12.5.2009

12.5.09

Today is a rainy travel day in Vienna for me. I’m glad to have a day to relax my walking legs. Vienna is the place where they appreciate the finer things in life. Vienna is the city that houses the Albertina Museum, home of one of the largest collections of graphic art in the world housing originals from Rembrandt to Michelangelo. Also the Leopold Museum (which I visited and got some great photos… shhhhh) is very well known world wide. The exhibits by Klimt and Egon Schiele were the most impressive. Vienna is also home to the Staats Opera House (which I got to see a performance from spectacular seats and was able to get a short video clip of the opening act) and was performing the drama Tosca while I was in town. Everything from Guess to Gucci lined the main shopping street of Karntnestrasse which ran from the Center of Vienna (Stephansplatz) to the original Ringstrasse.

The reason I started my first day at stephensplatz is because everything stems from its central location. As soon as I came up the stairs from the subway I was staring at the hoary gothic bulk (I really like gothic architecture) of the Stephensdom and its early 16th century carved stone (amazingly preserved in certain areas). It’s truly a masterpiece of late gothic art. The first thing I went to see once I got inside was the tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III.
Next I went to the catacombs underneath (it’s so cool to me to see rooms of bones and sculls). At one point the smell was so bad in the church above no one would come to mass. I don’t think they were thinking about that initially. As we got deeper into the catacombs the eerier it got. Some of the tunnels haven’t been refurbished ever (and remember were talking early 16th century). I snapped several photos (even though I wasn’t really supposed to) and one room of bones that had to be stacked neatly. The walls are all bones and go at least 8 feet high with more bones and skulls piled on the middle. During and shortly after the plague there were so many dead people that the bones were spilling into the hallways so they had to organize them to get them to all fit.
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From the catacombs I started the torturous climb to the 177 meter spire nicknamed Steffl (or little Stephen). The views were amazing but a little over promoted. The only place to catch a glimpse was 5 or 6 windows in a gift shop at the top (no outdoor deck). I don’t know how long it took me to reach the summit of the spire but I know I was exhausted. Worst of all it’s a spiral staircase all the way to the top. Someone said it’s like 373 stairs total. It took me 3 minutes to tape the entire walk down and I was hauling ass. It was the longest 3 minutes because the whole time you are going in circles and the scenery never changes, eerie staircase the whole way). I was quite tired so I stopped for some traditional Vienna cuisine and I ordered boiled beef & vegetables, it was good, I grabbed some coffee and off I went. I came across this beautiful park so I sat in the grass people watching for a bit, then headed to the Museum Quarters.

The Museum Quarters was a very cool place to visit. It’s set in the former imperial stables and has several odd shaped objects in the courtyard. They were all shaped ergonomically and people were lounging around enjoying the weather and each other. I started off at the Leopold museum. I had about 3 hours before I was to meet with Ivan (a cool traveler I met from Portugal that spoke a little English). I was blown away by some of the art at the Leopold and couldn’t resist snapping a few photos. I met with Ivan we took some pictures by a Mozart Monument and walked around the park for a bit. We heard about an Opera performance at the Staats Opera House and found out you could get standing room only tickets if you stood in line and got there early. That’s what we did. We stood in line for hours to get rejected at the door for wearing shorts! I was bummed out… and at dinner everything came together. I met someone that had vouchers for the best standing room area for the following performance (the next day). Her friends had them but weren’t going to use them so lucky me… I got go see Tosca!

Before the Opera I got up early to see the Schloss Schonbrunn. A palace designed on a model of Versailles. Hundreds of Greek statues, and gardens as far as the eye could see. There is a grand tour all forty rooms including the Millions Room but I didn’t go. I had too much fun outside. They had a great little area to view the entire property from atop a huge hill, a zoo with animals, and a labyrinth/ hedge maze. Yes, strait out of Alice in Wonderland I went navigating thru a 8 foot high hedge maze. It was so cool. The reward at the end was being able to take a picture from a platform above the maze. I checked out the skate park at Stadtpark (and Jesse you would have dominated this park) and got lost for a while in the neighborhoods outside the city. I took some great pictures of people being people, sidewalk art, and all sorts of cool stuff. I also have videos of a great football player (soccer) just playing around with his football, a drum circle, some sidewalk performers, among various others videos and photos.

All in all I had a great time in Vienna but I’m ready to move on to Krakow, Poland. I am a little nervous about visiting Auschwitz but I think it has to be done. My train leaves tonight at 22.17 (10:17pm) and I arrive in Poland at 6.33 tomorrow. I have already booked my next stop. I want to get to Slovenia to see the stalactite caves. It’s the over night train (the sleeping compartments sell out fast) that departs Krakow, Poland on Sunday 17.5.09 (May 17th) and arrives the following morning back into Austria and I transfer for a short train into Slovenia.

Bring back to the states from abroad:

1. Coke in glass bottles…. Ahhh, so refreshing
2. Austria’s excellent public transportation system leaves no reason for a car.
3. Recycling bins everywhere (glass, paper, plastic) and people use them.
4. Europeans are much more respectful to others. Example: stepping to right on trams & escalators if you plan to stand (respectful). It makes an isle way for people in a rush (you can always tell us Americans, they are oblivious to others and don’t seem to care).
5. Awareness of natural resource consumption
-Water- they all are conscious about water waste and everything is set to sensors in the countries I have visited thus far.
-Paper- there is no paper towels in bathrooms except in very nice hotels and restaurants. There are blowers, or the rotating paper that I hate.
-Electricity- efficiency is amazing. Your room key activates the power in your room. Once you leave you must take your key and the power shuts down.