Mödling, Austria

Every year Gaby and her boyfriend keep inviting us to visit them and we finally did it this year - we we a couple of days in Vienna. We had ordered perfect weather with plenty of sunshine and it arrived just in time for our stay there :)

For the first day of our visit we had chosen a hike in and around the beautiful town of Mödling, only 15 km from Vienna, very easily accessible by train. Unfortunately, Vali was still recovering from some viral infection and stayed at home, but Gaby was able to accompany us and we spent a gorgeous day together.

The trail around Mödling starts from the railway station and passes through the walkable old town. The settlement is now about 20 thousand inhabitants, its origin dates back to the Neolithic era.

The quaint old town was the residence of a branch of the Babenberg family, a noble dynasty, dating back to the early history of Austria.

A local Frau, dressed in a traditional dirndl. She was very sweet and let me take a picture of her as a souvenir of our visit to her town.

St. Othmar church and charnel

The church marks the end of the pedestrian zone and the start of the hike up and down the hills around the town. The trails are well marked and designed to take you along a circuit route by various ruins and sights. 

The Black Tower is 200 years old and is still owned by a private family.

On top of the hill

A view to the Black Tower and the Aqueduct

The tracks in the forest were very picturesque and the weather was just unbelievable for the first days of March - so sunny and warm, with almost absent wind.

The hills around the town were covered with spring flowers - Anemone Pulsatilla (съсънка)

The trail gradually took us from the top of the hill down to the city and then back up the hill across to the Burgruine Mödling.

Hike info:

Date: 8 March 2026

Destination: Mödling

Mountain: Vienna Forest

Total length: 15 km

Elevation gain: 280 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 and a half hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, socks, Burda longsleeve

I:  lingerie, Journey jacket, Lotte blouse, CC copycat hat

Gaby: Journey jacket

We had our lunch on the hill by the ruins with a picturesque view to the town and the pine forests - and yes, you guessed it, I had made tortillas and biscuits for the three of us :)

By the triple cross - our first peak in Austria, a modest three hundred and something meter high.

A view to the town and the aqueduct

We went down the hill by the aqueduct and returned to the old town, to close the circle.

The pest column, commemorating the victims of the two Black death epidemics, following the two Ottoman sieges of Vienna. Almost all of the citizens of Mödling were killed, when the Ottomans came for the second time in 1683.

We finished the day / night with a concert of the Greek rock band Villagers of Ioannina City. Тhe four of us are big fans of the band and listen to their music with great pleasure.

Gaby's Master's Graduation

The reason for our visit to Vienna this time was Gaby's Master's graduation from Vienna university. The ceremony was held in one of the halls of the University and was quite grand, with a speech by the Rector and Faculty Dean, live orchestra, a ceremony master, hymns and oaths.

It was an occasion for me to wear my latest dress, which I intended to photoshoot in the university, but had neither the time nor the opportunity, so I'll wait for better weather these days and take a few pictures of it in our area.

The speeches were, of course, in German, and I have probably never listened with such attention to an official speech, as this time, trying with my limited German to catch the gist of the address.

All graduates made an oath to uphold the honour of the University and to use their knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

Our happy girl, now a Master of Science  :)

After the ceremony there was a delicious cocktail with champagne and sandwiches

Vienna University is one of the oldest in Europe and its building is really beautiful and impressive.

We had some free time in the afternoon and the four of us went for a short tour in my probably most favourite of Vienna's plentiful museums - the Museum of History of Art.

I'm a big fan of their Dutch masters collection and only wish I could visit this museum more often :)

Christmas Vienna 2

After Belverede, husband and I hopped on the U-Bahn and then a bus and in no time were at the Gloriette of Schönbrunn. Last time I was in Vienna I found this approach to the park much better than the one from the central entrance, especially when one came from Belvedere, as the connection is very short and quick.

We took the winding alleys of the park down to the palace and met with Gaby and her boyfriend there.

Amazing tree pruning :)

The days of December are very short and the sun was quickly getting lower on the horizon. We had a delightful walk through the alleys at the lower part of the garden. Every time I come to Vienna, I think of visiting some new place, but I keep returning to the two palaces and their gardens, that stayed in my heart from our first visit to this beautiful city. A trip to Vienna feels incomplete, if I haven't been to Belvedere and Schönbrunn:)

The Christmas market in front of the palace was probably the biggest we visited.

The thing that amazed me most - instruments out of chocolate, it's hard to believe it this is not metal!

From Schönbrunn we went back to the city center and had some more mulled wine and orange punsch at the market at Stephansdom:

Vienna's Christmas lights are really worthy of their fame: