We would spend two days in Vienna. This morning we had signed up for a city tour, and in the evening we would attend a concert. Dan's cold was even worse today, but he was absolutely determined to attend the evening concert, so he stayed home that morning.
I went ahead with the morning tour, sticking with Lee and Jo for most of the day. Vienna is BEAUTIFUL! I recently read the book (and saw the movie), The Lady in Gold, about the Klimt painting o f Adele Bloch-Bauer, so was excited when I saw places I recognized from the book, such as the Ringstrasse and the Vienna Secession art building. The Vienna Secession was the start of modern art in Austria, and Gustav Klimt was a leader in this movement, challenging conventional art ideas.
Here are a few other street scenes of this marvelous city.
We spent quite a lot of time at two major sites: The Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral.
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| The Vienna Secession building |
We spent quite a lot of time at two major sites: The Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral.
The Hofburg is the former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty, and now serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. At the center of the Hofburg is Heroes' Square. Our tour guide also pointed out the entrance to the place where the Vienna Boys' Choir practices. I would have loved to have heard them sing! The Spanish Riding School is also located in the Hofburg, as are the stables for the Lipizzaner stallions, which we would tour on our second day in Vienna.
As time was running out on our walking tour, we had an interesting interaction with a sidewalk cafe server near St. Stephen's. Five of us sat down to order some refreshments - Lee, Jo, an Englishman named Peter, his wife and I. It was then that I realized that our small stash of Euros was on board ship, in Dan's wallet, so I decided to just sit with the others and visit while they ate and drank. The waiter came and took an order from Lee, Jo and Peter's wife, and then it was my turn. I said I wouldn't be ordering anything, and the waiter said, "Then LEAVE! You must leave!" Thinking maybe I could redeem myself, I said, "I'm happy to place an order if you accept credit cards." "No cards. Only Euros. You'll have to LEAVE," he repeated. As I stood up, totally embarrassed, to move away from my party, Lee spoke up, saying that he had planned to pay with a credit card, as well. (Up until now we'd used our Visa everywhere, by the way, without any problems.) Swinging his arm up and pointing away from the table, the waiter ordered all of us, "LEAVE, You must all leave!" I've had so many "firsts" on this trip, and this was another ... the first time I've ever been "evicted" from a cafe. Ha ha.
St. Stephen's is the most important religious building in Vienna and is easily recognizable because of its extremely tall south tower and its multi-colored tile roof.
As time was running out on our walking tour, we had an interesting interaction with a sidewalk cafe server near St. Stephen's. Five of us sat down to order some refreshments - Lee, Jo, an Englishman named Peter, his wife and I. It was then that I realized that our small stash of Euros was on board ship, in Dan's wallet, so I decided to just sit with the others and visit while they ate and drank. The waiter came and took an order from Lee, Jo and Peter's wife, and then it was my turn. I said I wouldn't be ordering anything, and the waiter said, "Then LEAVE! You must leave!" Thinking maybe I could redeem myself, I said, "I'm happy to place an order if you accept credit cards." "No cards. Only Euros. You'll have to LEAVE," he repeated. As I stood up, totally embarrassed, to move away from my party, Lee spoke up, saying that he had planned to pay with a credit card, as well. (Up until now we'd used our Visa everywhere, by the way, without any problems.) Swinging his arm up and pointing away from the table, the waiter ordered all of us, "LEAVE, You must all leave!" I've had so many "firsts" on this trip, and this was another ... the first time I've ever been "evicted" from a cafe. Ha ha.
Returning to the ship, I found that Dan was feeling some better, and was still certain that he was going to attend the evening concert at the Garden Palace Liechtenstein. So after dinner we got ready to go. It was about a fifteen-minute bus ride from the ship. When we walked inside, our jaws dropped in amazement. What a beautiful palace!
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| Painted ceiling |
The concert was performed by a small chamber orchestra, as well as two solo singers and two ballet dancers. It was an experience that I'll never forget. Dan was so happy to have come, and continues to talk about that wonderful evening.
The dancers were lovely, although my effort at getting a video was pitiful! Still, here's a little peek of what we saw.
The tradition, in classical music venues, is to end orchestral performances with two Strauss pieces - the Blue Danube Waltz, second to last; and the Radetzky Marsch (known as the unofficial anthem of the Austro-Hungarian military) as the final piece, with audience participation by clapping during the playing of the chorus.
It was a perfect day! Did I mention, I LOVE Vienna?
CLICK HERE NEXT (VIENNA DAY 2)
The tradition, in classical music venues, is to end orchestral performances with two Strauss pieces - the Blue Danube Waltz, second to last; and the Radetzky Marsch (known as the unofficial anthem of the Austro-Hungarian military) as the final piece, with audience participation by clapping during the playing of the chorus.
It was a perfect day! Did I mention, I LOVE Vienna?
CLICK HERE NEXT (VIENNA DAY 2)
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