Finding a Natural Retreat in Vienna

The trees in the Stadtpark laden with beautiful blossoms

Large green area in the Stadtpark

To offset the frustration of the heavy workload towards the end of the semester I did the majority outside in the beautiful sunshine.  The warm weather makes Vienna seem like an entirely different city; in the Stadtpark, the trees are flowering and everyone in the park is unified in the joy to be found in this tiny outpost of greenery and plants within the city.  To compliment this, I also had signed up for the full moon hike.  The hike was really quite fun and made me realize just how much I’d been missing nature during my time in the city.  Though life in the city has been thrilling and different for me, the lack of forests and walks in the countryside has slowly been getting to me.

The hike begins in Hütteldorf

View over the expansive Wienerwald

On Thursday, after sitting outside in the park and finishing a large workload in the most pleasant way possible, I met up with the group in Hütteldorf.  We were around 20 people and together we walked into the Wienerwald and followed a trail toward Grinzing.

The sun beginning to sink below the horizon

The moon was beautiful.  When we stopped in a clearing for dinner near 8 o’clock we had a great view of the rising moon.  The harvest moon was incredible colourwise––it resembled the setting sun more than the moon.  There was also a partial eclipse so that on one side a tiny piece of the moon was obscured––though it was such a tiny area it was only just noticeable.

The full moon over Vienna

We finished just after 11 o’clock––tired out by the walk, but at the same time, in awe at the beauty of the woods we’d just explored.  If only I’d known before that beautiful woods and hiking are only a streetcar ride away from central Vienna!