After the sight-seeing in Prague, we got back on the train to Vienna, our next stop. At the train station in Prague we got talking to some American guys who were going to school in the Netherlands, and making a similar trip. The guy from Wisconsin had a hilarious accent.
The ride was a bit shorter this time, only 4,5 hours. Here is Béla chilling in our train compartment.
The train was mostly empty for this leg so we had a six seat compartment ourselves. Here is Dad with Béla and his soother.
Once we got to Vienna and found our hotel rooms we went to the much renowned Figlmüller's schnitzel restaurant. Here they serve Wiener Schnitzel pounded flat and bigger than the plate it's served on, with a slice of lemon. We also got side salads, topped with oil from the green pumpkin seeds grown in the Styrian region of Austria. Look at the determination with which Paul is attacking his giant schnitzel!
Yup, that's all veal.
After the meal. Don't we look satisfied?
On the way back to the hotel we took a scenic tour through the city, going by the Hofburg palace (our destination the next morning), by the city hall, and through the Marie Theresa square, to see all the buildings we would see the next day, but lit for night.
And then the next morning, on the way to the palace, we passed by the same buildings again (here is either the Natural History or Art museum, twin buildings which flank Maria Theresa square). We tried to walk by all the major squares, as Betty Ann was trying to find a particular square, which is featured on a program on PBS with an orchestra playing and people dancing, or something like that. The description was pretty vague - there were people sitting, and standing, and dancing... There might have been horses... At each square we asked if this were the one, but there was always something wrong - maybe it was too small, or had a statue in the middle, or too many plants. After seeing pictures of Schönbrunn palace on the edge of town (we didn't go there this time), she thought it might have been there, but then, it might have been in Salzburg rather than Vienna. Betty Ann, let us know if you find out where it is the next time you see it on TV!
Here's the grand old lady, Maria Theresa herself, on the statue in the centre of the square.
Mozart was also in the square, and Betty Ann was lucky enough to get a kiss!
Here is hero's square, which also wasn't quite like the one on TV.
Betty Ann, about to enter the Hofburg palace.
In the palace we went to see three of the museums - the Silberkammer, what was left of the collection of silverware and dishes that belonged to the Hapsburgs; the Sisi museum, devoted to the unhappy life of Empress Elisabeth; and the royal apartments. The collection of silverware and dishes was much more interesting than it sounds, and gave some insight into the enormous amount of work (and money!) that went into running such a household, which served dinners for up to 5000. The historical information about the dishes, and the changing styles was also really cool - they ate on dishes made exclusively of silver or gold until well into the 19th century, when ceramic became more popular. Even then, it was only used for dessert plates at first. The metal dishes would periodically be melted down in times of war though, and would be melted down and recast when styles changed, such as when serving
à la russe replaced the fashion of serving
à la française, which required a different selection of dishes. I was also amazed that they used to colour the silver plates with saffron when they didn't have enough gold plates for a given number of people.
After visiting the three museums we were good and hungry for a late lunch. We ended up going to the same coffee house that we visited when in Vienna with my parents and Baba, which is conveniently located right next to the palace. The food was great, and we shared a bunch of different kinds of cakes afterward, which were uniformly delicious. The meal was a bit of a fiasco though, not least because the table was tiny. This made it hard to accommodate all the dishes, particularly the silver platters with a glass of water that accompanied every coffee. While trying to fit something else on the table, Jeremi accidentally knocked over one of the glasses of water, which soaked both me and Béla (who I was carrying), and the plush bench on which I was sitting. Luckily it wasn't anything hot, but it still got him wailing, and we had to change him and try and calm him down and get him warmed up again. And of course, it being a Sunday afternoon, the place was packed, and we were the ones with the screaming baby. He was pretty good about it though, and I managed to feed him into submission. Finally, after everyone else ate, I got to enjoy my meal.
Here we are outside, after having survived the experience.
Of course we didn't get to see them practice or perform, as the tickets are booked up months in advance, but we did manage to see some of the famous Lipizzaner stallions when we walked by their stables.
Paul and Betty Ann were amused by the giant doors, but with giant women like these four ladies, I guess they're needed!
We had floated the idea of going to the opera by Paul and Betty Ann before they arrived, and they seemed pretty interested, but then when we were there that day they weren't as sure. I thought we should stop by the opera house anyhow, just to see if there was something playing that night (there was), and to see if it would still be possible to buy standing room tickets (it was). They still weren't sure, so we kept walking back toward St. Stephan's cathedral, which we'd only seen from the outside the night before. On the way we passed by a ticket office, and Jer and I went in just to inquire if there were any seats left (there weren't), and how much the standing room tickets were. When we found out that they were only 3,50 €, they couldn't really say no. Even if their feet were too tired and they wanted to leave at intermission, the price was certainly right! (I say "them" and not "us", because the opera isn't really a place to bring a baby, and Béla and I headed back to the hotel room for the evening while Jer and his parents enjoyed the show.) And so they went to see
Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera. It also gave them a chance to see the impressive interior of the opera house!
And a grand time was had by all. Unlike when I brought my parents and Baba to the opera in Dresden, here they were able to read the libretto in English, which made it much easier. Rather than projecting it in one location that everyone can read, there were little screens on all the seats (and even on the standing room spaces, which you can see in the photo above), and they were able to choose from a few different languages.
After they were done, they gave me a call, and we decided to meet up for a late supper at a pizza restaurant right next to the hotel. I was also the hero of the night, as on the way home I'd found a sort of convenience store that was open (on a Sunday evening no less!), and I'd picked up some beers, so we were able to have a few beers afterward while playing cards.
And so ends our time in Vienna - next, on to Dresden!
The ride was a bit shorter this time, only 4,5 hours. Here is Béla chilling in our train compartment.
The train was mostly empty for this leg so we had a six seat compartment ourselves. Here is Dad with Béla and his soother.
Once we got to Vienna and found our hotel rooms we went to the much renowned Figlmüller's schnitzel restaurant. Here they serve Wiener Schnitzel pounded flat and bigger than the plate it's served on, with a slice of lemon. We also got side salads, topped with oil from the green pumpkin seeds grown in the Styrian region of Austria. Look at the determination with which Paul is attacking his giant schnitzel!
Yup, that's all veal.
After the meal. Don't we look satisfied?
On the way back to the hotel we took a scenic tour through the city, going by the Hofburg palace (our destination the next morning), by the city hall, and through the Marie Theresa square, to see all the buildings we would see the next day, but lit for night.
And then the next morning, on the way to the palace, we passed by the same buildings again (here is either the Natural History or Art museum, twin buildings which flank Maria Theresa square). We tried to walk by all the major squares, as Betty Ann was trying to find a particular square, which is featured on a program on PBS with an orchestra playing and people dancing, or something like that. The description was pretty vague - there were people sitting, and standing, and dancing... There might have been horses... At each square we asked if this were the one, but there was always something wrong - maybe it was too small, or had a statue in the middle, or too many plants. After seeing pictures of Schönbrunn palace on the edge of town (we didn't go there this time), she thought it might have been there, but then, it might have been in Salzburg rather than Vienna. Betty Ann, let us know if you find out where it is the next time you see it on TV!
Here's the grand old lady, Maria Theresa herself, on the statue in the centre of the square.
Mozart was also in the square, and Betty Ann was lucky enough to get a kiss!
Here is hero's square, which also wasn't quite like the one on TV.
Betty Ann, about to enter the Hofburg palace.
In the palace we went to see three of the museums - the Silberkammer, what was left of the collection of silverware and dishes that belonged to the Hapsburgs; the Sisi museum, devoted to the unhappy life of Empress Elisabeth; and the royal apartments. The collection of silverware and dishes was much more interesting than it sounds, and gave some insight into the enormous amount of work (and money!) that went into running such a household, which served dinners for up to 5000. The historical information about the dishes, and the changing styles was also really cool - they ate on dishes made exclusively of silver or gold until well into the 19th century, when ceramic became more popular. Even then, it was only used for dessert plates at first. The metal dishes would periodically be melted down in times of war though, and would be melted down and recast when styles changed, such as when serving à la russe replaced the fashion of serving à la française, which required a different selection of dishes. I was also amazed that they used to colour the silver plates with saffron when they didn't have enough gold plates for a given number of people.
After visiting the three museums we were good and hungry for a late lunch. We ended up going to the same coffee house that we visited when in Vienna with my parents and Baba, which is conveniently located right next to the palace. The food was great, and we shared a bunch of different kinds of cakes afterward, which were uniformly delicious. The meal was a bit of a fiasco though, not least because the table was tiny. This made it hard to accommodate all the dishes, particularly the silver platters with a glass of water that accompanied every coffee. While trying to fit something else on the table, Jeremi accidentally knocked over one of the glasses of water, which soaked both me and Béla (who I was carrying), and the plush bench on which I was sitting. Luckily it wasn't anything hot, but it still got him wailing, and we had to change him and try and calm him down and get him warmed up again. And of course, it being a Sunday afternoon, the place was packed, and we were the ones with the screaming baby. He was pretty good about it though, and I managed to feed him into submission. Finally, after everyone else ate, I got to enjoy my meal.
Here we are outside, after having survived the experience.
Of course we didn't get to see them practice or perform, as the tickets are booked up months in advance, but we did manage to see some of the famous Lipizzaner stallions when we walked by their stables.
Paul and Betty Ann were amused by the giant doors, but with giant women like these four ladies, I guess they're needed!
We had floated the idea of going to the opera by Paul and Betty Ann before they arrived, and they seemed pretty interested, but then when we were there that day they weren't as sure. I thought we should stop by the opera house anyhow, just to see if there was something playing that night (there was), and to see if it would still be possible to buy standing room tickets (it was). They still weren't sure, so we kept walking back toward St. Stephan's cathedral, which we'd only seen from the outside the night before. On the way we passed by a ticket office, and Jer and I went in just to inquire if there were any seats left (there weren't), and how much the standing room tickets were. When we found out that they were only 3,50 €, they couldn't really say no. Even if their feet were too tired and they wanted to leave at intermission, the price was certainly right! (I say "them" and not "us", because the opera isn't really a place to bring a baby, and Béla and I headed back to the hotel room for the evening while Jer and his parents enjoyed the show.) And so they went to see Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera. It also gave them a chance to see the impressive interior of the opera house!
And a grand time was had by all. Unlike when I brought my parents and Baba to the opera in Dresden, here they were able to read the libretto in English, which made it much easier. Rather than projecting it in one location that everyone can read, there were little screens on all the seats (and even on the standing room spaces, which you can see in the photo above), and they were able to choose from a few different languages.
After they were done, they gave me a call, and we decided to meet up for a late supper at a pizza restaurant right next to the hotel. I was also the hero of the night, as on the way home I'd found a sort of convenience store that was open (on a Sunday evening no less!), and I'd picked up some beers, so we were able to have a few beers afterward while playing cards.
And so ends our time in Vienna - next, on to Dresden!
1 comment:
Mmmmm schnitzel . . .
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