Kahlenberg (26.10.08)

That’s the hill (484m.a.s.), from which Sobieski gave instructions to his army in the battle with Turkey. Now there’s a church with an information board on it. It says that the king prayed here before the battle. The Pope Jon Paul II also visited this church, as the board informs.



The hill is situated on the outskirts of the city. The journey from the center took about 1 hour by underground and bus. But it was worth it. The view from the top is marvellous! The next place to admire the panorama of the city. Well, it is somehow affected by mass tourism – there’s a hotel, cafe and a souvenir shop on the hill. At least it wasn’t crowded, as it is not the most popular time of the year for visiting such places. It was quite cold, foggy and windy, but I enjoyed it.



On our way down from the hill, we visited an old cemetery, which was quite neglected, by the way. The autumn played for us a colorful, silent performance, showing its beauty and pride. But it failed to dispel the fog, so the panorama pics weren’t that impressing.
The path lead us to a winery, which presents a wonderful view on the Donau River. The nearby Heuriger (a special wine house that sells its own young wines, Heurigers are very popular in Austria) sells good wine and grape juice. We ordered a delicious apple cake, even two kinds of it.
Leading the path, we finally reached the sign with the writing „Wien”. So we entered the border of the city. Nice and charming homes stretched along the narrow street and the whole area was mysteriously silent. Then we arrived to Kahlenberger Strasse and discovered the statue of Beethoven from XIX century. Few meters further we found a composer’s home and then... the next composer’s home.



More and more Heurigers emerged on the street and finally we reached the 19th Bezirk (district) and got on a dreamy tram that took us back home...