Viennese whirl: A surprise proposal and a hair-raising adventure on Austria’s oldest Ferris wheel

When my husband asked me to go on Vienna’s famous Ferris wheel for about the 30th time just before Christmas 2015, I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary. I definitely wasn’t expecting to get engaged. Six-and-a half years later, I find myself again, my left hand, complete with wedding ring, firmly held on his arm as we continue our journey, but with a little more flair.

Instead of looking out from one of the 15 carriages, we stood on a clear platform suspended between two of the carriages. We were also strapped to a metal bar 67 metres above the ground. “Look at your feet,” said our chaperone Shivi. “No,” I somewhat snappily respond.

What is the Wiener Riesenrad exactly?

The Wiener Riesenrad – to give it its full title – has temporarily installed ‘Platform 9’ to celebrate its 125th birthday. The glass platform, suspended between carriages 8-10, fills in the gap left after every second carriage suffered damage during World War II.

It just so happened that carriage 10 was also the carriage in which my husband proposed. This was something that was not recognized by the other passengers, even though my other half went down on one knee. If they had noticed, perhaps we’d have a better photo than a slightly blurry selfie hastily snapped as our ride ended.

The Riesenrad has been a symbol for Vienna since long.

The Riesenrad, which was created in 1897 to celebrate Franz Joseph’s Golden Jubilee, has been a symbol for the nation since its inception. Austrian capital. It was almost demolished in 1916 but was saved by a lack of funds. It was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt three years later.

Since then, the Ferris wheels have been turning and only stopped due to COVID for the first 73 years. Just as after the war, it was ceremoniously reopened by Viennese mayor Michael Ludwig as a symbol of Vienna’s post-pandemic recovery. It remains the oldest working Ferris wheel in the entire world.

Film buffs may recognise it from the likes of 1980s James Bond movie ‘The Living Daylights’ or 1990s classic ‘Before Sunrise’. But its most famous cinematic link is with British film noir classic ‘The Third Man’, starring Orson Welles and set amid the corruption of post-war Vienna.

Beyond my engagement, I feel that the Riesenrad is a part of my personal history. I grew up as a Brit in Vienna and spent many summers counting out my coins to go on the rides of the surrounding Prater funfair – many of which haven’t changed.

But by the time I returned to the UK as a student in the late 1990s, I’d been on the Riesenrad a grand total of half a dozen times, if that. The man who became my husband was the man I met. He insists that we take at least one spin every time we visit the city.

How the Riesenrad became my symbol

At last count, we reckon he has dragged me on it about 50 times and it’s become something of a running joke. Our wedding ‘save the date’ cards featured a photo of us in front of it and my hen do started on it.

When we were married in the VineyardsAvoid overlooking ViennaThe Riesenrad stood out in the distance in 2017 summer. A few days later, we got several dozen of our Wedding guests on it, spread across two carriages, with me getting a free ticket due to playing ‘teacher.’

It seems easy to check out Platform 9 when we learn that the Riesenrad runs it. We book online and we show up at the ticket counter as we have done many times before. But instead of standing in the regular queue we are taken around the back to sign a form confirming, among other things, that we don’t have a fear of heights. After being secured harnessed together with Shivi, our chaperone, we are led to Platform 9’s front to wait.

It soon becomes obvious that we’ve become part of the attraction ourselves – with tourists gawping as we step on to what looks like a gap between two regular carriages. If you’re going to chicken out, now’s the time, as the wheel can only reverse so far.

Then, we spin. The Riesenrad is far from speedy – a full rotation lasts around 10-to-15 minutes – but my biggest challenge is turning around to face outwards, as I feel more secure when I can see the structure we’re attached to.

Riding Platform 9 is like standing high above the city from the air.

Though my legs still feel like jelly, the exhilaration of feeling like I’m standing on air soon makes it worthwhile. With the wind blowing through your face and seemingly nothing below your feet, familiar views become a little bit more unique.

This being the smartphone era, you’re allowed to take your mobile with you in a special bag hanging around your neck – plus the chaperone is happy to act as photographer. The photos we take from the top more than make up for our somewhat disappointing post-engagement selfie.

Perhaps the most surreal part is actually going down. You can watch people milling about in the busy piazza below you as you slowly return to where you started. Hidden between two carriages, it’s almost like they can’t see you.

The Riesenrad has long been a piece of Vienna’s history. As we come to the bottom, and the adrenaline settles, it occurs to me that we’ve just written another chapter of our own history, too.

The Wiener Riesenrad’s Platform 9 ride runs every Saturday and Sunday until 30 October and costs €89 per person. Book online Here.