New Year's Eve

The Viennese really know how to do New Year's Eve!  Starting at 2:00 in the center of the city there is a New Year's trail with different stages that have performances all over the city.  We went down to Stephansplatz by about 3:00 and the waltz lessons were in full swing.  We spent at least an hour dancing the waltz with a few hundred others and it was great fun. Also worked up quite a sweat despite the chill in the air.  When we were too tired to dance anymore, we had some Gluwein and then walked all over the city, stopping at all the different stages.  At the Opera House they were projecting the opera out on screens to those of us outside.  At St. Stephen's cathedral they had the New Year's Eve service simulcast on the jumbotrons.  And all around the city there were street musicians playing all different kinds of music.  By the end of our 5 hours of walking around we had heard classical, jazz, rock from the 50s to the 90s, various kinds of folk music, Austrian accordions, flute and folk music of the Andes , Irish melodies...you name it.  The pink pig motif is big here on New Year's - many were wearing pig ears, pig hats, all the drinks are served in the pink pig mugs, and we even saw one guy dressed up fully in a pink pig costume.  We were impressed at how civilized and orderly it all was -  folks were having fun, but no one was rowdy, the streets were not full of trash or litter, it was just a really good time.  Now mind you, we left about 8:00 because we were frozen and tired so maybe it gets more rowdy near midnight.  We can hear fireworks going off in the distance from the apartment, but we are back staying warm and waiting for midnight.  We did not have the stamina to stay out in the cold that long!  Lots of fun though and a great, festive way to welcome in the New Year!q

 

Imperial Apartments, Stephesplatz and Schwartzenberger Cafe

Today we went back to the center of the city and toured through the Imperial apartments.  They are, to say the least, elegant and the city version of what we saw at Schonbrunn.  Then we walked back to the outdoor market and had our Trdelniks and Gluwein in pink pig mugs.  Then we wandered around the center city area, stopping in interesting shops.  We looked into one that sells traditional Austrian clothing - VERY EXPENSIVE - but lovely.  We saw the stables where the Lipzinger Stallions are housed.  They are beautiful white stallions and we were able to see them poking their heads out of their stalls watching the passers by.  We wandered into a little local church, St. Michael's, and then walked through the busy shopping district and stopped at Shakespeare & Co. English bookstore.  We then walked back to Stephensplatz and went inside the cathedral.   It was too late to tour the cathedral but I at least got a look at it.  From there we walked to the Ringstrasse and had a light supper at Schwartzernberger Cafe, a 19th century traditional cafe.   We really enjoyed sitting at a window table right next to the piano and enjoyed the music and good Viennese cafe food.  I had a local draught Christmas beer which was quite good and we shared an apple strudel with whipped cream for dessert.  The downtown area is gearing up for the New Year's Eve festivities that will go on all day tomorrow.  The cold air does not deter the crowds near as we can tell, so tomorrow afternoon and evening should be quite an experience!

Schonbrunn Palace Tour and Tirolean Lunch in the Woods

Woke up late again today, having lain awake all night unable to sleep. My body is not adjusting to this time zone at all well this trip!  Karen and I went to the Schonbrunn Palace, which is the summer home of the Habsburg family emporers and empresses.  Very elegant and ornate.  We took the "Grand Tour" which takes you through 40 of the 1400 rooms in the palace.  The palace was absolutely packed with tourists so we had to go with the flow of the mob.  It was fascinating to learn of the history of the Habgurg empire and the various personalities who ruled Austria during its golden imperial era.  The rococo style of the rooms, the furnishings, the wood, the gold leaf on everything and the beautiful artwork and furniture was pretty impressive.  After the tour we walked out to the large expansive grounds, which in the summer is a beautiful array of gardens.  We walked up to the Neptune fountain and then beyond to a large stone gazebo where the royal family used to entertain guests in summer.  The gazebo is now a cafe.  The view from up top is expansive out over all Vienna.  Unfortunately it was very cloudy and overcast today so a lot was obscured.  We then walked through the woods surrounding the palace and stopped for a late lunch at a little cafe/restaurant tucked back in the woods that looks like something you'd find in the Swiss Alps.  I had goulash with wieners and bread and Karen had a soup with dumplings.  It was cold today, so we wanted warm food before venturing out in the damp cold evening air.  It gets dark very early here right now, so by the time we left is was almost completely dark, so we had to return to the palace grounds rather than continue walking in the woods.  We might still be wandering had we continued on as there are no lights at all on the wooded paths.  We went back through the New Year's market, stopping for our daily dose of Gluwein.  We also stocked up on goodies, including Christmas cookies and Mozart Kugelein chocolates, some with alcohol and some without,  They are delicious and go well with tea, coffee or Gluwein.  No dearth of good things to eat here!  Tomorrow we will see the winter home of the Habsburgs which is in the center of the city.  Karen's apartment is right across from the summer palace, which is why we started there today given our late start to the day.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to wake up earlier and get more time in during the day.  With the very early sunset the sightseeing day is pretty short!  I've included some pics of the outside of the palace and our quaint little lunch spot in the woods.  Pictures were not allowed inside so nothing I can share of that experience!

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Wandering the Streets

Today we got a late start as I didn't wake up till 10:30!  I'm still on US time.  By the time we got ready and had breakfast we didn't get out of the house till nearly 1 PM.  Took the subway to the Nachmarket, a huge food and miscellaneous "other" outdoor market which had the most amazing array of goodies. Amazing how much Middle Eastern and Indian food and spices are obviously very popular here in Vienna!  They had one store completely devoted to oils and vinegars, and the vinegars come in huge jugs.  You can sample them and then they pour your choice into small bottles to sell it.  I bought a gorgeous Norwegian sweater at a bargain price (Roz bargained, I paid!).  Then we walked through the city to the Ringstrasse area, entering by the Museum Quarter where there was a Christmas market still in full swing.  I was delighted to find a stall selling the delicious Trdelniks (sweet pastry rolled in almond and cinnamon sugar) that I so loved in Prague. That was my lunch - sweet though it is!  We walked through the Hapsburg Palace grounds (hope to visit tomorrow or Wednesday) and then towards Stephensplatz which is a very upscale shopping area and huge tourist center, with the cathedral in the center and lots of shops and cafes around.  Although it was mild for a winter day, we were feeling pretty cold after being out in the air for over three hours, so at that point we had some Gluwein to warm up!    During our wandering we passed a trio of accordion players wearing horse head masks as they played traditional Austrian tunes!  They certainly turned a few heads!  The Christmas lights are still up making the public squares very festive.  Hopefully tomorrow we will get an earlier start which will allow time to actually get into a museum.  We have learned in our wanderings today that pink pigs are a symbol of luck for the New Year in Austria and everywhere we went today there were ceramic, plastic, edible and non-edible, plush, paper mache, metal - you name it -  pink pigs being sold in preparation for New Year"s.  Many of the Gluwein stalls are selling the hot wine in pink pig cups!  And marzipan candy pink pigs are huge sellers all over!  People exchange the pigs for good luck in the New Year and in some restaurants, we are told, live pink pigs are set loose and folks try to touch them as they run by for good luck!  Who knew pink pigs held such charm??  Pics are some scenes from our walks today.  

Christmas Market at Schonbrunn Palace

Arrived on time this morning and got the train to the apartment with relatively little difficulty.  It's a nice apartment right across the street from the Schonbrunn Palace, which is a major tourist site.  We hung out in the apartment for awhile and then I took a nap, having slept little on the flight.  When Deldar emerged and I revived we went over to the Christmas market at Schonbrunn Palace.  It's a lovely market with lots of different crafts and food stalls.   We walked around admiring the wares while listening to Dixieland Jazz which was playing live on the stage in front of the Christmas tree.  We enjoyed a large apple cinnamon pretzel, shared cheese dumplings and enjoyed hot gluwein(Karen), rumpunchen (me) and Hot Apple WIne (Deldar).  The Dixiieland music was hilarious as we walked around the grounds of the elegant Viennese palace.  It has been pretty foggy here today, clearing for awhile mid-afternoon and then getty really foggy again as we went to the market.  It made for a rather nice, ethereal feel to the early evening.  We stayed there for a couple of hours and finally came back to the apartment to thaw out.  Tomorrow we will be more adventurous, when I've had a decent night's sleep!  I've included some pics from the market.