The train ride into Vienna was awesome! Amy and I had another sleepy train, and this time we were in it for over 10 hours! We both got some much-needed shut eye, and the ride went very smooth. Though, there was one rather comical hiccup along the way. When Amy and I first got into the room we were staying in on the train, we unpacked our stuff, and chilled out for a few. Just then, the employee watching over our cabin (I'll call him a steward) came up to our door and started talking to us. He seemed very friendly, and at the end of our conversation, in some kind of creepo-Transylvania-accent, he says to us, "Make sure you lock your door.... it's verrrrry important." Amy and I are like "...... okay." So we lock our door and get ready for bed. Then, I was going to use the bathroom, so I go to unlock the door, and..... it's 100% jammed. The door will not unlock. Now, after some creepball says to you that you NEED to lock your door, and then your door magically gets jammed shut, you would usually make some kind of internalized accusations, thinking that this man is going to eat you and your girlfriend for lunch or something once you get into Vienna. So, after that thought came and went, I pretty much went to town on the door. Slamming it, running into it, pretty much just trying to bust the door off the hinges... not very rational I know, but I wasn't very concerned with the cost of damages as long as I wasn't going to be stewed. We were also doing some pretty logical things, like asking loudly if someone could let us out and repeatedly hitting the alarm button inside our cabin. Eventually, after about 20 minutes or so, our man Dracula comes to the door and asks what is wrong. I explain it to him through the door, and he is able to open the door from the outside with his key. The door was still acting up, so he had us switch cabins, and that was the end of the drama for the night. I wonder what his lair looks like... ;)
So once we get into Vienna, we were on a hunt to find our hostel. It was called the "Blue Corridor Hostel" and it was on "Siebensterngasse." That's the name of the road... yeah, it's not as simple as "via de..." or "piazza de..." So, we get on a bus, and magically wind up just one block from our hostel; I have to say, along with Amy's help, we pretty much master all forms of public mass transit in any city pretty quickly! After checking into the hostel, we learned that this hostel in specific owns two very large apartments in Vienna; both very near the main office. We were sent to our room right around the corner, and we settled in. The room was very hostel-like, as you can probably imagine. It had a bed with sheets we had to put on it. It had two pillows, both of which were more like garbage bags with 8 or 9 feathers inside them. It also had a little desk... and that about does it... living LARGE!
We walked around Vienna a bit that evening and checked out the sights without cameras in hand. It was just a relaxing night checking out the city, and then we got to bed early. The next day (November 1) would bring plenty of walking and tons of sightseeing with cameras. So on that fateful day, Amy and I wrote out a list of things we wanted to see (similar to what we did in Paris). One of the things on the list was the Ringstrasse. The Ringstrasse was Vienna's "alternative" to a city wall back in the day. You see, they had the large mass of central city, and then they had an enormous ring of grass that surrounded the city, and then on the opposite side of the grass emerged the suburbs of Vienna. It's a very interesting concept, and something that any architecture student would like to witness first hand. So Amy and I are looking for this thing... anywhere. We're looking on maps and we're looking by walking around and checking things out. This was just ridiculous. How could we miss something so epic and large? Finally, we ask a guy if he knows where the Ringstrasse is. At this point, we're right in the center of the tourist area of the city. He kind of laughs at us, and says, "Of course I can tell you where it is. You're going to have to walk about 30 seconds or so... turn around... you see that road right there? (Points to a road about 30 seconds away by foot) That's the Ringstrasse." HUH!? Apparently Amy and I had neglected that cities develop and expand over the years... especially the last 500 years or so. So, the Ringstrasse, which was once this epic grass divider, was now just a four lane road that encircled the main tourist attractions of the city. We didn't feel dumb... right.
The last story I'll tell here is about a restaurant Amy and I went to. So, on November 1, Amy and I started to get a bit hungry for some dinner. We had a Vienna guidebook that my cousin lent to us, so we referenced that in making all of our food choices. The book was published in 2001, just as a sidenote. There Amy and I were, just outside St. Stephen's Cathedral, looking in this book for an authentic Viennese dinner at a reasonable price. We find a place with a name that i can't even remember... I have it written down somewhere, but not with me, so I'll get you the name once I have it on hand. Anyway, in English, the name means "The White Chimney Sweep." The book said that it was mostly beef and very Viennese, and a plate could be purchased for between 10 and 16 Euros. We were fine with that, and the place was right around the corner from St. Stephen's, so we went for it. We find the place in no time flat, and head inside. It was around 6:30 PM, which is very early for the Viennese to be eating dinner, so we knew beforehand that we'd probably be the only ones in the restaurant. The entrance to the restaurant has two sets of doors that enclose a foyer which proudly displays the menu. Amy walked in first, and went straight into the restaurant. I walked a bit slower and checked out the menu... everything was at least 25 to 30 Euro... talk about inflation! The bad news... it was too late! Because we were the only ones in the restaurant, the maitre'd already locked onto us and was sucking us straight into the depths of the restaurant. So, there we are, looking like tourists, dressed like tourists, and not looking like we should be eating in a restaurant this classy. They have hunting trophies lining the walls, the place is spotless, and I think Amy and I had 14 waiters or so. This place was a nightmare. They had about 18 appetizers that are "free" (with the price of the mandatory service charge they nail everyone with), so they brought those out one at a time. With all of these appetizers came an aperitif (palette-cleansing wine... I HATE wine), and a bottle of water. Naturally, I wanted the water. So I would drink some water, and then I would want more, so I reached over to the bottle and poured some into my glass. As I did this, I made eye contact with one of the servers who was staring at Amy and I as we ate. He looked like he had been shot. I tried to ignore this, but when it came time to fill my glass again, I repeated what I had just done. As I removed the water bottle from its handy little holder, our man Jimbo the waiter comes shooting out of the gates like a Kentucky Derby Stallion and dives at me like he's taking a bullet for me. I was so confused. He basically scolds me, tells me I can't pour my own water, and he puts it back in the stand... he pauses for a good 4 or 5 seconds, and then looks back into my eyes. He says, "Would you like some more water, sir?" I look at him, my jaw on the floor by this point, and just say, "uhhhh, yesss....... pllll-ease???" And so he pours my water. Talk about a strange interaction. The rest of the dinner went pretty similarly. Waitstaff was staring at us while we were eating, we were presented two 150-page books containing their white and red wine selection, and we had about 6 "free" desserts all consisting of pumpkin seeds topped with some kind of funk. Overall, not my kind of place. By the way, it's called "The White Chimneysweep," because apparently when the place opened, it was a bakery... which has lots of flour (WHITE). Next door to the bakery was a chimney-cleaning place, and every so often, one of the chimney sweeps would sneak over to the bakery and have some kind of escapade with the baker's daughter... thus making him a "white chimneysweep."
Okay, so that'll do it for the long stories. There will be some short ones intermixed with the pictures you'll see. So, I won't have you wait any longer... now enjoy the multitudes of pictures!
The facade of the Natural History Museum. You'll note that in Vienna, unlike Italy at large, they don't clean or otherwise restore their marble or stone facades. To a certain point, it's interesting, because you can see the age of the materials and the depth and shadows of the statues. However, at times, you just wish that parts of the building could be a bit cleaner.
This is the Museum of Art History as seen through some of its bordering landscaping. It was opened in 1891 at the same time (and in the same complex) as the Natural History Museum.
This is some of the vault-work of Wiener Staatsoper, which is the Opera House in Vienna. One realization that I came to while in Vienna is that anything that says "Wiener" just means that it is Viennese. The logic here is that their word for "Vienna" is "Wien," so anything that is "of Vienna" or "Viennese" is "Wiener." Some examples are wienerschnitzel and of course wiener staatsoper. The original opera house here was built in 1869 and was a neo-classical building. It was inaugurated by a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni (Mozart is, of course, from Vienna). During World War II, the stage was destroyed by firestorm, and only a few rooms within the opera house were spared. The new opera house was completed in 1955.
One of the facades of the staatsoper.
I'd like to think this sign means "no robot dogs," simply because of the ending of that crazy word at the bottom of the sign... not to mention the drawing of a dog looks like a robot.
And yes, the leaves were changing in Europe during this time of the year as well. It was gorgeous walking through this park mid-day with Amy.
This was pretty cool. They must have been filming part of a movie in this park while we were walking by that day. So, if you see this statue on the big screen any time in the near future, let me know... I was there!
Amy and I enjoying the crisp fall day in a Viennese, or "Wiener" park.
So, when we first got to Vienna and checked into our hostel, the woman who checked us in told us that the tap water in Vienna is amazing. She said it was the best tap water in all of Europe. Then we get to this fountain... and I realize you shouldn't drink out of a fountain to begin with, but it was still kind of disconcerting to see this sign reminding people just how bad the water actually is.
Here, again, is the Museum of Art History. Maybe just a little cleaning is in order?? Still beautiful.
I don't even know what to say about this one. These babies need a good spanking. I'd say it's a safe bet to assume the middle finger does not mean the same thing at all to the Viennese. Very entertaining for us Americans.
Amy under a tree in the same park. This park is called the Volksgarten by the way, and means "People's Garden," thus indicating it's a public park.
This is the Hofburg located inside the Heldenplatz. The Hofburg is an Imperial Palace which has housed the likes of several Austro-Hungarian rulers among others. The Heldenplatz is a historical plaza in Vienna. The one event which the Heldenplatz is probably best known for (unfortunately enough) was the site of Hitler's announcement of the Anschluss of Austria, or the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany as a part of the Nazi regime.
This is a statue of Archduke Charles of Austria.
A shot of the Rathaus through the Heldenplatz.
This is the Rathaus. This building serves as the seat of the mayor and city council. It was designed by Frederich von Schmidt and completed in 1883.
A little bit closer for some details.
And some more details of this monumental gothic building.
This neo-gothic church is called the Votivkirche. The plans for the church were formed from an 1854 architectural competition in which Heinrich von Ferstel won. He was twenty-six years old at the time. Ground broke on the church in 1856 and was completed in 1879.
Another shot of the Votivkirche. This is certainly one of the most prominent and recognized neo-gothic structures in the world.
Interesting statues. Much like the "Eros with Swan" statue I alluded to so long ago from Florence, here is another one of those headless statues where everyone else just pretends nothing is wrong at all.
The interior of the Votivkirche.
The altar inside said church.
I included this shot for my Mom, speifically (haha). yes, all Viennese people take pride in punching horses. I really don't know the significance of this statue, but it is positioned outside Parliament.
Parliament.
No Mom, I'm just kidding. One in ten Viennese people still use horses as taxi cabs. The other nine still punch them... often.
The sun begins to drop over Heldenplatz.
A statue outside Hofburg Palace. The man lifting the other man has one too many butt-muscles. I'm pretty confident in saying there's only one muscle on each side, and this man clearly has two or three. That's something I've noticed about a lot of sculptures. People today seem to praise these old sculptors for their "inherent understanding" of the human body, but more often than not, I keep seeing made up muscle groups... from places as high and mighty as the Sistine Chapel all the way to these two bums in Austria duking it out.
The building to our right is the Loos Haus. Adolf Loos was an architect who appreciated simplicity and was very much against decoration in architecture. You could simplify that by saying he was all about function, and could care less whether or not he was sacrificing form. When he was hired to design this building, he intentionally made it a mockery of its next door neighbor. Look at the anmount of decoration on the other building. There are cornice details, there are eyebrows on every window, fancy archways... everything! It's almost the epitome of decoration in architecture. So, Loos took his building as a chance to poke fun at the other building... from an architectural standpoint that is. He made his building without any window eyebrows or treatments, there is no crown molding or cornice details. It is a very simple and elegant building with details worked in through the material choice. A very comical commentary to see in person when you actually know the story behind it.
A little bit closer up on the Loos Haus.
And a detail shot of the column material choice. Very pretty!
No, I'm not some kind of Louis Vuitton man-diva. The only reason I took this picture is because Amy told me that this shoe display looks a lot like my last semester's project... the one that is a bunch of "porous bricks" that each act as their own customizable module. I can see the similar geometries... you be the judge... but I think Louis boy has some royalties to pay RIGHT HERE!
Probably Vienna's most famous cathedral... Stephansdom, or St. Stephen's. This is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. One thing that Vienna (as a whole) was upset about was the construction of the building that you can kind of make out just across from St. Stephen's. This is called the Haas-Haus, and it was built in 1990. It was designed by Austrian architect Hans Hollein, and is a great example of postmodernistic architecture. The big uproar was about the sharp contrast between this ridiculously crazy modern building and Vienna's heart and soul, St. Stephen's. They have of course kept it, as tourists just love climbing up the Haas-Haus stairs and getting a great picture of St. Stephen's from there.
The Haas-Haus.
St. Stephen's.
The last exterior shot of St. Stephen's.
Gorgeous vaultwork and interior of said church.
So, the tourist book that I alluded to earlier didn't steer us completely wrong. It recommended this sausage place a few blocks from St. Stephen's as "the best sausage in town." They had tehse amazing sausages that were filled with cheese at their core. The bread they wrap them with is also amazing! Amy and I hit this place up twice, and I couldn't get enough!
My turn to pose with the sausages.
Later that night, Amy adn I went to a classical Mozart and Bach concert inside this palace. The acoustucs were great, and it is true what they say: when in Vienna, you MUST attend a classical concert.
The inside of this palace.
Amy inside the concert hall waiting for the show to start.
The show hath ended! This was the group that performed all of Mozart's and Bach's pieces. They were also accompanied at times by Viennese company opera singers and ballet dancers. Very cool!That'll do it for Vienna. The absolute last post that remains is London and the Pendulum concert I went to. That should be coming very shortly! One last story from Vienna. There are few things I wouldn't recommend from this city... one of which of course being that dinner restaurant. The other is Mozart's apartment. Sure, you need to see a classical concert, but do NOT spend the 9 Euros to get into Mozart's apartment. It is the worst museum I have ever been to (and Amy agrees). It's not taht i don't like classical music or Mozart or anything like that... it's about the quality of the exhibits. There are multiple rooms in this museum, and I counted ONLY ONE artifact that was authentic. The rest were photocopies or reproductions with the originals "housed elsewhere." What a sham! Cheesy exhibits, not the real deal... a classic tourist trap. Either way, to end on a high note, Vienna is gorgeous, and if you're out that way, don't miss it!
1 comment:
Very, very nice and amusing!!!
-Mom-
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