Guten Tag, Wien!

  Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Thursday, July 16, 2009

Hello, Vienna!

My, how happy we were to finally get to Vienna! Some would call it a "trip from hell."  That's what I called it too.

We took a train from Český Krumlov to České Budějovice switched in Linz and then to Vienna, or Wien, as it's called in Austria.  The train from České Budějovice to Linz was an absolute nightmare.  The train was packed to the gills and we ended up having to stand for 2 hours shoulder to shoulder (and closer at times) within a 2’ wide passage way with about 500 other people going the same way.  Yuck… Not to mention it was about 800 degrees.  We put on our headphones and tried to find a happy place in our minds, but it was pretty difficult.  Being that close to sweaty smelly strangers in a hot train for that amount of time was not fun.  The train from Linz to Vienna was a beast as well. Although not as crowded, the windows didn’t open so we spent another two stifling hours in a train car with no fresh air on a hot sunny day.   I’m not exaggerating when I say the only breeze came when someone walked by and disturbed the hot still air and we actually welcomed the breeze.  Ugh.  We were not happy campers….  But you win some and lose some and we were headed to VIENNA!  We couldn’t stay annoyed for too long, even with our sweaty brows and sticky arm pits!

Once we got there all was forgotten about the nightmare train ride and we settled in to our usual exploring routine.  Vienna has a distinctly "new" cosmopolitan feel.  The architecture is much more recent, mostly 18th-20th century with a heavy influence from the Art Nouveau period. It sounds a bit silly to say that the architecture looks “new” but it does, particularly compared to some other European cities.  It’s a meticulously clean and well organized city.  The streets are wide and the old regal palaces sprawl on acres of landscaped land.  There is a feeling of more “space” here than in other European cities. 

For some reason Vienna is not a city I typically think of as having such an effect on world history, but it certainly did.  The Hapsburgs, seated in Vienna, ruled for over 700 years.  The Austro-Hungarian empire stretched across many borders of modern eastern Europe.  WWI started there with the catalyst assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which also ultimately led to the end of Hapsburg rule in 1918 with the end of the war. It is a city with deep  roots in cultural amenities such as art and music and was historically a home for some of the world’s greatest intellectuals, such as Sigmund Freud and Leon Trotsky.  Mozart composed some his finest work in Vienna towards the end of his life.  He composed his Requiem there in 1791, the final year of his life.  We thought it was our duty to see a concert of his Requiem while we were there and did so at the magnificent St. Charles Church.

We spent many little sight-seeing breaks in the cafés of Vienna. The classic Viennese coffee house is an important part of the culture there and numerous cafes dot the city, each with its own history and a who’s who record of politicians, scientists, authors, and the like that used to frequent the cafés “back in the day.”  Each café we tried was as delightful as the last and all of them had an old-world Art Nouveau feel to them, as they were built and decorated in that era.  It was like stepping into a time warp.  Locals sat reading papers, enjoying their beverage of choice, and snacking on the fresh delectable selection of local pastries each had to offer.  What is really superb is that this café culture is not just a tourist phenomenon.  The Viennese locals really were there enjoying the atmosphere just as much as we were.  A rainy day in Vienna ended up being one of our favorite days there, and we didn’t even see any of the major sites.  We “café hopped,” (more like “café ran” as we didn’t have an umbrella!) from one place to the next trying little nibbles of goodies here and there.  The coffee was fantastic and the pastries… oh, the pastries!   Our last stop on that rainy day was at a lovely place called Café Bräunerhof.  We had the privilege of listening to a small ensemble play classical music while we sipped a glass of wine, wrote postcards, and planned our next destination.  How lovely!  We have a video posted, so check it out!

Talk of classic Viennese style cafes would not be complete without mention of the famous Sacher torte from the historic Sacher Hotel.  There is only one Sacher torte, my friends, so do not be fooled by imposters!  We took a seat in the cozy quaint hotel café, decorated again in the typical classic style of a traditional café, and awaited the pleasure. It was heavenly and not for the faint hearted.  One bite and it was easy to understand why the dessert has such a reputation.  It was decadent, rich, and all things chocolate.  That was a not a dessert I will soon forget.  Sacher torte + Viennese coffee = Yum. 

Another highlight was taking a tour of the Vienna State Opera House.  It was the target of stray American bombs in WWII and unfortunately the auditorium and stage suffered quite a bit of damage.  However, immediately after the war it was reconstructed, although with a bit of 1950s flair that was obviously not part of the original design. The foyer and staircases were largely intact and restored to their original splendor.  It really is a beautiful building and it’s easy to image the aristocrats of the day meeting and greeting each other as they walked up the grand staircases to their box seats.  The tour took us backstage and it was incredible to see all the layers of complexity.  I can’t imagine what goes in to organizing a production of that scale.  Unfortunately there were no active shows at that time, as it was the summer holiday and the stage was undergoing repairs.  Had we come at a different time of year, we would have seen props and settings and all sorts of activity. 

I feel like we saw a great cross-section of Vienna and I’m looking forward to eventually exploring more of Austria. We had a blast and were pretty exhausted by the end of the trip.  But, all good things must come to an end and back to Bristol we went...

-molly