Maestro On The Move: The Gist of Vienna Tour

Mein damen und herren, Willkommen!

I tell you, it's a shock going from Italian to German, especially since I stink at even attempting to speak either one. I don't even admit to knowing a thing about either, except from what I may know from church latin, musicals or music markings. I must have said, "Si" a dozen times today. Granted people do speak some English in Vienna and I was able to get around just fine today without a problem.

Here's some music for you as you read...

Despite my trepidations at the beginning of my stay here in Vienna, I did have a plan for today. I planned to get up, have breakfast at the hotel (8 euro!! But warm food!) and head to the Vienna City Center and take some Rick Steves tours. I bought an all day tram pass and waited for the tram that was going to City Center. I can read and understand a tram map, so getting there wasn't a problem. Of course I stayed on too long and started to recognize things I'd seen minutes before, so I got off and went back to the end of the line and followed Rick Steves directions to a T.

When I got off the tram, I saw this....

Angela mentioned this stand on Facebook, so I took a picture

I eventually got on the right tram that would travel on the outer edge of the Ringstrasse. We were actually traveling along what used to be a medieval wall that Emperor Franz Josef had torn down and replaced with a grand boulevard 190 feet wide. It outlines Old Vienna which comprises a good amount of the Vienna City Center, which include the Opera House and St Stephens church.

Anyhow, I sat on the correct side of the tram this time and was able to catch a lot of the sites mentioned in the book. I guess I could have listened to the podcast, but I DEFINITELY left my headphones in my other backpack. I was reading so I didn't have a chance to take pictures. I missed some things because I was reading the book, also. Can't win :( Anyhow, I had to transfer at a certain point. As I got out, I was near a gelato stand and since I had time, the elderberry gelato was very refreshing.

The tram arrived, and I was on my way again. A sign for the Vienna production of "Mamma Mia!" caught my eye, and I made a mental note to see if it was still playing and maybe I could see it this evening.

The tram brought us back to the Opera House, and I headed to the City Center to check it out. Here are a few pics of the Opera House

Side of the Opera House

A Fountain on the side of the Opera House

Front of the Opera House

So, I kept walking, and then I saw this....

And a ticket booth nearby, so I checked it out. Well, turns out that all the musicals in Vienna are off for the summer. Vienna is such a tease!!! Oh, well I would soon see an English musical soon enough. So, I took off up the middle of the City Center and saw this....

Wow, I hadn't had a decent iced coffee since I left California. That Cafe Freddo in Rome just didn't cut it. Now, I posted this on Facebook and was met with a lot of "Why are you going to Starbucks in Europe when you are in the city where coffee houses were invented." Yes, I agree with that statement quite a bit. But I'm a huge fan of iced coffee and 9 times out of 10 that's what I drink as hot coffee and I sometimes "don't get along" and on vacation I wasn't taking chances. I have had a few hot latte's on this trip, but I jumped at the chance for an iced one. After all, drinks with ice in them are scarce to none around here. Things are cold, of course, but just have no ice in them

After my Starbucks indulgence, I realized I hadn't picked up my Vienna hat yet, so I found a souvenir shop and picked up a hat and a few other small things.

Hat selfie

My glasses look like they are falling off and it looks like I'm winking at someone. It wasn't until later in the day that I realized the hat said "Austria" and not "Vienna". Damn, now I had to pick up a hat that said "Vienna". Later...

I sat down and consulted the guide book. Then I remembered -- OPERA HOUSE TOUR!!!! I turned around and headed back toward the Opera House and bought my ticket for a tour just as the English tour was gathering. Here are some pics of the tour, which I loved!!!

Chandelier in one of the Intermission rooms

One of many tapestries that depicted scenes from Mozart's "The Magic Flute". These tapestries were commissioned after the opera house was bombed and re-built after WWII and took 6 years to complete. There were several of them , here is one.

More chandeliers in the other intermission hall

Art in the intermission hall

View of the stage from what was the box of the Royal Family

The room off the box that can be used for intermission. You can rent this room for the duration of intermission for 500 euro and that doesn't include tea. This room is part of the original Opera House structure that survived the bombing

Stairs - aren't they grand?

Opera House mirror selfie.

Ceiling of the room with the mirror

Busts of famous composers

And my favorite part of the tour, BACKSTAGE!!!

I find it fascinating that the Vienna Opera puts on an Opera everyday during its season, and never the same production two times in a row. This coming season there are 9 operas in the season. I also found it that they have an emergency opera that is permanently stored in the opera house. "Tosca" can be up and ready to go in 2 hours in case of a problem with whatever opera is suppose to go on.

Tracks in the floor for scenery.

Fly system

First electric

Load-in

Stage Manager spot

View of the house from the orchestra pit

No chandelier in this opera house. Just this light ring thingy

Iron curtain

View of a box

The stage

At the end of the tour, they exited us through the gift shop, of course. I was surprised to see this CD on display. It's about 17 years old....

After the tour, it was time for the infamous Sacher Torte at the Sacher hotel, which happened to be nearby.

After the snack, I wondered up the City Center to St. Stephen's Church - the Heart of the Vienna City Center

Outside - all angles

Here's one with a filter... did I do that?

I kinda snuck in the sanctuary, I think there was a charge, but I just walked in. Here are some pictures, mostly of pipes.

Tomb of Frederick III

Small organ in a side chapel

Saints

Sanctuary close up

Ambo, which was very close to the back of the church!!

Pipes of the main organ

Sanctuary from the back of the church

Another smaller organ toward the front of the church

Sanctuary

I was lucky enough to hear most of the this concert. They sang a lot of a-capella things, mostly Mass settings, but at the end they sang the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria" and the Mozart "Ave Verum Corpus" with organ accompaniment.

After the concert, they cleared the sanctuary area. So I left. I wasn't feeling great, so I walked slowly around the City Center some more. Saw some horse and buggy things...

I found a restroom at McDonalds, snuck in there, too, as there was a code they gave you after you bought something, which I didn't, but I got away with it! Took care of some business and began to feel better (Hey, this is my blog and I'll write what I'd like!!!)

Saw this in Vienna and in Venice. I took a picture here for Diana.

I was walking around and decided maybe I'd take a bus tour. So I did. I got on the Red Bus City Tour and took a tour around the city. The tour bus provided headphones with the tour in your language of choice, mine was English, of course, and while the narration happened, the background music was Mozart's "Eine Kline Nachtmusik" but only the first 2 movements. Over and over again. Here are some pictures from the bus tour.....

Austrian Parliament

City Hall

Somewhere over there is one of Beethoven's apartments

A votive church (one built to give thanks)

Barracks

Very old Ferris wheel Prater amusement park

The Blue Danube... which isn't really blue :(

We stopped for 30 minutes at the Schonbrunn estate. Long enough for pictures, a WC break, and to buy a hat that said "Vienna" and not "Austra) Pictures of the outside of the palace

When the tour was over, I was pretty hungry, so I went to the Gastro Haus for dinner and had some authentic Austrian food. I really wanted Schnitzel with noodles as the song goes, but they didn't have the noodle part, so I settled for Wiener Schnitzel, potato salad, cucumber salad with sour green and dill and a Campari spritzer (I'm growing quite found of those)