Vienna
December 20-23
Quickly through customs
Caught the city express train, then the subway to our hotel
Wasn’t able to check in, dropped our bags
Subway to Stephansplatz - most beautiful cathedral in the city and one of the tallest in the world. It is known for the geometric mosaic glazed tiles
We tried to get a table at a cafe but were too slow in our sleep deprived state
The buildings are beautiful and are crowed with lots of tourists
We are so exhausted and walked back towards our hotel
Had strudel and tea at a cafe down the street from our hotel
Returned at noon and our room is ready! Hopefully it is far away from the jackhammers due to the construction across the street
Sixta for dinner
Beer, spritzer, wine, schnitzel and duck and apricot schnapps on the house!
Pretty decorations & great service
Art Advent Christmas market - beautiful with the Karlskirche as the backdrop - orange and black mugs with a scene; lots of activities for kids like the carousel with antiques, shops with beautiful handcrafted wood, jewelry, and ornaments
Spittelberg Market - 3 alleys, busy, lots of food and some crafts - white mug with writing and a blue dove
Was in bed at 9:30
Sunday Dec 21
Woke up around 8:00 - yay!
Went to Starbucks because there was no room in the dining area
Had soft boiled eggs and delicious bacon
Bill did work until 11:00
We went to Kunsthistorisches Museum - the art gallery
The interior and exterior were beautiful - it was designed to be a museum
We appreciated the sofas in most rooms for resting while listening to the explanations of the artwork
I liked the Sacrificial Death of Marcus Curtis, The Anointment of David, the portrait of Marie Antoinette - Youngest Daughter of Marie Teresa, Rafel’s Mary with Jesus and John the Baptist, Herding the cows, the wall tile lion from Rome, and the Egyptian hippo that we also saw in NYC.
Bill liked the Suicide of Cleopatra, the Gold Room - especially the pieces from Rudolf II’s collection.
We had a sausage and mulled wine from Spittleberg Market - aka - our local Christmas market, then went back to our room for a nap.
We took the streetcar to X-MAK Christmas market - two thumbs down. The beer was good though and the fish on a stick looked delicious.
We walked to Stephanplatz - the cathedral - and enjoyed the lights covering all the streets. We strolled around and then enjoyed the market around the cathedral - best mugs to date. We kept the one from our chocolate and plum drink and bought a cute stocking with white toes and heel.
We then had dinner at Figlmuller at Wollzeile - schnitzel and veal goulash with a nice bottle of red. It is a very popular spot with tourists and the waiters wearing tuxedos.
The markets near this restaurant were closing as we arrived, so we went home and went to bed.
Monday Dec 22
Slept in a bit this morning
Walked to Cafe Sperl and waited in line in the cold - something I don’t need to do at that time of day again
I had sunny side eggs and black tea. Bill had risotto and a wine spritzer.
We walked back to the street that our hotel is on and did some shopping. We found a sweater and socks for Bill.
Also found some souvenir ornaments at a shop close to our hotel.
My stomach was acting up so we went to the room and chilled for a bit. We decided to change for dinner and check out Belvedere Palace before dinner.
The market was really nice - lots of food and crafts. We bought a pretty mug and had hot cocoa with warm raclette on bread. We bought tickets to see the Impressionist exhibit in Lower Belvedere. It is part of the personal largest French Impressionist collection in Europe. It was started over 100 years ago by Jenny and Sidney Brown.
I liked On the Banks of the Nonette, near Gourieux by Jean-Baptistery Camille Carot, The Boulevard Montmarte, Spring by Camille Pissarro, The Boat by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Fishing Boats, Memory of Venice by Odilion Redon.
Bill liked the pieces but did not think that they were better than the pieces that they are renowned for.
We checked out the Medieval collection in the former stables. Then checked out Franz Xavier Messerschmidt - a sculpture known for his “character heads”.
We were able to walk to Das Lokal im Hof and get seated 30 min early. We had the four course meal with steak tartare, thinly sliced and buttered potatoes that were baked, minced beef with cabbage and dumplings stuffed with crispy pork, and coconut and passion fruit. We had a lovely bottle of local wine with it.
We walked to Karlskirche and went to the market to pick up a mug and buy ourselves a painted glass Christmas ornament.
We attended the Vivaldi Four Seasons concert in the chilly but beautiful church. We had a great seats. It was a beautiful performance.
Stopped at Addicted to Rock on the way home for a gin cocktail - very different music scene! And not in a good way. Instead of a gin with cranberry cocktail I received a holiday Moscow Mule - yuck!
Tuesday Dec 23
We took the subway to Schonbrunn Palace. We arrived just on time to catch the 11am English guided tour. Our guide had great English and was a speed talker!
We toured Marie Theresa’s chambers where she would receive guests - the motif reflected the exterior gardens with lots of greenery, fruit, vegetables, and birds. As you entered each room, the frescos illustrated more of the human interaction with nature. Was a nice start to the tour and is only reserved for guided tours.
We joined the melee (the rest of the people touring the palace). The Great Gallery was spectacular - loved the frescos that glorified the reign of Maria Theresa. One signifies her governance over several regions in Europe, the other signifies peace and prosperity, and the third signifies their military prowess. A couple of the rooms were decorated with black lacquer and Asian vases - to signify power and wealth.
Outside the palace was one of the largest Christmas markets including a Lindt hot chocolate booth, skating rink, Ferris wheel, two carousels, a large nativity scene, and lots of booths with crafts, art, jewellery, drinks, and food. We had a Lindt hot chocolate. Mine was dark chocolate with Baileys and Bill had mint chocolate. It was the best chocolate he ever had! Also bought a yummy apple strudel to tide us over before our midday meal.
We bought a small pear shaped ceramic bird feeder to hang in our backyard.
We walked to Beats and Beans for a late lunch/early dinner. I had crispy pork dumplings on sauerkraut (SO GOOD) and Bill had roasted chicken with sprouts. Had another delicious apple strudel with stewed plums on the side. We are taking half away, so Bill can have a snack on the train tomorrow am.
The weather has officially shifted from mist to a drizzle. Due to this, we headed to the subway to get back to the hotel instead of walking. We are not going to see the sun while we are in Vienna this time, but it is still beautiful!
After a short nap (for me), we head back to the two markets that were closing the last time we went. The first one was Am Hof - located in a small square or plazt. It is definitely an adult scene with the usual fare. We already have a mug, so we moved on to Weindlemarket - similar set up and vibe. It did have a small shop that was filled with Christmas ornaments, a pretty Christmas tree, and is surrounded by some beautiful buildings. We chose a green mug to add to our growing collection.
We saved the best market for last in Rathausplatz. It was off the hook! We ended up with 2 mugs - a red one with a pretty Christmas scene and a heart shaped one that everyone coveted! We entered along the side that had a light covered path with multiple nativity scenes - each one had its own music. Then as we entered the market from a path along the back, a rat ran across the path in front of us - hence the name Rat Haus Platz I guess! The market had a giant (real ice) skating rink, several light displays like the oversized Christmas oranaments, white lights in trees, and the highlight - every half hour the tree with red hearts would turn off and a huge sparkly red heart would glide across the centre of the park and land in a tree to ignite a bunch of glowing hearts - so pretty! The had a large nativity scene in front of a pretty Christmas tree that had the pretty Rathaus building - City Hall lighted behind it - stunning! There was a double decker carousel, there were a lot of ornaments and crafts for sale, plenty of food and drink, and tons of people! The kid friendly area had an animated animal band, a tree with lots of bird houses with birds inside that mimics their calls, and a huge nutcracker with a video of a ballerina dancing to a nutcracker song. We bought our cherubic Betty ornament here.
We headed home on the subway and packed everything up - have to leave the hotel by 6am to catch our train.