Viennese returns
As best as we can recall it was 2004 when we came here for a short holiday. Suffice to say we don't remember the details - of course visits to the theatre, Opera, Spanish Riding School and Palace stand out, but which churches, museums and statues?
Anyway with only a short tour we are only going to get the highlights today. Starting with the finest weather of our holiday so far, the buildings looked splendid against a clear blue sky, from the famous ferris wheel (The Third Man, and which James Bond film spring to mind? Clue - it was a Dalton) we drive towards the centre of Vienna, joining the ring road to see statuary and buildings galore. Radetsky outside the War Office, Strauss in the State Park, and Beethoven gets his own square. We then pass the Opera House, reminding us how we paid over £100 each last time for tickets to Magic Flute (how much now I wonder?) and on past the jaw-dropping Hofberg Palace - home of the Hapsberg family.
We marvel at the parliament, gleaming in white marble, and the town hall with annual film festival just setting up in front of it. Eventually we’ve done the circuit and it’s time to debus and get walking around some of the inner parts - no heavy traffic allowed, not even cars after 10:30.
Our guide talks us through the history of the royal family, how the Empire is no longer, how the war changed things, and what the current situation is. We then move on to musicians, and how Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Liszt to name a few, were important to the city. We’re lucky enough to see some Lipizzan horses walking back to the stables of the Spanish Riding School (who remembers the theme ‘White Horses’ and TV program from the sixties?)
Finally we’re on our own and able to go exploring, starting with the Cathedral of St Stephen (he was the king of Hungary, and it's he of the feast in the carol Good King Wenceslas!) His cathedral was heavily damaged in the war and the roof is new even though it follows the same pattern as before. We took the lift up one tower to get a better view and of the surrounding area.
Back on the ground we headed back to Stadtpark and then headed round getting all the photos we’d been unable to get from the bus, and getting to places we’d not done earlier. Eventually we caught the bus back to the ship (this is one of the few times we aren’t parked in the city - the Danube doesn’t actually flow though Vienna, only it’s smaller tributary) so we’re few miles out.
A light lunch and a few hours on deck and pool, and before we know it it's time to shower and dress for an ultra-early, unsatisfactory buffet dinner, then we hit the busses once again heading for town. Only the prospect of a Viennese concert can make up for the disappointing eating experience, and thankfully we’re happy with the outcome - a drinks reception, then an eight person ensemble plus two singers give an excellent evening’s entertainment in a private concert hall where (allegedly) Beethoven premiered some of his works! It was a good end to the day.
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