the 220 m high dark DC-1 tower dwarfs the white Hochhaus Neue Donau
from 65 meters high there is a nice view of Vienna's skyline like the St. Stephen's Cathedral
we will make the ride in this red gondola
the Reisenrad dwarfs the statue for the magician Basilio Calafati
a merry-go-round, the Basilio Calafati statue and a restaurant wait for us below
some of the other attractions
inside is a small museum
The
Wiener Prater is a public park along the western bank of the Danube River.
In 1162
Frederick Barbarossa donated
the area to a noble family. Over the centuries the land changed owner several times and was used as a hunting ground for
the happy few.
In 1766 common folks were also allowed in the park and soon cafes, stalls and bars sprung up in the northern
section. This was the beginning for the
Wurstelprater, the worlds oldest amusement park.
Today the Wurstelprater is very popular
with tourists and locals alike and features scores of attractions like rollercoasters, wild water slides, a Madame Tussauds,
the Praterturm and of course the famous
Wiener Reisenrad, a Ferris wheel buillt in 1897.
This wheel plays a prominent role in
the Cold War film The Third Man with the mesmerizing
Harry Lime theme.
We visited the Wurstelprater in May 2014, rode the wheel
and tasted the famous Wiener Schnitzel.
just outside the park the Ferris wheel dominates the skyline
the memorial for the famous composer and conductor Robert Stolz
kids line-up for a ride
and up we go
here they serve the one and only real Wiener Schnitzel (so they say)
almost at the top