You might be asking yourself: “What has Vienna done for the automobile lately – or ever?” Well, nothing much in recent years, but roughly 110 years ago this gorgeous city helped mold someone that was to become pretty big in the business.
You see, this guy called Ferdinand Porsche (you may have heard of him) moved to Vienna in the very early 20th Century. Vienna's claim to the good Dr was that he used to sneak into the Technical University's night classes after a long day's work at the Béla Egger Electrical company for his only formal, if you will, engineering education. The kid was already a genius having worked in his father's shop throughout most of his youth. The schooling just raised him to car-god status.
In 1917, Porsche received an honorary doctorate degree from the Vienna University of Technology. This explains the "Dr. Ing h.c" (Doktor Ingenieur Honoris Causa) which appears in his, and the company's, name.
Other than this fact, Vienna's 2,000+ year history has more ups and downs, more wars and occupations than there are parts in a typical automobile. The city does have a few car museums, but as I go through the list, motorcycles and bicycles have just as many buildings dedicated to them – not a diehard car-town then.
Even so, there are seemingly millions of cars in this city. Driving through Vienna does take cunning, chutzpah and razor-sharp skills. It's not as challenging as Paris, nor as crazy as some towns in Spain such as Valencia, but you do need your witts about you when you enter the Karthner Ring from a small side street.
This leads me in two directions.
One: Pedestrians. Given our time of arrival, we were afforded a few hours of free time and therefore made good use of it by visiting the historical city that is Vienna. Unlike Paris or Montreal, pedestrians in Vienna have priority. Legally, we do as well in Montreal, but no one is crazy enough to jump out on a crosswalk near a moving car.
As you might imagine, many of the streets in the ancient parts of the city are quite narrow and have been modified slightly to accept automotive traffic. Some pathways are sectionned by nothing more than differently coloured stones identifying a car “lane”. As hundreds walk on by, lorries (in Euro lingo) and other such delivery vehicles slice through, without worries. In Canada or the US, this type of driver/walker mix would never work and barriers, road signs, crosswalks, crossing guards, and possibly the Navy would have to be present at each of these intersections in order to avoid massive chaos and multiple slayings.
Two: Diesel. If you do decide to jet forward, as I witnessed a few times, nothing gets up and out as does diesel-born torque. In the blink of an eye, your car can leap forward 30 metres and avoid all types of unwanted contact.
The same goes for stoplights. You'd think the Old World was more relaxed, but hell no. The first micro-second the light goes green, the cars are-a movin'! Once again, if you want to get around and about in the city – be it Paris, Munich or Vienna – that wallop of torque will get you dicing from one lane to another and well on your way.
Once more, the Europeans have it: Great cities full of driving challenges and lots and lots of diesel torque.
You see, this guy called Ferdinand Porsche (you may have heard of him) moved to Vienna in the very early 20th Century. Vienna's claim to the good Dr was that he used to sneak into the Technical University's night classes after a long day's work at the Béla Egger Electrical company for his only formal, if you will, engineering education. The kid was already a genius having worked in his father's shop throughout most of his youth. The schooling just raised him to car-god status.
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| Photo: Porsche AG |
In 1917, Porsche received an honorary doctorate degree from the Vienna University of Technology. This explains the "Dr. Ing h.c" (Doktor Ingenieur Honoris Causa) which appears in his, and the company's, name.
Other than this fact, Vienna's 2,000+ year history has more ups and downs, more wars and occupations than there are parts in a typical automobile. The city does have a few car museums, but as I go through the list, motorcycles and bicycles have just as many buildings dedicated to them – not a diehard car-town then.
Even so, there are seemingly millions of cars in this city. Driving through Vienna does take cunning, chutzpah and razor-sharp skills. It's not as challenging as Paris, nor as crazy as some towns in Spain such as Valencia, but you do need your witts about you when you enter the Karthner Ring from a small side street.
This leads me in two directions.
One: Pedestrians. Given our time of arrival, we were afforded a few hours of free time and therefore made good use of it by visiting the historical city that is Vienna. Unlike Paris or Montreal, pedestrians in Vienna have priority. Legally, we do as well in Montreal, but no one is crazy enough to jump out on a crosswalk near a moving car.
As you might imagine, many of the streets in the ancient parts of the city are quite narrow and have been modified slightly to accept automotive traffic. Some pathways are sectionned by nothing more than differently coloured stones identifying a car “lane”. As hundreds walk on by, lorries (in Euro lingo) and other such delivery vehicles slice through, without worries. In Canada or the US, this type of driver/walker mix would never work and barriers, road signs, crosswalks, crossing guards, and possibly the Navy would have to be present at each of these intersections in order to avoid massive chaos and multiple slayings.
Two: Diesel. If you do decide to jet forward, as I witnessed a few times, nothing gets up and out as does diesel-born torque. In the blink of an eye, your car can leap forward 30 metres and avoid all types of unwanted contact.
The same goes for stoplights. You'd think the Old World was more relaxed, but hell no. The first micro-second the light goes green, the cars are-a movin'! Once again, if you want to get around and about in the city – be it Paris, Munich or Vienna – that wallop of torque will get you dicing from one lane to another and well on your way.
Once more, the Europeans have it: Great cities full of driving challenges and lots and lots of diesel torque.