Vienna! (very long post)

So, I am finally getting to add Vienna on here. Flight out was great. Airport was easy, layover fast, convenient, all went very smoothly. I never encountered customs and the only stamp I got in my passport was in Paris – and I never left the airport.

Arrived around 9am Thursday. Went to the hotel, left my stuff and started exploring. Vienna is a fabulous old city, but TINY! I walked completed around it twice by 3:00. I did the walking tour, took tons of pictures, went into a store called Kessler’s, saw museums, palaces, Monument Against War and Fascism, Plague Monument, St Stephen’s Cathedral, St Peter’s Cathedral, Parliament, Town Hall, Holocaust Memorial (which really stood out as a completely square short building amongst the crooked cobblestone streets and old architecture). I was struck by the roman-esque statues. But then I learned that this was the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor until the 1600’s (I had no idea the Holy Roman Empire lasted that long).

Vienna is full of life. The cafes are full of people. I was surprised to see that about half the women there were wearing fur. (I fit right in.) I went to Demel for cake. Demel was opened over 100 years ago as the same bakery it is today, for the Kaiser. There are 2 main pedestrian only streets – Stephens-platz and Graben. Graben used to be to moat around the city. My hotel was over 200 years old. It was apartments, with a restaurant on the ground floor that the Kaiser was a regular at. About 100 years ago it was converted to a hotel and the restaurant removed. The doors are those thick double doors that you see in the old palaces.

There are 2 palaces in Vienna. Since I was going to the ball at the Hofburg, there was no point in doing a tour of it as well. So, I went to the Neue Berg on the palace grounds which housed the Armory Museum, Musical Instruments and Ancient Greek Statues. I really only cared about the incredible collection of arms and armor. There is a large central grassy area in the palace – Hero’s Square, which seems to serve as an ad hoc dog park. At least the locals are using their national treasures.

At this point, I was exhausted, after being up all night traveling, not to mention jetlag, so I went back to the hotel, ate dinner, wandered a bit more, then went to bed early. I did look into going to the opera, but they did not have any shows the 3 nights I was there.

Friday I woke up early and went to the other palace – Schonbrunn, which is the summer palace. Rooms were beautiful (no picture-taking allowed). The massive garden would be stunning in spring and summer. But in winter, are a bit desolate. Barren trees, dead grass, frozen ponds, and the ugliest fountain I have ever seen. There is a large greenhouse, a zoo (the oldest in Europe), and great views of Vienna and beyond. If they make the plain grassy area in the Hofburg a dog park, I would be interested to see how the natives use these gardens in the summer.

Went back into town and met M. We went to a café, met H and did dinner. Saturday, we all met in the morning and explored the town again, this time I was with a native. Back to the hotel to get ready for the ball. I wanted to take a horse and carriage to the palace, but was outvoted – we took a cab.

We walk in and there in front of us is a magnificent staircase, complete with red carpet. Yes, I walked the red carpet. Everyone was taking pictures on the stairs. At the top, we walked into the main ballroom – spectacular. We had about 20 rooms open for the ball, all were beautiful some spectacular. We made sure to get there early so we could see the official start of the ball – when the debutantes enter and perform for the dignitaries. I have no idea who any of them were, since all the announcements were in German. After they performed, they opened the floor to everyone. Of course, there was a live orchestra.

They say the Viennese Waltz was invented to entertain the king. I found out why. The crowd is supposed to move counterclockwise, while spinning – think the scrambler at the fair. In reality, it is human bumper cars. Yes, I smashed into people and was smashed into. It is very different from being alone on a dance floor with your instructor. But fun. We enjoyed watching everyone, looking for the best and worst dresses. At about 2:00am they had the quadrille, which is the folk dancing you see in movies. Except that there are about 3x as many people on this dance floor than their should be. I had no idea what to do, but made sure to be there. Luckily, the gentleman across from me not only knew all the moves, but spoke English. It was a blast.

I got back to the hotel around 4:30 am. E and I were meeting in Munich around 5pm. To get to Munich, I have to take the train and change trains in Salzburg. I wanted to see Salzburg. So, I made a deal with myself – if I could get up early, I can spend a few hours in Salzburg and then continue onto Munich. So, I got the train schedule and set my alarm clock. I woke up early, and got to the station in plenty of time to make the 8:30 am train, which would give me 3 hours in Salzburg. I was very proud of myself. Unfortunately no one at the train station knew anything about an 8:30 am train. I showed them the schedule, they just shrugged. First train in 9:40. Ugh, I could have slept an extra hour. Oh well, I buy my ticket and get on the train.

We are traveling and making a few stops along the way. All the announcements are in German, but I assume that I will a) recognize the word “Salzburg”, b) hear a longer announcement (i.e. change here for trains to…), and c) notice that we are now in a city.

Apparently, none of those 3 things happened.

We were sitting in what I thought was just another small stop, and something didn’t seem right, so I jumped up and saw we were in Salzburg. So, I grabbed my stuff and started to leave. Just then – the train started moving. So, I put down my stuff and went to find the conductor. I assumed I’d get off at the next stop 20 minutes down the road, some back and all would be well. Nope. Next stop is an hour away (not enough time for me to explore Salzburg – that’s my 2 hours). But there is a train directly from there to Munich.

I am disappointed, but all I wanted to do in Salzburg was take the funicular to the top of the mountain and see the fortress and the views. Oh well, not the end of the world. So, I sit back and enjoy the countryside. After all, we are headed to the Alps. People are staring at me as I am taking pictures from the moving train.

So, an hour later I get to this small town. With no expectations, I put my luggage in the locker and walk around, as I have an hour and a half to kill. And then, at the top of the mountain, is a fortress. A fabulous, nowhere near as touristy fortress, with incredible views! I ran to it! (Ok, as much as someone in a fur coat can run up a hill.) Apparently this was a fortress of the Holy Roman Empire. Thick stone walls, turrets, windows that are angled so the outside opening is smaller than the inside opening, secret passages, prison cells, towers. We were in a room that was breached, but the sign was in German so I don’t know if it was when the Romans won the castle, or if they had it and then had to expel the bad guys. I took a picture of the plaque and will try to get it translated.

I took so many pictures. I was so elated. This was the highlight of the trip. It’s a place I never would have gone to, it’s not in any guidebook, and it was just what I wanted. Better than Salzburg.

I made sure to take the non-stop direct train to Munich, so I got there with no problems. When the conductor asked to see my ticket he looked at it, so I gave him the explanation. I saw him politely suppress a smile. “It’s ok,” I said, “It’s funny. You can laugh.” At which point not only did he laugh, but the person sitting across from me laughed too. So, I had someone to talk to this trip.

When I arrived in Munich, I met E at the hotel, which was very easy to find. We wandered Munich and went to dinner. We went to bed early as I did not have much sleep the night before and we had a full day planned for Monday.

Our goal was to see mountains and palaces. I think you will agree that we succeeded. Monday we first went to Schloss Nymphenberg, the summer palace. Ironically, we missed the stop on the train. Had to wait at the end of the line and go back. Again, no pictures allowed inside the palace. And this also would be much more spectacular in the summer. The ponds were 90% frozen, but there were still swans, who obviously hated the ice. We were quite amused watching them slip and try to gracefully slide along the ice. The best part was the carriage museum. Mad King Ludwig’s coaches and sleighs were there, as were an interesting assortment of others, up to the 20th century. Think of the tackiest, most gaudy, ostentatious thing you can imagine. Now triple it and that will begin to describe King Ludwig’s coaches.

Then we went back into Munich to the Residenz, which was the city palace. Interestingly, the former royal family still owns the palace and lives in part of it. There were over 100 rooms open to see in this palace, including an indoor grotto, several grand ballrooms, an amazing chapel, and a gold room. Yes, the walls are paneled in gold. For some reason, most of the door handles were over my head. I guess it was to keep the short people out. By the end of it, we were palaced out. But the crown jewels are also there, so we had to see those – stunning.

Tuesday we had planned to go to some museums, but it was Fat Tuesday, and they were all closed. So we headed out to Dachau. What an experience. We spent hours there, listening to the audioguide, reading every single plaque. It was…I can’t even describe it. I took pictures of a lot of places, but I could not take pictures in the crematorium or gas chamber, or Jewish memorial.

From Dachau, we headed to the mountains. We were staying in a mountain town – Reutte and then going to see the palaces. The Alps were beautiful, but nowhere near as much snow as I expected. I’m glad we did not plan on going skiing.

There are 3 of Mad King Ludwig’s palaces in those mountains, but we only had time to go to 2 – Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwangau was his father’s and my favorite. It was used only for family and not for entertaining, so it was modest with excellent views. Neuschwanstein is the one Cinderella’s Castle is based off of. It’s larger, grander, and unfinished. Mad King Ludwig was kidnapped and murdered before it was finished. Because he had spent so much money on these palaces, they were handed over to the country of Germany as payment, and opened to tourists within months of his death. It was also much more touristy. I felt like cattle being pushed through. Mary’s Bridge was closed due to ice.

The we had to head back to Switzerland. Nice drive. Wednesday, I got to explore Basel. E showed me around her adopted city. It’s much bigger than I thought and there’s small river going through it – the Rhine. We wandered around, got Swiss chocolate, went to a museum. Her apartment is fabulous and it’s very easy to get around.

I left at 5:30 am Friday to get to the airport. Hated going through Paris this time. Saw the Eiffel Tower from the plane. And, 20 hours later, arrived home. This time, the only stamp I got in my passport was in Newark.