Day 5 Vienna

Last night we dined at Wortner, a local Austrian restaurant which did not have an English translation to its menu so we took pot luck - a very palatable plate of perch, ratatouille and boiled potatoes and a wiener snitznel with mashed potatoes hit the spot. We had arrived there on two trams with a seemless conection. Vienna’s population is only about a third greater than Dublin’s both in the city and the greater metropolitan area but what a transport system it has! We crossed and recrossed the city effortlessly. 

Today, we visited Vienna’s top attraction - the Schonbrunn. 

We decided to take The Grand Tour in English.(€22pp) - duration 1 hour. Our guide was excellent and gave us a great history of the Hapsburgs, who ruled most of Europe from 13th to early 20th century and Schonbrunn was the summer palace of the Austro- Hungarian branch. 

The building was spectacular. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take photos. One of the Hapsburgs,    Marie Therese (women were entitled to succeed) had 19 children of which 11 survived - even among the aristocracy, infant mortality was very high. We saw a most impressively ornate bed where she met her courtiers after the birth of each child. It resembled a horizontal throne and took 20 years to create. By contrast Franz Josef was a frugal man, whose quarters were simply furnished and he refused to have water piped to his bedroom but instead had a wash basin and chamber pot! 

Marie Therese married all her daughters for political reasons to the crown princes of Europe and the infamous Marie Antonette married King Louis VI. Napoleon was also married to a Hapsburg and after Napoleon’s  defeat, his only son child was sent from France to his grandfather in Austria and Napoleon never saw him again.  

Mozart was a rising child prodegy in the rule of Marie Therese. Hearing of his talent, she invited him to perform for her. So excited was the 7 year old Mozart, that after the concert, he ran to the Empress, jumped on her lap and kissed her profusely. All held their breath but Marie Therese laughed and there were no consequences. A commoner did not touch a Royal! 

The palace was not unlike Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors. It had Blue and Black Chinese room and one made from walnut imported from Canada! During WW1, this room was disassembled and hidden in a salt mine to be reconstructed after the war. 

The Empress Marie Therese had access from her bedroom to the rear garden - what a garden. 

After WWI, being on the losing side, the Habsburg had to leave Austria and take refuge in Switzerland. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was no more. 

It was time to head for the airport - again connected by rail to the city, and home. As we boarded, the rain commenced. We had wonderful weather 25-30 degrees - the only rain we experienced was in the mountains on Sunday afternoon - sunshine only in Vienna.  A most enjoyable trip! 

Vienna Day 4

We awoke and set out for Stephenplatz to take breakfast at Hawelka off the Graben.

This was a meeting placeof the literati of Vienna. It was opened by and Josefine Hawelka in 1939, 

closed dying the war, reopened in 1945 and at the end of the occupation in 1955, it became the meeting place of the literati including Fuchs, April and Bayer. Josefine died in 2005, having run the cafe for 66 years!! 

Unfortunately , breakfast was over ( we’ll it’s 10..50). It will have to be apple strudel. 

The loud Americans, looking for iced coffee and making smart juvenile jokes did not impress our waiter. He had to repeat a number of times that service was not included -  Americans are not aware of tipping????? 

Our next visit was to the St Stephen’s Cathredal, , towering in its magnificence over the platz. 

The place was awash with tourists. What is it like in July and August? We were continually accosted by numerous people selling tours of all descriptions, which we declined. 

The Cathedral was built in the 14th century on the site of two earlier churches. It is the seat of the RC Archbishop of Vienna. It is built in a Romanesque and Gothic style but the grey stone adds an austere ambience. It can be seen from  many points in Vienna.

It has a belfry which one can climb if one is interested. 

This stage of the tour called for some retail therapy. A visit to a number of shops on the impressive Graben damaged the bank balance! 

It was time for lunch. We again sought out Demel Cafe, first opened in 1786 at another location but moved to its present location in 1856. It was frequented by royalty such as Franz Josef, who wrote love letters about its treats to his beloved Elizabeth, whose favourite dessert was violet sorbet. It was also favored by the bourgeoisie.  It is in essence a shop with a selection of cakes and sweets but there are a few tables outside which serve a restricted lunch menus together with beer and wine.  

As we arrived, we realised that we were close by yesterday, the old city is quite small 

Off again and this time to the Museum Quarter - all the major museums here in one area. I had hoped to visit the Mosman but today the viewing was restricted to two artists unfamiliar to me - I declined the invitation to visit The Museum specialises in 20 and 21st century art and I had hoped to see their Picasso and Andy Warhol collection but alas!! 

The body was tiring so we made our way back to the hotel for a rest before dinner - lication not yet decided. Isn’t the Internet wonderful? 

More anon.....

 

Vienna Day 3

We’re off to the mountains - a welcome break from the intensive sightseeing yesterday. 

The trip would normally take 59 minutes but as we are going by steam train and have to ‘ be looped ’ to allow normal traffic to pass; it will take some hours!!

As we left Bahnhof  Meidling  station  (Vienna), two men stood on the platform. I had a smile from one - they sat  beside us at breakfast in the station and CC had said they were definitely grisers and yes they had come here to watch the train depart, but they did not board!!

All along the route the grisers (train spotters to the uninitiated!!)  took photographs of the train as it passed. I have never seen so many trainspotters - they were present at every station and on the embankments along the way. One photographed the train arriving at his station and then quickly  bicycled down the platform to film it departing!! 

Even the woman grisers were out - a rare sight!!

As we left Vienna, the land was very flat and fertile 

and intensively farmed but as we proceeded towards the mountains the land turned to scrub and forest prevailed. 

Soon we approached the mountains with traditional villages nestled in the valleys below

Three and a half hours later, we arrived in Murzzuschlag, c. 99 km from Vienna (Steam travel was always slow!) to be greeted by a brass band. 

This  was a nostalgia fest for grisers here in Murzzuschlag. 

The trains and grisers came from all over Eastern Europe and from England also. 

The town was packed with train anoraks. 

We visited the museum, a UNESCO world heritage site, which illustrated the history of railways. A huge project is being undertaken in the area, to build a massive tunnel that will not be completed until 2026!! 

At 15.00 there was a clap of thunder and the rain poured down. We adjourned to a railway carriage 

coffee shop for coffee and sachertorte! 

At 1600 hrs, with the rain spilling down, we decided to return to our train, even though it wasn’t due to depart until 1640hrs Imagine our surprise when the train departed at  1615hrs!!! We do not speak German which is a great disadvantage here. People speak English but signage in most instances is in German alone. 

We arrived back in Bahnhof  Meidling  Vienna at  1915, earlier than expected. A long day but quite an enjoyable trip into the Viennese Alps. 

Vienna Day 2

After a much needed night’s sleep, we awoke and adjourned to the Cafe Central for breakfast.   

We partook of a traditional Viennese breakfast of a boiled egg, a roll and a very large croissant together with a traditional Viennese coffee - black coffee with frothy milk. 

After breakfast, we took a stroll to the Imperial Palace. 

We entered the National Library. It is a beautiful room 

 

There were a number of interesting ancient books.