After three years living in Toulouse, France I decided it was time for some change and finally experience the expat life once again. I've landed a job in Vienna, Austria since March 2019 so you're going to accompany me on this journey. Here is the first chapter, focusing mostly on the second district (Leopoldstadt), but also a little bit of the 9th (Alsergrund) and 20th (Brigittenau).
Leopoldstadt district follows the Danube river on the west coast. It is among the most residential districts close to the city of Vienna. It used to be inhabited mostly by Jewish people (38% in 1923), but as you could imagine, the community was hit hard during WW2. It is growing again nowadays but we also see a shift from a district originally for the working class to a wealthier population, which I assume is the result of the proximity to the city center.
In the next pictures, you can see the two highest structures in Austria. Standing at 248m, DC Tower 1 is only second to the Donauturm and its 252m. Fourth place is attributed to the Millenium Tower. The funny thing is that they are all three in a circle of less than a kilometer in diameter and can be seen from the Brigittenauer bridge.
Vienna also has a few parks, cycling and pedestrian roads following the Donaukanal. I went there for the first real Spring days and it was lively, as one would expect from such a calm location. From far, you can see one of the three Viennese thermal waste treatment plant (the shinny tower with its rounded top) overlooking the city.
The 9th district is home of the Lichentenstein Palace and its Summer annex belonging to Lichtenstein's royalty and the catholic Votivkirche with its distinct style.
Now, going back to the second district, where one can find the Augarten garden with its two big landmarks, the Flaktürme, built by Nazi Germany in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna to protect the cities against air raids and serve as shelters. In that same garden, one can also find Filmarchiv Austria which works towards discovery, preservation and reconstruction of Austrian films.
Almost right on the Danube's riverbank stands the imposing catholic Franz-von-Assisi-Kirche.
Vienna is not solely a city of culture and religion. As one could expect from a capital, multiple universities can be found, such as the economic university, WÜ, short for Wirtschaftsuniversität. The campus is rather big, with buildings worth the look and a huge park swarmed by joggers, cyclists and pet owners.
A few hundred meters from WÜ, parts of the aforementioned park called Wiener Prater is actually a funfair, called Wurstelprater.
