Austria

Goodbye-hausen Vienna. We pretty much added 'hausen' to the end of every word during our stay in Vienna. Puerile I know but still rather funny (to us). Today we say goodbye to a beautiful city filled with an obvious unbridled passion (or some could say obsession) for the arts. The imposing architecture had us in awe of its magnificence as we walked by. The Austrians certainly possess the German fastidiousness or is it the other way around? Not here for a history lesson but the point is, Vienna was the cleanest and most tidy city we visited. I almost felt like emptying a rubbish can on the sidewalk just to mess it up a little then kicking it around for effect.

Train to Praha. Next stop, Prague. Central Europe is quickly becoming our favourite region and I’m certain that Prague will live up to the standard set by Budapest and Vienna. The train ride was rather smooth and uneventful which thankfully allowed for some blog time. Well overdue.

Do Austrians yodel in the rain? It’s virtually been raining since we got here and now unfortunately our last day in Vienna. Can’t really afford for the rain to be too inhibitive so time to get active.

Museum Quarter. We stumbled across this place of pure majesty somewhat by accident. We felt more significant just having seen it. Probably should have visited some of the museums but the chance of missing out on the architectural splendour of Vienna was a risk we were not willing to take. The rain really held us back yesterday and that unfortunately did not leave much time to get in touch with Vienna’s soul. On a side note, It’d be interesting to know the international statistic on museums per capita. I think Austria (based on Vienna alone) would have to be amongst the favourites.

Peddler. Whilst admiring the sights pretending to be full of culture and appreciative of the arts, we were approached by a man playing dress ups. “Aren’t you a bit old for that, buddy?” He was clad in a “period” uniform (not sure which exactly) peddling tickets to a Mozart and Strauss orchestra, complete with ballet and opera. At first I wasn’t interested (you kind of switch off to the hawkers after a while) but I could see that Vicki’s eyes widened with interest. It was time to hear him out and listen to the pitch. I had no problem paying top dollar to see a legitimate Austrian Orchestra with all the trimmings but would hate to get there only to find that it was an amateurish set up designed purely to extract tourist currency. As if to compensate for the somewhat uneventful rain delays, we upgraded to the three-course dinner package. He even gave us the student discount. “It’d better be good mate or Aaa’ll be baack!”

Liar! The peddler told us that the Concert hall was only 5 minutes away on foot. Lying prick, we took the metro and ran almost every step of the way. It easily took 20 minutes and that was almost all the time we had. Just made it before the opener.

The Hills are alive. We bought premium tickets, which had us practically in the lap of the Orchestra. It was my first 'real' exposure to this sort of thing. Vic goes to shows with her Mumma all the time but I normally pass and hang out with her Dad watching the footy (Anyone that says AFL is not a form of culture is obviously lacking culture themselves). As for the show, lost for words. Loved the Opera (really loved it), loved the ballerina (guys doing ballet still freak me out a little) and well, the orchestra was superb playing so many of the classics. An opulent setting filled with the most refined forms of artistic display and expression tainted only by images of Elmer Fudd chasing Buggs Bunny and the damn Sorbent toilet paper commercial.

Intermission. The call for intermission launched Vicki from her seat and like a bee to a spring blossom, straight to the bar for a glass of bubbly, a tradition she shared with her Mother. Vic loved every minute of the performance and this evening of artistic indulgence was quickly flagged as 'a' high point of the trip to date. Same goes for me.

Dinner. We had our doubts about dinner. Package deals are never too reliable but the standard of food and the silver service did justice to what we had just witnessed. I guess we got lucky. Things were really working out on our last night in Vienna. The white asparagus here is delectable and it is also the size of a small leak. Every course was superbly prepared and there wasn’t a thing to complain about. Thanks peddler-man!

City centre. We headed into the heart of Vienna to have a look around and maybe do a spot of shopping. The city was spectacular. The architecture is similar to that in Budapest and equally as beautiful. Not sure about all the “gay friendly” references. Hey, it’s cool and all but Gay friendly cafes? What, are there glory holes in the bathrooms? What happens in the not so gay friendly cafes? Maybe it’s a marketing thing but they could be guilty of going a little overboard.

Shopping. Back to the Euro. Might be good for Europe but certainly not good for us. We bought utensils and house stuff of all things. German manufacturing is grand no matter what you buy and fortunately that is all that Austria seem to stock.

Pink city. First service failure. The waitress took forever and served people in the wrong order when she did get around to it. No acknowledgement even after 20 minutes. Out of here.

Coffee bar. Thought we’d stop for a quick coffee between sights. Service was much better but after receiving our coffees, again there was no acknowledgement. That’s ok. Don’t need a bill. Happy to pay at the counter. “Please sit down and wait.” 10 minutes later, still no service. “The money is on the table, Arnie.”

Hat trick. We’d finished with the coffee and were now looking for somewhere to dine. “Are you open for dinner?” “Hotdogs and sandwiches” We politely asked if that was all and the lady behind the counter burst into an aggressive rambling spasm, “This is a café, what do you expect… ?” and a heap of shit that just bounced off the back of our heads as we walked out. Geez, lady. Take a chill pill and listen to some of that soothing classical music you are so famous for.

Restaurant grinch. Not a great run today. Attempt number two at dinner. “We are closed”, grumbled a half naked man with cigarette in mouth. “Anywhere you can recommend?” “No!” Is this indicative of the level of service provided in Vienna? We’ll reluctantly reserve judgement.

Dinner. Finally, somewhere to eat. Admittedly, we left it a little late but surely we shouldn’t have to resort to Chinese food in Vienna of all places. Szechuan chicken and Sushi. Just what Mozart would have eaten.

Yodelaheehoo. Arrived in Vienna around dinnertime. It was a nice feeling to have lunch in Budapest followed by dinner in Vienna on my birthday. Can you believe it, Vicki had a salad?!