is the second post about our trip to Vienna. The other one—with all of the art, palaces and museums—is here.

We arrived at Vienna Central Station on a Monday night in February. The first thing I noticed upon walking to our tram stop outside the station was how quiet it was.

Was it some national holiday I didn’t know about?

There were few cars on the streets, only a few people walking along the sidewalks. Not so few that it felt dangerous or creepy—but definitely different than the 24/7 street party that is central Berlin.

The second thing I noticed was that it was clean. No graffiti. No broken glass or takeaway containers littering the sidewalks. Definitely not Berlin.

Riding the tram out to our hotel in Alsergrund, I did see some nightlife—ice skaters enjoying the multilevel outdoor rink in front of the Rathaus, the inviting lights of numerous cafes nea…