Talking about Vienna — of course!
We arrived on Sunday afternoon, found our way to our apartment, an older place, but roomy and comfortable, and got a recommendation for a restaurant with traditional Austrian fare. We got settled and off we were for dinner. Salm Braü. What an intro to Austrian food!! They know beer and food. Yum! The meal even was finished with shots of apple liquor—I think what we’d call an aperitif, or after-dinner shot. And it was for all of us. A tradition there we gathered for all at their guests when the meal ends. Delicious!
So, our Viennese adventure had begun. We made preparations for our next day’s plans and got to bed.
Monday: We experienced Vienna’s amazing public transpo system quickly—having already taken the train from airport to our apartment...now, we bought tix for the tram system. Basically like a train/subway but above ground. Go everywhere!! And tix just cost for Clark and me—3 day tix that’s good for tram, train, subway, and bus anywhere in city/area, less than $40. Kids ride free! Boy, do we in the U.S. need to learn!
We went to the city center, had a lovely breakfast—apricot juice is quite good—then went to the Hapsburg Winter Palace. Heldenplatz area...the Hofburg Palace it is—where they lived...Sisi married Franz Joseph, I think I’ve got that right, and it’s a sad tale for her really. She was lonely and reclusive, in her Royal, obligatory life. But she wanted for nothing. Holy cow, the silver collection! And plates and gold candelabra ...oh my! Following that, we walked through all the beauty and splendor of the area outside, through the pedestrian walking streets—posh shopping here—and down by the river to take the Yellow Tram Ringstrasse Tour. This tram is a 25 minute tram tour around the city, to orient you to Vienna and all its sites...it follows the famous street that goes around city center, I.e.—Ringstrasse. It was great! Clark had found this tour option, and we were so glad he did. Then, we headed home for lunch there (stop at grocery, too), and hanging out before the later afternoon/evening plans.
Our Monday continued with getting ready for more...we headed again to city center—Josiah commented at some point that Vienna is built like a “target”—bullseye center with things in circles moving out, our, further out, etc from it. If you see a map, he’s kind of right. So, we found our way to the Haus der Musick. That is, House of Music—a museum dedicated to music. And it was fabulous! It covered the history of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Opera, then the way we hear sound and music, the technology and science of it, anatomy even, then the music giants of Vienna—Strauss, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, Haydn...WOW! It was interactive and informative and fun and educational and inspiring. So cool! Definitely a highlight. After, we went for dinner, including dessert—a leisurely meal—then walked to the Musickverein, the site where composers directed, including Mozart!, and we saw the Mozart Orchestra. Fantastic concert to a full house. In period costume, they played and included opera numbers, too. From “Don Giovanni” and “The Magic Flute.” It was sensational. What a day!
Vienna began well indeed.
Tuesday:
We went to the city outskirts to the Hapsburg’s Summer residence—goodness! Schönbrunn Palace rivals Versailles. No lie!! The gardens and it’s Gloriette...and that’s just the outside. My word. It was resplendent. Truly! Took a couple trams to get there and again to get back, but this time we went into the city for lunch. Headed home after for a bit, and then, we took our adventure in a “locals” direction...we took the train out to a neighborhood on out, by the Danube, then a short bus ride, to go swimming! We found a little river-side park...pay to enter but fairly inexpensive, so we did, and found our shady spot to hang out and go swimming “an der Alten Donau.” On the Old Danube. They had floating docks/piers you could walk out on and jump off, swim to, etc. It was refreshing and relaxing. We were clearly among locals more than tourists, folks out to enjoy the afternoon and get cool on a relatively hot day. It was great fun! After a couple hours, we went home and declared day two a great time, as well.
Wednesday:
We chose another palace this morning, but this one—The Belvedere—was that of the Prince of Savoy of the 17th-18th c., and it’s been converted into a museum. Where the largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work is displayed. Arguably Austria’s most significant painter, Klimt’s work is beautiful, especially in this setting. And there was so much more, too. Rodin’s “Eve” is here. A painter, Helene Funke, whose work I loved. Some more Monet, Renoir...it was terrific. Gorgeous place for it, art in itself, too, really. Following that, we went to city center to the Museumquartier, where we discovered the museum passageways that India read about; art installations that change, that are located in the vaulted, passageways—tunnel-like—between buildings in this complex. Funky, bright, fun, innovative...very cool! They were neat to see. Then, we headed to the historic Cafe Central—origins 1876—Trotsky and Freud had coffee here. It was an experience!! I had real Viennese coffee. Yum! And the food was grand. So proud of the kids —Josiah had a meal of roasted veal liver with an apple, bacon sauce, crispy fried onions, and potatoes that he absolutely loved. And then dessert. OMDL!
So—you’d think this was enough, but no, on we went to the Natural History Museum. Eli really wanted to go here, and we are all so happy we did! We’ve seen some mineral/gem collections before (think Smithsonian) but OMDL—nothing like this. Seriously!! It was unreal. And their exhibits of animals, bugs (yuck!), dinosaurs...it was fabulous. They have a statue of a woman that’s 32,000 years old!! So amazing this place.
And so, after all that, as we made our way to the tram to get home, we stopped at the famed Bösendorfer brand piano store. Those are some pretty pianos! Once home, we all agreed that Vienna had been simply wonderful...so many fabulous sites and things to experience! It’s a glorious city!!
I will post pics on FB to share our delight ~
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