November 20, 2018

End of the line: photos capturing the lines and colour of satellite city Seestadt

In the new ‘End of the line’ article series, we ride a Vienna U-Bahn line all the way to the end, get off and explore the surrounding area. During our ‘end of the line’ expeditions, we try to find the unexpected places in these areas worth checking out.

This time around, we caught the U2 all the way to Seestadt.

Did someone say symmetry? We love symmetry. And in Seestadt, symmetry is everywhere.

At this time of year, Seestadt has an eerie vibe to it. That could have something to do with the sudden onset of full-blown winter, or the fact that on any given Sunday, Vienna in general transforms into a ghost town.

After a 20 min. ride on the U2 from Vienna’s center, we warm up with a coffee at Konditorei LEO, and set off on our journey.

What we discover is largely empty streets…and strangely colourful apartment blocks.

While Seestadt is still a work in progress, come summer next year, we can imagine this place being a dream-like utopia for families wanting to settle somewhere green, with space.

Seestadt is still much like a one-horse abandoned town (cue tumbleweed, here). We see few people on the streets. However, judging by the signs of life on the balconies, you can tell that the migration out here has already begun.

You know how the bird with the most beautiful and colourful feathers finds it’s mate the quickest? This seems to be Seestadt’s approach in attracting new residents. Some of the apartment blocks out here are as vibrant as a peacock’s tail feathers.

There isn’t much happening (YET), but the fact that there’s a university and lots of student accommodation, there’s potential. One thing that history shows is that when you put a bunch of students somewhere, a lively neighbourhood will follow.

One of Seestadt’s biggest attractions is that it’s the polar opposite of the Vienna we know and love – absolutely everything is modern.

With restaurants like Portobello already popping up, Seestadt is on its way to becoming a satellite city of Vienna, which its inhabitants never need to leave.

If you haven’t made the trip to the end of the line out to Seestadt yet, we suggest you do. It’s one very different limb of Vienna.

We kind of liked the unfinished feeling out there, that the area is in the process of becoming. It’s not yet lived in. It’s a blank page; And walking the streets of this blank page, the lines and symmetry in the diverse modern architecture is mesmerising in a way that is very unfamiliar in Vienna.