Music was the reason we chose Vienna for our winter 2004 vacation.  There were many live performances offered and lots of music history, but other than that my image of Vienna was of faded elegance and bygone empires.  It turned out that Vienna was a wonderful, compact city to explore, not only full of history, but also present-day promise.
 

Mitch found a good winter fare of $500 each, non-stop on Austrian Air from JFK to Vienna.  Packed like sardines on a full flight we spent the night of Nov. 10 in an over-heated airplane.  The heat made it hard to sleep, but otherwise, the flight was fine.  Customs and baggage claim were easy, and we took the airport bus the short trip to Schwedenplatz, and then the U-bahn (1) to Karlsplatz with the goal of walking to Hotel Drei Kronen, a short distance on the map.  But the map didn’t show the vast underground  station with at least 6 exits and the confusing construction in Karlsplatz above.  Finally with the help of several well meaning, but not terribly accurate Austrians, we found our way past the Secession Building and across the Naschmarket to our hotel and were able to check in about 11 am and take a nap.

Arrival & the airport bus

Hotel Drei Kronen Schleifmuhlgasse 25, 1040 Vienna Austria  +43 (1) 587 32 89ll The hotel staff was friendly and all spoke English well.  The room was very clean, with 12 foot ceilings and eiderdowns (but not down), and decorated with crookedly-hung Gustav Klimt prints.  The decor is more spartan than American hotels, but quite satisfactory.

Our Room

When we woke we crossed the street and browsed the Naschmarket, Vienna’s largest outdoor market.  We quickly found the local ubiquitous sandwich chain Anker and enjoyed coffee and sandwiches and pastry – even the sandwich chain offers pastry. 
 

Naschmarket

Next was the #2 tram tour of the Ringstrasse a la Rick Steves which gave us an easy orientation to the city, or at least Franz Joseph’s reconstruction of it in the late 19th century.  Inspired by Napolean and Paris, Franz Joseph tore down the medieval walls and built grandiose buildings as evidence of the Hapsburg’s power and eminence.  As a result the architectural styles are all neo – neo-gothic, neo-Renaissance, neo-Classical, and all on a very grand scale. 
 

Stephansdom Cathedral

After we circled the old city, we walked north, past the Staatsoper, on the pedestrian Kartnerstrasse to Stephansdom, the gothic cathedral and symbol of Vienna.  The day was gray, but not cold, and Kartnerstrasse offered lots of shops and good people watching and buskers in Stephansdom Plaza.  Inside the cathedral the vaulted interior is dark, but beautiful with wonderful stone carvings.   The roof is covered with almost a quarter of a million glazed tiles, meticulously restored after WWII.  Part of the tiles form the Hapsburg crest.  We resolved to come back and climb one of the towers, but never did.

Stephansplatz & busker

After a little more exploring, we bought a phone card, called Fillmore, and then had our first Viennese coffee at the Sky Bar on the top floor of the Steffl department store.  On the way back we found a good neighborhood restaurant, Smutnys, for dinner, and I had my first Viennese schnitzel (pork), and we both had large beers.  Then back to the hotel to ice our feet and sleep, sleep, sleep.

Friday, Nov. 11, 2004
An incredibly full day  - The weather report told us this will be our clearest day so we were off to the country some thirty minutes away, just on the outskirts of the city.  After a fine breakfast of bread, cheese, cold cuts, cereal, yogurt, eggs at the hotel, we took the U4 to the northern end of the line, and then caught a bus, which was supposed to take us to the summit of Kahlenburg for a view of Vienna, the Danube and the Vienna woods below.  Then we were supposed to walk down through the vineyards.  For some reason, however, the bus stopped before the summit, so it took some walking and map-study before we figured out where we were and where we wanted to go. 
 

Finding our way

Hueriger set in the vineyards

Penny & Beethoven

Finally we were on the Kahlenburgstrasse, admiring vineyards and hueringers on our way to the village of Nussdorf, an area rich in Beethoven connections as he spent several summers here.  The weather obliged although it didn’t clear enough for a view of the Alps or even much of the city.  Still it was very pleasant and bucolic.  From Nussdorf we caught the tram past the University and a fascinating Hundertwasser-designed incinerator that generates power from waste for some 40,000 homes. 
 

U-bahn with dog & scooter

The trams and u-bahns are wonderfully efficient, frequent, and spotlessly clean, and all on the honor system.  We had our Vienna cards that covered transportation and discounts to some museums.  Mitch, as a travel writer, got them gratis from the Austrian tourist board.  Only once were our tickets checked.

Hundertwasser Incinerator

Back in the Vienna we were still eager to take advantage of the weather, so we U-bahned to the Prater and the Volksprater funfair and rode the giant Reisenrad.  This was surprisingly enjoyable, and we happily took photos during the 20 minutes it took for a full rotation.  At the entrance to the Reisenrad there was a charming exhibit of dioramas of Vienna at different times, one showing the medieval construction of the cathedral, another a battle against the Turks.

Volkspark

It was then about 3 pm and beginning to get dark as we went to the neo-gothic Rathaus to explore the Christmas market.  It was still being set up so we resolved to return later.  After a brief rest at the hotel, we discovered an excellent (albeit smoky) restaurant just across the street – Amacord.  It appeared to be a very in place and offered an eclectic and innovative menu.  I had steak in green chile sauce, and Mitch sampled the classic and ever-present goulash.
 
 

Then off to walk to the Konzerthaus  http://www.konzerthaus.at/ for our concert.  That was quite a task as I didn’t take into account that the Ringstrasse curves. With construction and streets changing names and everything on a grandiose scale, it’s easy to loose a building.  But, with the help of a native, we got there without a minute to spare, and found ourselves seated right up in front, just by the stage.  The interior of the hall was lovely and Katja and Marietta LaBeque gave a wonderful performance with many deeply-appreciated encores.  I purchased a program, forgetting it would all be in German.

Konzerthaus

Saturday, November 12 cold with light rain
 

Flea Market with Majolikahaus in background

The day began at the Naschmarket, a quick trip to see its busiest day and the Saturday flea market – lots of junk on tables, old clothes, furs, antiques of dubious quality, as well as colorful produce (lots of vegetables in the markets, but we didn’t find them in the restaurants), Turkish spices, sauerkraut and cheese stands, and the ubiquitous donner carts.

Bread stand in the Naschmarket

We rushed because the Lipizzaner training session in the Hofburg Palace began at 10 am.  We were VIPs there with Mitch’s press status and got special seats just below the Emperor’s box.  About 30 horses trained in two sessions.  These were the young ones as the stars were on tour.  Horses and trainers are paired from the beginning and seem quite attached to one another.

The Museum Quartier is nearby across the Hofburg grounds.  The Baroque building that was once home to the emperors’ horses is today one of the world’s largest museum complexes, featuring a Museum of Modern Art and other museums.  I wanted to see the Leopold Museum (an elegant white limestone cube) of recent Austrian art and the Egon Schiele landscapes (blocky, darkish palette but more pleasing than the figurative work he is known for – I didn’t realize he died at 30 in the 1918 influenza epidemic).  Then Mitch wanted to see the Zoom children’s museum with lots of kids happily participating in hands-on activities.  Lunch was a little difficult as it was raining and the complexes many restaurants were full, but we finally found one with seating and had wurst with couscous & red peppers and cheese strudel.

Leopold Museum in Museum Quartier

Then back for the 3 pm tour of the Lipizzaner stables.  Most of those touring were real horse lovers and were delighted to see them up close.  The animals are absolutely beautiful.  We had dinner at the Café Museum, on Karlsplatz.  It is newly renovated and very Viennese.  I had a salad with beef schnitzel.  http://www.cafe-museum.at/

The evening’s activity was a concert at the Musikverein for the Philharmonishes Gyor.  I had planned our route in advance, so we had no adventures that night, except our seats which were actually on the stage, and we walked through a rehearsal space to get to them.  The program was Khatchaturians Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Brahm’s Symphony #4, and we felt we were playing along with the orchestra.  It was a wonderfully romantic program, and just right for the rococo Musikverein.

Sunday, November 13, 2004
 

Michaelergate to Hofburg complex

We literally dragged ourselves out of bed for the Vienna boys’ choir, or rather for Catholic mass at the Hofkapel in the Hofburg complex.  It’s a small chapel with tourists on all sides, but I had a sliver of a view, and most of the audience could see on closed circuit TVs.  The boys’ voices are beautiful and I enjoyed the ritual, but I think Mitch could have skipped it.

Building detail on palace

Our Vienna Cards were good for only three days so we purchased another 72 hour transit pass.  This was a feat as the machine spoke only German and wouldn’t accept some bills.  Then we walked up Herrenstrasse, had coffee and Mohntorte at the elegant Café Central.
 

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Cafe Central and Cakes

and explored this older section of Vienna, including Judplatz with the controversial block-like holocaust memorial and Am Hof (site of the original court) with its market.  Here I finally bought a wurst from a wurst stand.

Am Hof Market

Holocaust Memorial - Judenplatz

Old Vienna

Wurst stand at Am Hof

Haus der Musik, a hands-on music museum, was next.  It appeared fun for kids but I wasn’t too impressed with the classical section, but perhaps I was tired.  We had  dinner in a restaurant near the hotel, Graffin von Naschmarket.  Their special dinner menu gave us sticker shock, but we found the pages listing the Viennese offerings – chicken schnitzel this time, and left just slightly poorer after dinner, wine and coffee.

Haus der Musik  Conducting the Vienna Philharmonic

We began intending a museum day with the Belvedere and the Kunsthistorisches but found they were closed Mondays.  So we took the U4 west some 10 minutes to Schonbrunn Palace for a day with the Hapsburgs.  Schonbrunn (beautiful spring) was completed by Maria Teresa in the mid 18th century as a summer palace.  It is immense with extensive gardens, a maze, puppet theatre, and even a zoo.  There is a wonderful view of Vienna from the upper end of the gardens at the Tiergarten.  We got free passes (Mitch is doing well as press) for the extensive tour of the palace with an audio guide that narrated our travels through the rococo rooms – the highlights were the Millionen Zimmer paneled with wood inlaid with Persian miniatures and the immense Great Gallery.  There was lots of construction and restoration underway, and that was as interesting as the tour itself.
 

Schonbrunn Tiergarten

Schonbrunn & Vienna

Vienna from the Tiergarten

 

Schonbrunn Aladdin marionette

We had a light lunch at one of the restaurants of soup and cake for desert (wildhimmeltorte for me and applestrudel with vanilla sauce for Mitch).  Our last stop was the marionette theater where we saw some lovely marionettes, but couldn’t make reservations for the performance that evening as we already had tickets for the Kursalon. After a stop at the grocery store (there seems to be a small chain grocery in every block), we napped and had a dinner of sandwiches courtesy of the breadfast buffet as both of our stomachs are a bit travel-weary.  Mitch had arranged a “Sound of Vienna” concert at the Kursalon in the Staadtpark though  Austria Tourism.  It was a variety show of Strauss waltzes, Moart opera arias, and a little ballet.  The audience were all tourists, most of them Japanese and camera flashes never stopped though out the performance.  It was delightful to watch the Japanese enthusiasm.

Kursalon concert "Sound of Vienna"

Karlskirche with Henry Moore Sculpture in foreground

Tuesday, November 15, cold, dim and windy Vienna lived up to its reputation for cold weather today.  Wearing our full regalia of hats, gloves, sweaters and coats we walked to Karlsplatz for a view of Karlskirche, a dramatic, but hodge-podge “thanks for saving us from the plague” church.  We didn’t pay to enter and tour the church, but took lots of photos in the square.  We had been walking about Karlsplatz for days and didn’t actually find the square until our last day.  Another Christmas market was under construction.

We had seen a closed store in the Freyung Passage (Katz and Katzen?) which sold all sorts of cat sculptures, and we wanted something for Nardi and Mary, so we U-bahned back to find it still closed, so we continued on to the Kunsthistorisches Museum and saw a very nice array of Bruegels, Vermeers, and Rubens.  The architecture, though flamboyant, is grandiose and beautiful.  We had lunch in the rotunda.  It was a perfect lunch spot, and we had a great sacertorte with whipped cream, of course.

Lunch at the Kunsthistorisches

Kunsthistorisches

Vermeer in Kunsthistorisches

Even though it was so cold and dreary and we were getting tired, I wanted to see the Upper Belvedere, so we took the tram and looked briefly at the building (another palace, of course) and then returned to duck into the Staatsoper for a look at the famous opera house.  Next time we’ll tour or buy performance tickets, but for now the best tour is on their website.  http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/  The virtual panorama tour will give you a taste of Vienna’s architecture.  The city would be a paradise for an architecture student. Then, as this was our last day, we stopped at the Secession Building with its gold cabbage dome to see Klimt’s Beethoven frieze.  The Secessionist, at the turn of the 20th century rebelled at the ornate architecture.  Thus this building is large, white, and simply cubic.  The frieze was disappointing, perhaps because I had seen it so many times, and there were no other exhibitions open.  http://www.secession.at/

As we had resolved to return to the Rathaus Christmas market, we did and took more photos and I had a cup of mulled wine. 

After a rest we had dinner at Café Sperl, one of the well-know cafes.  This one has the traditional L shape and a billiards table, and really looks like it hasn’t been redecorated since the turn of the last century.  I had the famous Vienesse tapelspitz (which I enjoyed, but is really just boiled beef).  Unfortunately, the dessert selections were slim, so we passed.  Later I read they are know for the plum cake which was available.  Oh well, next time…

Wednesday, Nov. 16, return to US

We caught the U4 at Kettenbruckengasse and took it three stops to Landstrasse (Wien Mitte) and caught the Airport City Train (CAT) to the airport.  This was the way to go – simple and efficient and quick.  There was time at the airport to investigate the duty free shops, but all seemed very expensive.  We Americans are spoiled with cheap shopping at home.  We got seats closer to the front of the airplane, and the flight home was fine, although longer as the flight is against the winds (9 hrs).  We picked up the car in the Avistar lot at JFK and even the traffic on the way home was not bad. This was a very successful trip, pleasant and rewarding.  It is such fun to explore and learn a new city and Vienna with its history, excellent transportation and small size lends itself to enjoyment.  But we resolve that our next winter trip will be in October, rather than November.