Vienna; with a knife and fork

Our second full day in Vienna was a rather lazy one. After a late start we made our way to the local food market, Naschmarkt. It runs for several city blocks along a narrow strip of land onto which two narrow laneways of simple cafes and restaurants have been crammed. We ate at a popular Vietnamese restaurant.


We then wandered past the city’s famous Secession building which is crowned by an elaborate gilded dome of laurel leaves. The building houses a collection of art from the Vienna Secession movement. This was a rebellious art form that appeared in 1897 as a protest against Europe’s increasingly conservative art community. I then had to return to our hotel to conduct the first of several conference calls I’d agreed to complete before signing off for the rest of the month.


Dinner that evening was another memorable experience. We dined at Zwolf-Apostelkeller which is located in a series of cellars several floor below street level. Despite its location, the venue is far from claustrophobic. The cellars are very spacious with bricked vaulted ceilings at least ten metres high. It seemed a fitting place to soak up more medieval atmosphere, enjoy a few beers and dine on some generous portions of smoked pork and dumplings.

We’ve done Vienna. Tomorrow we catch a train through snow-covered countryside to Salzburg where the weather forecast is promising light snow. A picture-perfect Christmas setting awaits us.

Vienna

A five minute walk along the Ringstrasse quickly reminds you that Vienna was once the capital of large and wealthy empire. The Habsburg dynasty ruled from here for an incredible 640 years; from 1278 until 1916. The empire’s wealth remains visible everywhere. Vienna is simply piled high with classic stone buildings dating back hundreds of years. Even our hotel, located on the Opernring, was contained in a grand old building just a stone’s throw away from the truly impressive State Opera House.

We spent our first full day in town making a leisurely circuit through the Innere Stadt, the city’s old town. Our walking tour started at the Burgtor, a series of triumphal arches that guard the entrance to the Hofburg, the Habsburg’s former imperial residence. The newest wing of this sprawling complex, the Neue Hofburg, was completed only few months before the outbreak of the First World War and the end of Habsburg rule.


An archway at the base of the Hofburg then takes you through into the complex’s main courtyard. A second arch leads to the Michaeltor, a stunning and dramatic grand entrance into the Imperial Apartments. Visitors were left in no doubt who was in charge as they entered this gate. We stood under its soaring dome for several minutes simply marvelling at the majesty of the entire scene. The experience was neatly rounded off by the regular passage of horse and carriage rides clattering along the cobblestones.


We then wandered through the old town’s main boulevard, the Garben, which is dominated by a towering and ornately carved monument to the Great Plague. At the foot of the monument was a stall selling the most perfect Christmas trees we’ve ever seen. We found at least one we wanted but were reluctant to fork over 365 euros. We returned here later in the day to see the Christmas lights. This year’s display was a series of grand chandeliers strung along the gently curving street.


St Stephen’s Cathedral was our next stop. Like all European cathedrals it’s an impressive building. Its roof is clad in yellow, green and black tiles laid out as a series of chevrons; and a bold double-headed eagle (the insignia of the Hapsburg empire). Its main gothic spire soars an impressive 90 metres into the sky. The interior is rather less lavishly decorated but its soaring vaulted roof is everything you’d expect it to be.


We then wandered through a series of narrow laneways where Mozart himself once strolled. In the heart of this district you can still see the lodgings where he wrote The Marriage of Figaro. Today’s the building is a museum. Nearby we stumbled across a restaurant, Zum Basilisken, housed in an old stone building. We were sufficiently taken with its medieval charm that we returned later in the evening for dinner. Garry played it safe with a classic Weiner Schnitzel while I tried the wild boar stew. My meal was simply divine.

As dusk began to fall we finished our touring with a visit to the nearby Kapuzinergruft. This crypt is the final resting place for the bodies of more than 138 members of the Habsburg family. Most bodies were placed in ornate metal coffins, many embellished with gruesome skulls and some rather sinister, shrouded mourners. Some of the coffins were rather simple while others were simply ostentatious in the extreme; none more so than the double tomb of Franz Stephan and Maria Theresa which fills an entire vault.

I'll post more photos shortly as I've saved a number of photos onto Garry's laptop which aren't accessible this evening.

Minus Eight

We're coming to the end of two relaxing days in icy cold Vienna. The current temperature outside is a nippy -8C, with the mercury on its way down to at least minus ten. Today we both broke out our thermal undergarments and went on a shopping excursion to find me a warmer hat. We eventually found a cosy rabbit fur-lined woollen cap with giant earflaps that did the trick. Despite the arctic conditions, we ejoyed two days of regular sunshine and blue skies.


On Saturday evening we joined the crushing throng swarming through Vienna's famous Rathaus Christkindlmarkt. It's clearly a popular destination as we watched one bus tour after another pull up and disgorge more eager punters. A quick number plates poll showed buses from Hungry, Poland and the Czech Republic, along with plenty of Austria vehicles.


The Rathaus was a splendid sight decked out in Christmas lights from the foundations to its tallest gothic tower. The market stalls themselves were packed with all manner of seasonal delights; glass and tinsel baubles, miniture wooden houses and crafts I've simply never seen before. We also followed my brother's counsel and raided every food stall in sight sampling the apple strudel, apple besiel, kase krainer wurst and gingerbread. I've become very fluent in German for the purpose of ordering Kase Krainer.


More on our Vienna adventures tomorrow. We have a three-hour train journey to Salzburg during which I hope to pass the time completing a couple of blog posts. Stay tuned!