Thursday 17 September
Now this is what I imagined first class travel to be like. Today I got up extra early to get to the station and reserve a seat on the Budapest train, as I hadn't been allowed to do it yesterday, and to while away a couple of hours I got to use the OBB lounge with freebies as I was travelling first. I have free wifi (allowing me to update now instead of attempting to do so after a few drinks tonight) and a train attendant asking me if I want anything to eat or drink.
The train is almost empty at the moment - the young Aussie I just chatted with on boarding reckoned that a lot of people didn't want to take a chance and took flights or buses instead, so am glad I held out. I think maybe a few trains ran yesterday, but this is the first day of normal service - lucky me! The lovely Serbian guy at my Vienna B&B (highly recommended by the way - and less than £50 per night with breakfast which is pricey for this trip but not for a grand district in the centre of old Vienna) kindly called Serbian rail for me too to check on possibilities for our onward trip to Montenegro via Belgrade, and that seems to be ok at present - we'll go find out more tomorrow.
Vienna then - loved it and keen to go back and do more. The slight panic that enveloped me on arrival (which didn't help my sweaty Betty looks in a heatwave) delayed my exploration during daylight by a couple of hours as I made calls, checked the net and showered. I got up early yesterday, breakfasted in the Pension (all I could eat so better value than a cafe) and then headed out to check out the Bratislava boat. I decided against it as it was going to work out just as easy to train it if I had to, without incurring extra cost - turned out to be a good decision.
I got on the inner ring clockwise tram trip which just runs 10-5.30 and is 8 euros for a relatively short trip with audio guide - but it was a great way to orientate myself so as soon as I got off I started walking it in reverse. Had I not stopped and detoured I reckon I would've done it in a couple of hours, so that was why it was slightly annoying to have failed to do it the day before as it would've given me time to do a bit more in the way of visits - but it was a great walk, the weather was fab and it's given me an impression of the central part of the city.
I felt quite dwarfed by the size and grandeur of the buildings - just amazing in terms of preservation. (Sadly the only monument I saw that was rather neglected was the "Nimmer vergessen" WW2 memorial near Schwedenplatz close to where I was staying - it was extra sad.) I took loads of photos and will probably struggle to identify them all, but from the old stock exchange to the university, city hall, royal palace and the top-end hotels, everywhere you look demonstrates the power and the glory of the Austiran empire 200+ years ago. Even an office building had these bad boys guarding the entrance
I loved the Museum Quarter - really impressed with the way everything was linked, and accompanied by restaurants and a few shops. It made it a relaxed place to wander. I opted for the modern Leopold museum and had a look at the work of Austrian Expressionist artists Schiele and Klimt - I think most of the latter’s work is at Belvedere Castle, but some of his landscapes and less glitzy pieces were here. I also enjoyed art nouveau furniture and objets by Joseph Hoffman, who furnished much of Klimt’s study which is reproduced in the musuem.
I lunched al fresco under the imposing statue of the Empress Maria Theresa, founder of the Habsburg dynasty - she was pretty impressive in more ways than one. I nipped to the station to check out the situation with trains to Budapest on Friday, and came back to take a peek at the opera house. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea and the queue for a tour was a bit long, so for some inexplicable reason I was drawn to talk to a slightly sweaty and swarthy man in a bad 18th century wig and costume (not the way you’d choose to dress in temperatures over 30 degrees) who was selling tickets for Mozart concerts, and as luck would have it there was one that evening. He was very sweet and found me a cheap seat at 29 euros as I had a sudden urge “when in Vienna” - and it seemed a nice way to spend an evening rather than sitting alone in a restaurant.
I sauntered down one of the boulevards towards a massive fountain and a set of imposing black military sculptures - I’ve not been able to work out exactly what they were commemorating, but they were very impressive, and the strong breeze gave me a refreshing mist every now and again. I found myself giggling at the feel of it, plus my good luck and the sheer joy that the sights and sounds of somewhere new can bring.
Ice cream at the Konzerthaus cafe in the Volkstadt park followed (I went back there for a quick supper before the Mozart), and then headed back to the Pension to pack and freshen up.
The concert was very much a tourist affair - the Golden Halle is quite beautiful and very ornate, and the excellent orchestra and singers were suitably attired for an evening of Mozart’s top 10 and a little bit of Strauss. I managed to move down a row so that I got a better view - it wasn’t very full in the cheap seats. The audience comprised mainly south-east Asian tourists, most of whom listened respectfully and clapped enthusiastically, but from my bird’s eye view in the balcony, quite a number of them were playing on mobile phones which I thought was not quite the done thing.
I stopped judging them when after replying to a Facebook post just before the second half, I was inwardly tutting at the sound of music coming from a mobile phone beneath me when I realised to my horror that I must have set the Deezer app off when I slid the phone back into my bag. I don’t think anyone noticed as I nonchalantly switched it off, but inside I was mortified.
A strong wind blew me back to the Pension and of course I had to say as I closed the curtains “Goodnight, Vienna”....
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