Renaissance Wien Vienna

... are in a different era. There are numerous pedestrian only walkways and the streets are fairly traffic free. Thankfully, Vienna being the “World’s Coffee Capital” many coffee shops were open and were lively and full of people. We stumbled into one just past the Stephensdom, and it was the release we needed from a maddening day of closed shops. A melangie is the Viennese take of Cappucino and is what they are known for, and I had to ...

... four hundred and forty one rooms of which we were able to tour a mere twenty two. We could only wonder how grand the other one thousand four hundred and nineteen were because the ones we saw were quite spectacular. Most grand of all was the Great Gallery, where Kennedy and Khrushchev met in 1961. Almost as historical was the Hall of Mirrors where a six year old Mozart gave his first concert. We had elected to take the cheaper Imperial Tour which left out a few rooms. Margaret ...

Vienna Day 2: I got up too early today, but for good reason; I'm in Vienna damnit! The first thing on the agenda was a tour of the largest palace in Austria; Schonbrun Schloss. A short tram ride later and we had arrived. This place is truly massive, 1,441 rooms. It was built and inhabited by the Hapsburg family. A huge traffic circle at the gate of the palace shows that the owners really wanted everyone to see this place. The designers of the ...

... during WWII. I don't remember much about the movie - it's probably been ten years since I've seen it - but he had to save the horses and I think they performed for General Patton to win his favor and help. They are beautiful... I should just buy tickets to one of their shows the next time they're in the States. We had tickets to the Nutcracker at the Opera, so we walked ...

... a some Art Nouveau building which the Guide book said were 'the finest examples in the city', turns out they were either to well looked after (a bank and a supermarket) or not well looked after enough (Crumbling and shrouded and scaffold). The Orthodox church, closed after 3 (d'oh!), Statues of Beethoven and Strauss, the Russian War memorial (impressive from a far, tacky up close, why would Russian soldier would be armed with a rifle and a golden shield?), a fountain commemorating the ...

... I really enjoyed the performance, and I don't even mind that I paid 15 euro for the ticket. The highlight of the day, the whole trip for that matter, came Friday evening. Through IES, Professor Hoelscher was able to acquire a few standing room tickets to the Vienna Philharmonic. They played Tschaikowsky's first symphony and a solo violinist also performed. The show was absolutely incredible; perhaps the most amazing thing I've ever had the opportunity to witness. During the ...

... contemporary design to many parts, including the museum quarter, where the building that contains the museum of architecture has what looks like Dorothy´s house from the Wizard of Oz sticking out of its roof. A very entertaining Operetta, with much singing and dancing was amazing in this town which prides itself of being the home of Opera and classical music.

... a possible trip to Bratislava in Slovakia for the next morning. Found out it was cheap and although the train timetables were a bit awkward that it was possible. Staff at the enquiries window at the station were very abrupt and not overly helpful. We caught the S-bahn back to Südtirolplatz station then on to Karlsplatz for lunch at McDonalds. Once again we got on the metro this time out to ...