A more convoluted flight sequence than usual was needed to bring us to Vienna after leaving on Saturday afternoon from Taipei: Kong Kong, Frankfurt then a change to Austrian Airlines to Vienna. A bus from the airport saw us deposited within a 200m stroll from our hotel on a tiny tributary of the Danube, which I'd rather unkindly referred to as a sewer canal on first viewing!
European cities are all vastly different and uniquely their own beasts, but the ties that bind them are familiar enough to let the air escape from travelling lungs and relax upon arrival. Slick airport connections to bustling hubs on cobbled streets, incomprehensibly historical structures sitting casually on every lane and alley and a casual air to the people that quietly screams, "this is a great city and we all know it!"
Cass and I were embarking on another two week Christmas jaunt to European destinations, this time to Austria (Vienna), a side trip to Slovakia (Bratislava), and a re-visit to Italy (Milan). We'd chosen these destinations for partly solid and partly quirky reasons. One of our main criteria since immersing ourselves in the beauty housed within the Musee D'Orsay, The Louvre, Musee Marmottan and others in Paris 20 years ago has been to chase the impossible light of the Impressionists' body of work wherever it may be secreted, and has developed into an appreciation of the Renaissance masters, especially of the Italian and Flemish schools, and the must-see power of contemporary art that a revolutionary Europe has thrown forth in gallery-loads since the liberation of many countries from communist regimes.
These destinations could slake our thirst for such art, as well as impress with their building's beauty, pedigree and volume and take us to places we've always wanted to visit in romantic winter settings: like the Musikverein in Vienna and the oldest opera house in the world, Teatro alla Scala, in Milan. Cass ticked off a few more items on her list with these visits, plus an ethereal experience of listening to the Vienna Boys' Choir singing in their ancient chapel on Christmas morning.
After being underwhelmed by the quality of the Air BnB offerings in our preferred sections of Vienna we researched some hotels. Our choice, the Capricorno, was a delightful haven from the winter chill at the end of busy days and lived up to its four star standard with beautiful modern details in a compact room and a sensational comprehensive breakfast to start our travelling legs on the right foot each day. We quickly descended into the subway system with a station right in front of the hotel (deliberately chosen!) and figured out the lines, ticketing and system. Another thing that we've usually found is that the subway is the hidden gem for tourists rather than the sometimes erratic service and destinations of trams and buses. It proved to be the same here in Vienna and the lines neatly quartered the city and environs. The city proper ended up being so compact that we chose to walk home a lot of the time, basking in the street theatre and knowing the 30-40 minute walk wouldn't get the cold seeping through the clothing barriers!
Centred on the majestic, soaring St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna was a fairytale city of monumental buildings on an epic scale in terms of size, majesty and sheer numbers. If it wasn't the matching mirror image art galleries and history museums it was the Hapsburg's city palace or the Town Hall or Parliament House, each a destination in and of itself. Dotted between the great edifices were perfectly maintained parks and gardens, fountains spurting mists on vistas of grand statues and sculpture and a populace quite intent on enjoying the beautiful holiday atmosphere as every spare space had been quite magically transformed into a Christmas Market.
We wandered and "oohed" and "aahed" through many of these markets by night and day. The products were, in the main, top quality goods unlike the junk foisted on people elsewhere in the world. There was an emphasis on clever arts and crafts and the stalls housed many different items from decorations to pottery to jewelry and of course, food and drink. A piping hot orangen punsch with or without a massive German hotdog with mustard was a "go-to" for me and Cassy had her fill of giant potatoes with exotic toppings!
We had primo seats on the first night for a performance of Hayden and Mozart at the Musikverien. It was quite a surreal experience to be in this most famous performance centre with conductor Markus Landerer and with our special view of the entire orchestra and soloists. It is an intimate and rich space, a very special vibe. On Christmas Day we arrived at the 14th century chapel in the Hapsburg Palace to be ushered into our special seats in the front section. We attended the entire mass (Mum, you'll be excited to hear) but all responses from the congregation were sung in the most ethereal manner by the Vienna Boys' Choir. Hidden away in the high landings they were heard and not seen, but it was an amazing treat and one we'll never forget. The beautiful voices of the soloists are impossible to describe but we did feel like we were floating down a warm, chocolate river! I took a sneaky video when they were warming up, which will give you some idea of the sounds to come....
On most days, we'd head out with a vague plan of attack, but quite prepared to deviate completely if the whim took us, which it quite often did! One of the very few "organized" adventures was a little quirky but proved to be a real winner and lots of fun. We went on a "polawalk" which involved using vintage Polaroid cameras to take shots of the city on a walking tour with a guide. Our small group met at the owner's apartment where he explained the intricacies of using the cameras effectively (not as easy as you might imagine). Our small group of five headed out loaded with black and white film (best for the cold weather) and Thomas took us to various locations round the city where we could take some good shots. These included the aforementioned buildings, parks and markets giving us a great idea and feel for the city. We ended the three hours with a hot punschen (of course!), our own polaroid photos and a recommendation from local Thomas of the best schnitzel in town....score!
The art highlights were too many to mention, but we unexpectedly stumbled on a boutique serving of Monets and Picassos at the Albertina amongst a massive collected body of works by Munch. Expecting it to be just a few paintings we were staggered by the scope of the former, room after room full of these artist's (some seminal) works and fine Fauvist paintings scattered in-between. Cass just wanted to take home one of the Picasso plates! Edvard Munch has a much wider oeuvre than "The Scream" might indicate: there were just so many examples of his different wood block prints and a contemporary feel for works finished in the century before last.
The Kunsthistorische, one of the mirror image museums in the museum quarter was an amazing structure inside and out. Grand stairways and hallways led to giant vaulted rooms with impossibly high ceilings, each of which had been draped in a bold, rich colour to further highlight its treasures. Viscous, blood red walls fell with horrific, biblical beheadings and disciple intrigue by Caravaggio and deep, royal blue rooms were awash with Rueben's delicate nudes while Titian's stern black cloaked young men were backdropped in sombre hues of forest green. Each room was curated quite brilliantly and colour matched to the vibe oozing from the walls.
We spent a full day at the Schonbrunn Palace and marvelled yet again at the riches and excesses of the Hapsburgs. Their collections somehow managed to remain virtually intact, probably because of the sheer volume of the treasure. We wandered the grounds and parks and even Cassy mentioned the verb, "enduring" when talking about the palace rooms. There's only so much regal luxury one can accommodate at any given time!
We ventured to yet another Hapsburg palace, The Belvedere, to soak in Austria's famous son, Gustav Klimt, and an incredible array of his works amongst yet more impressionist masters works and a smattering of the great French impressionists and post-impressionists. Klimt's most famous works still housed in Europe (missing of course, the famous "Woman in Gold" repatriated to rightful owners in the States after Nazi looting) were there, including the jaw-dropping "The Kiss" and "Judith". Works by Schiele and Kokoschka in the lower palace were equally impressive and I've really taken to Kokoschka as one of my new favourites.
In 1896, Klimt and six other frustrated artists formed the breakaway "Secession" and an amazing space was built to house their art, one which still dazzles with its contemporary design today. The gargantuan, gilded leaf dome glitters on top of the building today just a skip and a stroll from the Opera House and must have looked like an alien spaceship when horses and carts trundled by in its infancy! It houses interesting contemporary art on the upper floors, but the purpose built vaulted ceilinged basement hosts the Beethoven frieze in perpetuity. What a delight to gaze upon this masterpiece in situ after extensive care and restoration. Its soaring power assaults from a 4m height, the long walls 17m each and the short wall 6m, the public able to gaze upon all aspects of the work in an uninterrupted manner, owing to its high placement on the walls.
I was determined to eat a schnitzel every day we were in Austria but I didn't quite manage it! With all the other delicious offerings, it just wasn't possible. We (yes, we!) did indulge on three separate occasions however. After our aforementioned tip from Thomas we went twice to Plachutta's Gasthaus zur Oper, and I'll let this little spiel do my talking. Suffice to say...best ever, by a long way!
Our other contemporary art fix came in two visits: one to the unlikely haunt of the Hapsburgs furniture museum. After viewing the exquisite furnishing from the Sissi apartments, we ventured further to Austrian contemporary furniture and a special exhibition on light, "Lightopia" which was fascinating. It, in turn, saw us venturing to new parts of town and new sights on the street. The MUMOK was a five storey dedicated space with so much space, it must be the envy of art galleries everywhere. It enabled pieces to be displayed in wonderful open settings and gave the public plenty of room to move around and interact with the works. It was enormous and we were quite physically exhausted, yet mentally invigorated, when we exited.
I'm afraid, as I suspected, that I've been both unable to be succinct and equally unable to adequately describe our experience! Bratislava awaits, as does Milan....if you're game, tune in next week for the rest!
Slideshow of Vienna is up top for now, or here more permanently. I've also taken a slew of videos: I intend to post one each week in a most annoying fashion for the foreseeable future!