Vienna, Austria. Wednesday/Wednesday 03/09-July-2024.
Table of Contents:
Wednesday 03: From Florence to Vienna is a long trip so we decided to go with the NightJet sleeper. It costs about the same as a night in a hotel but, for me, a novel experience. OK, I have done the Orient Express and Rovos Rail but they don't really count as they re the luxury version, this is more typical.
The first part of the trip was a normal train from Florence to Venice Santa Lucia where we had time for a quick shared pizza at Rossopomodoro before we boarded the train. I got the top bunk as the more agile of the two of us. There were straps and a net for the nervous or restless sleeper but I grew up with bunk beds as a child so they held no terrors for me.
In anticipation of a poor nights sleep we packed a couple of small bottles of wine to act as a soporific. The stewardess then surprised us with a couple of small bottles of sparkling wine so snoring was assured.
We pre-ordered our breakfast the night before and were woken up by the stewardess in plenty of time to come to and eat it.
We headed to the apartment to dump our bags and have a belated shower. Then spent the morning exploring, just wandering around the city centre.
The apartment was a little out of the centre, more like residential suburbs, and unfortunately the nearest train station was closed for major engineering works. That meant we had a longer walk to the nearest bus stop to get into the city. Neither Google maps nor CityMapper knew about the closure and kept trying to send us on impossible journeys. After a couple of days we sussed out the bus alternatives and things went more smoothly.
That evening we walked 20 minutes to the nearby The Bell Pub for a very Austrian supper of ćevapčići (small minced meat kebabs) and potato salad. A new dish to us but very tasty and apparently traditional in the countries of southeast Europe (the Balkans) and also considered a national dish of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
Thursday 04: Next day we headed to Karlsplatz for the fascinating Wein Museum as recommended by our hosts. It gave us a brilliant introduction to the pre-history, history and culture of Vienna. Afterwards we had lunch in the lovely art deco cafe opposite the Otto Wagner wing of the museum.
We were also fortunate to be in Vienna during the time of the open-air Kulter-sommer Festival and to see two excellent bands both of whom performed in the park in the next street to our apartment.
Joe Traxler (Thursday):
Friday 05: Second day was a trip to the Albertina art museum to see the Roy Liechtenstein exhibition that I had missed in the UK. My Dad took me took see a Liechtenstein exhibition at the Tate in 1968 which was just brilliant. I love his stuff. He lived until 1997 so there was nearly three decades worth of new stuff to see. It was fascinating to see where his themes and inspirations took him subsequently. One item I loved was a scrapbook of comic book images that show exactly where he got his inspiration.
An unexpected bonus was the extraordinary Batliner collection with never-before-seen (by us) paintings by Picasso, Monet, etc, etc. "The Batliner Collection forms the core of the museum’s permanent exhibit with around 500 works that span an arc covering the most fascinating chapters from 130 years of art history, from French impressionism to the present"
After the museum visit we walked round the Schloss Belvedere botanical and formal gardens. It is massive and it was easy to spend a couple of hours there.
By then we were ready for lunch at Cafe Morris to fortify ourselves for some shopping. Then back to the apartment for a siesta and the second local concert, this time CrossNova. The instruments were all classical but the music was more like indie-folk, very playful. Very pleasant to spend an hour sitting in deckchairs in a sunny park with a bottle of beer being entertained.
CrossNova (Friday):
We ate in that night because five weeks of restaurant dining for lunch and dinner would be too much - we try and alternate.
Saturday 06: As always on a Saturday we did a a parkrun. Donaupark is a three lap, flat course around a lovely park. Heading to the start Mary saw a hare!
Mary volunteered as a parkwalker and got to wear the blue tabard.
Back home for the essential shower and lunch.
We had spotted an advert for a concert in St Stephen's Cathedral: Bruckner's Mass in D Minor so treated ourselves to a couple of good seats. We went back into the city centre for an pre-concert supper at Kuckuck, in a building is over 400 years old, and then off to the cathedral.
The choir was composed of groups from several different countries who came together especially for this concert [About the event]:
"Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner's birth by listening to his Mass in D minor and Locus Iste in Vienna's iconic St. Stephen's Cathedral. Bruckner's 1st Mass is considered a monumental work that solidified his place as a groundbreaking composer. The performance of this composition was a resounding success with critics and audiences alike, propelling Bruckner to new heights in the world of symphonic music.
Led by Gerald Wirth, President and Artistic Director of the Vienna Boys' Choir, the masterpiece will be meticulously rehearsed in workshops by choir singers from around the globe as part of the Sing Mit! choir festival. The grand finale features performances by acclaimed soloists and the Vienna Cathedral Orchestra, promising an unforgettable musical experience in St. Stephen's Cathedral."
We took to frequenting our local Balkan cafe bar Juzni Vetar where I had my first ever taste of Croatian wine, it was fine. It became our go-to place for a nightcap. After the concert we stopped there where the local lads were watching football, Turkey v. Netherlands for their chance to stay in the competition, creating a great atmosphere.
Monday 08: Morning we did a guided walking tour given by a local. She was Viennese born and bred and still a local resident. We saw a number of magnificent buildings interspersed with tales of Viennese life.
Lunch was in Kaffee Alt Wein then more wandering around including St Stephen's Cathedral from the outside.
Tuesday 09: Mary's knee started playing up, possibly a delayed reaction from her tumble at last week's parkrun. Contacting a physio they said you have to be referred by a doctor so on his recommendation we went to a nearby urgent treatment centre. We got there early, no queues. Within the hour Mary had been seen, had three x-rays and then seen a second time to confirm nothing broken and advised rest and a support bandage. Impressive service.
In the afternoon Mary went for swim in the Danube and had a lovely dragonfly to keep her company as she dried off in the sun.
We had supper at Schweizerhaus which offered a decent range of beers on draft and good, wholesome traditional fare.
The service was quick and well organised. Given that place was huge we were most impressed at how slickly run it all was. Schniztel and ćevapčići - excellent!
Next stop: Konstanz on the German-Swiss border.
Love this! A great read. More please. Hope Mary's knee is much improved👍
ReplyDeleteMark , this is impressive. Your descriptive powers are wonderful. We can visualise you both in all these places. The food, beer, wine, music, art and most of all adventure oh and the park runs. See you soon in Puglia. xx
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