Things to do in Vienna - Zentralfriedhof

If you are not a history buff or if you're overdosed on culture and museums, there are plenty of other things to do in Vienna. But be prepared to walk a lot, get lost a little bit and take public transport.

Visiting Zentralfriedhof ("Central Cemetery"), one of the largest cemeteries in the world and certainly the most famous one in Vienna, can be quite an experience.

Spanning 2.4 square kilometres with 3.3 million interred here, you can spend all day enjoying the tranquility and spotting the tombs of famous people and musicians like Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Johann Strauss.

 If you are hungry after hours of roaming, there are a couple of restaurants just outside the main cemetery gate worth checking out. We had lunch at a simple cafe that serves authentic Austrian food like pork schnitzel and boiled beef with dumplings at wallet friendly prices.

Just a short distance away, we stumbled upon an interesting barn-like building with a large stone Jesus towering over an overgrown garden.





Intrigued by the building's strange freaky-morbid appearance and mysterious ambience, we pushed open the door and were surprised to find a restaurant buzzing with life inside. It is a favourite haunt of the locals!
 
The interior, featuring bare wooden floors, gargantuan mirrors and stained-glass roof, proved to be quite a spectacle too.

We heard the schnitzel here is fantastic but having just finished lunch, we opted for coffee and dessert which also turned out to be fabulous.

 If you're in need of some mood lifting scenery after visiting the cemetery, feel free to pop into the large nursery just across the road.

After our interesting excursion, we boarded a bus back to the city. For some reason, the bus stopped somewhere and everyone got off. We disembarked and found ourselves in an unfamiliar place. Again, we stumbled upon a gorgeous historical building which used to be a water treatment plant.

We would have hung around longer if it wasn't so chilly. We boarded the next bus back to the city. It was a nice day out.