Vienna

So, the first stop on my trek around Austria and Germany was Vienna. Quite possibly one of my favorite cities that i've ever seen. It was filled with tasteful and simple buildings, but never lacking in elegance. Unlike France and places like Versaille, the Hapsburgs seemed to rather hold true to the idea that a simple, tasteful style of architecture was better than a gaudy, ornate style. None of the buildings screamed extreme wealth, but it was clear which buildings were built by the monarchy and which were not. There was a great deal of Roman-styled architecture, and the Baroque style was clearly prefered.

On the first day, we got off the plane (which reminds me to talk about Swiss Airlines. Incredible. Extremely efficent, well mannered, clean flights, quick, everything was exceptional) and made our way to the hostel. There is a bus that connects the airport to the two main trainstations in Vienna for a fairly cheap price (12 euro). Upon arriving at the hostel, we put our bags down and decided to explore the old city a bit. We got on the metro (which is expensive compared with Athens, 1.70 euros for a trip compared to .80 in Athens) and got to St. Stephen's Cathedral. This cathedral, while lacking the immensity of St. Peters and St. Pauls, it is nevertheless extraordinary. The main spire is 445 ft tall, dwarfing all the others. We were only able to get to the top of the northern tower, but still managed to get an impressive view of the city. The catherdal itself was gorgeous, built in the 12th century CE in the Gothic style. There were several small altars which were relatively ornate. My favorite part was the pulpit, which was carved with the reliefs of several saints. I was impressed with the detailing on each.

After leaving St. Stephen's, we walked around the main street, Kaerntner Strasse, and saw a large number of American/chain stores, which was refreshing after traveling around in Athens where there are virtually none of these. We also made our way into St. Peter's Church, which was incredible. The style was clearly baroque, with ornate gold stucco and designs on the ceiling. The organ even was insanely decorated, black with gold leafing. I could have spent hours in here, for while it's a small church, it really is beautiful. Following some more meandering, where we found the Opera house and the Hoffburg (more later), we went to a Viennese wine tavern, where we had wine and Burenwurst, which was very good. We soon fell asleep back in our hostel as we had been going for over 18 hours.

The next morning, we got up and went to the Spanish Riding School. This was truly impressive. While the tickets were expensive, even for standing room, the building was very gorgeous and the horses were truly worth the price. The ability of these horses was remarkable. How they manage to rear up on their two legs and keep their rider on is beyond me. They also do a wide variety of other moves, such as jumping and clicking their rear feet together. The discipline of both the horse and rider was clear, and totally worth the trip (I may have a slightly biased view because of Emily, but they were still impressive).

Afterwards, we went to a Viennese coffee house where i had goulash, which was REALLY good. After our feet recovered, we went on to the Hoffburg apartments, which was pretty, but not spectacular. The apartments house the Imperial china, the Sisi Museum, and then the actual apartments. I liked the simplicity of many of the plates and dishes used, but there were clearly some table settings and dishes which were designed to show off the wealth of the Hapsburgs. Many of the dishes were for everyday use, and unlike with other monarchies (*cough*French*coughcough*) they weren't ridiculous. There were clearly some that were simple. Beyond the china was the Sisi Museum, which sadly I knew nothing about. So therefore I was confused at first as to who Sisi was (she was the wife of Franz Joseph, the emperor of Austria just before WWI) so I did not get much out of the exhibit. Much of what was there was replicas, so i felt the exhibit was sort of a flop overall. The apartments were,again, suprisingly bare and simple. Franz Joseph apparently liked to live a Spartan lifestyle so there is not much to see. Overall, the apartments were worth a trip, but only just.

I have to say the biggest disappointment on the trip was the Imperial Treasury. I will admit that i have seen the Russian and British Crown Jewels, but these were wimpy in comparison. I was very much disappointed by the lack of jewels and gold. In addition, all the signs were in GERMAN, so i couldn't READ any of it. So therefore, i knew what NONE of it was! Very frustrating when you spent 7.50 euro (and while there was a free audio guide, i didn't want to take up a great deal of time listening to a long winded explanation of what something was). The exhibit should have been accessible to people without the guide, or they should have said "we highly recommned the audio guide." Whatever.

That night we went to go see the opera "La Forza de Destiny" by Verdi. I really liked it, but sadly we had really bad standing room seats (but they were only 2.50 euro) so i couldn't stand for more than an act. The opera house itself was spectacular and well worth a trip. We then went bar hopping in the Bermuda Triangle where there are 25 bars within 3 blocks, which was really fun.

The next morning, we got up and went to the Schonborn Palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. Really nice outside, but simple inside. There was not a whole lot here other than some replica furniture. I know i shouldn't expect everything to be real, so i'll cut them some slack. Overall, I really liked it. There were some REALLY fabulous rooms at the end of the tour which again, where not ostentatious but rather a refined elegance which i admired greatly. The outside palace gardens were not in bloom yet sadly, but i can imagine what they were like in the spring bloom. The Roman victory arch on top of the hill was also pretty cool, but it was turned into a cafe, major bummer. You could see people running through the park, as it's open to the public for free. Afterwards, there was an Easter (i think) open market in the grounds outside, where we got some food (i got a pizza pretzel, suprisingly good).

Finally, we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses a large number of Greek and Egyptian artworks, and even more works of art from the Rennaisannce. I'm not a big fan of art but i found it to be all facinating and worth a visit. There were some famous works of art (don't ask, i don't remember) and overall it was pretty cool. You guys know me and art, it's more of a i walk through and see a pretty picture and like it then admiring the positioning of the figures and such. Sorry :-)

Afterwards, we got back to the hostel, picked up our bags, and got on the train to Salzburg, which was a pleasant trip as Austrian railroads were suprisingly efficent, but fairly expensive. Upon arriving in Salzburg, we made our way to our hotel by cab, which now gets me to Salzburg, which is an entirely seperate entry. More later I promise!