When you tire of the bustle of the city and don't think you could stand to look at one more ornate Baroque palace, do as generations of Viennese -- past and present -- have done and seek the solace and tranquility of the Vienna Woods, or Wienerwald, to the north of the city.

Pictured above are the rolling hills and vineyards which cover the land near the wine-producing villages of Grinzing and Heiligenstadt; in autumn, just as the vintners begin the arduous task of harvesting the year's crop, one may see the fields in the full fruit of their glory during early afternoon when the sun bathes them in rich ochre hues -- some residual morning mist clings to the hills in the distance, lending the scene a hazy dream-like air.