Vienna

We were delayed 30 minutes at takeoff from Amsterdam, waiting while hail lashed the runway and thunder rattled overhead.  Eventually cleared the airport at Vienna an hour late after waiting for ages for our bags to come through.  A grumpy driver sped us through the traffic, and we were deposited outside the Magdas Hotel, in Ungargasse ("Hungary Street").

It is very chilly here too, and the forecasts suggests that will be our weather for the next week at least.  Thank goodness for warm jackets!

The hail accumulating on the plane window while we waited for thunder to pass.

A quirky "weather station" in the park near  us.

Johann Strauss, gilded,

Sue discovered there was a "Hundertwasser" building not far away, so we set off for it.  He was the eccentric artist responsible for the famous Kawakawa toilets, and more recently the large facility in Whangarei.  He came from Vienna and also designed a few things around here.

Hundertwasser apartment building.

Hundertwasser Village is a little collection of shops and galleries.

Inside Hundertwasser Village.

Lots of shiny things are for sale there!

After a cup of coffee in a Hundertwasser House cafe we walked on (and on, and on) in our quest to see the Danube River.  There is a large drainage channel near our hotel, which runs into a large waterway, but that is the Danube Canal and not the river itself.  The Danube was about a 55 minute walk away.

When we got there we were very interested to see there were several river cruise boats tied up, of the type we initially thought we my sign up for some months ago.  I was reminded of some complaining comments I read online, for example from people who paid extra for a "room with a view" to find they were tied up hard against another boat (as in the next photo).  Also it would be a long walk into the old city from here.

The Blue Danube was not particularly blue, today at least.

After seeing the river we walked back to town, passing through the  famous amusement park called the "Prater".  It was not looking great today, with a lot of construction and refurbishment in progress.

In the Prater amusement park.

Dinner at Crossfield's Australian Pub.

There were no Australians we could detect at Crossfield's Australian Pub.  There is a standing joke in Austria that the airports have a special counter for passengers arriving in Austria by mistake, thinking they were in Australia!

We had now discovered the real centre of the city, which revolves around the huge St Stephan's cathedral, the tallest church in Austria.  There is a long pedestrian street here lined with glitzy shops and restaurants, and teeming with people most of the day.

We started our musical immersion in Vienna with an evening concert at St Annes church, a performance by a string quartet.  St Annes is a smaller church, heavily furnished and ornamented in the Catholic tradition.

A musical soiree in St Annes church.

There are a seemingly un-ending number of majestic historic buildings in Vienna, many of them concentrated along the ring road around the old city - the route that was once occupied by the city's defensive walls.  One of the larger is the Hofburg Palace, now home to many museums, and to the famous Vienna Spanish Riding School.

Once entrance to the Hofburg Palace complex.

We (Sue) booked seats at one of the horse training sessions at the Spanish Riding School, and because she booked early we were front row in the royal box!  The training session seats are much cheaper than seats at their weekly performances.  Unfortunately no photography is allowed, so here is a photo of the arena, before the horses entered:

The Spanish Riding school arena.

The horses are all a particular breed, all white stallions, and must train for years before they can be used in the performances.

The Plague Column, in memory of victims of the plague (1679).

Austrians love lots of meat, cabbage, potatoes, and sweet things!

In the Hofburg Military museum.

The Hofburg musical instrument museum.  You are allowed to play this one!

Horse and carriage rides for the tourists.

Any Austrian history lesson will soon introduce you to the Habsberg royal family, who ruled in this region for about 600 years.  When they died, they liked to be interred in a crypt beneath the Capuchin Church in Vienna, some in crazily elaborate sarcophagi.  We went for a look.

The sarcophagus of one of the Habsbergs.

In the grounds of the "Schloss Belvedere" (Belvedere Palace) in Vienna.

Schloss Belvedere is a palace with extensive gardens, right in the city, and just 15 min walk from our hotel.  It's gardens are intricately laid out, but from ground level it is hard to appreciate the design.  Only when viewed from above, for example in Google Maps, can you really see it.

The gardens of the "Upper Belvedere" Palace, from ground level.

The same gardens seen from outer space (Google).

One day they staged the Vienna marathon, closing down most of the ring road.  Crowds of people lined the route and loud music blared across the whole area.  We went down to see the runners pass and found we were beside a stage where 3 couples waltzed to Strauss as the runners streamed past.  Only in Vienna!

A bit of waltzing, to cheer on the competitors.

The roof of St Stephan's is beautifully tiled.

St Stephan's tiled roof from above (Google).

The towering St Stephan's church, from ground level.

The six piece orchestra of the Palais Schonborn.

On our last evening we went with several of our group to a performance by a little orchestra.  They performed a program of well-known classical music by Mozart, Strauss, Ravel and others, performed with the help of two opera singers for some pieces.  It was brilliant, as they were extremely good, and the audience would have been less than 100, so it was an intimate experience.  A great way to finish our time in Vienna.

Tough Viennese diners eating outdoors in the icy cold

Despite the clear skies in some photos, it was freezing cold most of the time.  I found that a layer of merino, then a shirt, then my thick Kathmandu fleece, then my puffer jacket (with hood), finished off with my wind-proof rain jacket, was enough to keep me warm!