More Vienna

Woke up at 2am and wrote up this diary to date. I ate my apple and read my book until 5.30 then got back to sleep, waking again at 8.30 with the alarm. A cleaner let herself in while I was getting ready. We had a complete communication breakdown but she ended up leaving and apologising. I got downstairs for about 9.30 to find a line up for breakfast tables. A French couple, Martine and her husband, were waiting behind me and a woman told them to try a different room. I followed them as I think I’d been included, and when we got there we were told that this room was only for tour groups. Martine asked me to join them so we could be a ‘group’ so I did, and we got a table quickly. I had a great breakfast of yoghurt and muesli, sausage, ham, egg, cheese and bread. I chatted to Martine and her husband in (somewhat broken) English – they were very nice and told me about some of the places they’d been. I mentioned to them that I’d be at Rathaus that night.

I got back to the room to find the cleaner sign on the door. Another cleaner poked her head in and checked how long it would be (one minute) and the other let me in while she finished. She was the same girl who’d come in that morning, and made some conversation about the cold (she had the window open) and something about ‘schnell’ (maybe she was saying she’d be quick) and was very sweet.

On the way out, I asked reception whether I could have my breakfast earlier than 5am the following morning. They said no, so I cancelled breakfast altogether – bummer since I’d paid for it. I headed out, taking the S45 to Handelskai and another S train to Prater. It was a cold, grey morning, but as I wandered around all the deserted rides and stalls that were the Prater, I saw the sun peeking through and blue sky appearing. I saw a gorgeous pony carousel (with real ponies!). I waited a few minutes longer and decided it was worth the €7.50 for a ride on the wheel, as I might actually see something of the city through the gloom. I lined up for ages, seeing some interesting historical exhibits about Vienna on the way, and got in one of the cars with about 9 other people. The interesting buildings in the main city were in the direction of the sun so you couldn’t see them, but the views were still very nice. Afterwards I went back to the station and caught a U1 to Karlsplatz. Once there, in the huge underground station complex, I went in search of the U4 platform, and on the way found a toilet that cost 60c to use and played Strauss. Rather amusing.

I also found a good hat shop and bought one for €20 for that night. I needed to eat something but couldn’t find anything to tempt me. I made it to the U4 platform and caught a train to Schönbrunn. I found the palace easily this time (it’s amazing) and found that as I was alone, I could take the Imperial Tour within the next 10 minutes for €8.90. I read my notes as I walked through and found it beautiful and very interesting. Mozart played his first public appearance as a child in the Mirrors Room in 1762. The Great Gallery was brilliant. So decadent!! All the chandeliers were exquisite.

I finished at about 4.15 and set about looking at the gardens. It was unfortunately getting dark and so I didn’t see all I could see. Also the flower beds were bare, being in the dead of winter. I did the long walk up the grounds to the lake, then the big zig-zag walk up the hill to the Gloriette. It took ages and by now my feet were seriously hurting, but the view of the city was very good and the Gloriette itself was worth seeing.

I walked back down and decided I had enough time to go back to the hotel and leave my bag and camera there before the concert. I was lucky with the trains getting back, but not so lucky going out again. I decided to take the S45 down to Hutteldorf and get the U4 east to Schönbrunn, and made it to the Orangery by the narrowest of margins. I checked in my coat and hat for the sum of €1 and was very relieved to find that the ticket I’d been sold wasn’t a sham. I found a seat at the back in C section just as they were announcing that cameras and mobile phones were forbidden. The orchestra walked out and as soon as they started tuning I knew they were good. They started with Mozart, some of which was really quite technically difficult. Singers and dancers came out to join in for a few pieces. The flute player was very good, as was the oboe. The conductor was beating way ahead of the beat and I found it very distracting. I don’t know how the orchestra managed to play in time.

There was a break, in which I had an orange juice, as I was ravenous by now. There was a costume on display in the foyer, and a few information boards. The second half of the concert was Strauss, and it was typically monotonous. The icing on the cake was Radetsky March – complete with imbecillic clapping. So lame! I’m glad I saw the concert, but there’s no way it was worth €48.

I was nearing exhaustion by now, but after picking up my coat and hat through a nasty crush, I caught the U4 and the U2 to Rathaus. I was a bit lost as the U station was behind the City Hall rather than on the main road beside it. I followed the crowd and put myself right. There was a big stage set up in front of City Hall and people were playing quite good orchestral and operatic stuff. One female singer was especially good. There were a lot of people around. I got a hot dog with a nice pale sausage for €3.50 and listened. People were texting messages and they were being displayed on the screen, when there weren’t camera close-ups of the singers that is. The two presenters did an excellent job, and seemed to include everyone, speaking German, Spanish and English. I got some Gluhwein (rot/red) and having asked for it in German, ended up having some kind of misunderstanding with the guy and paying €5 when it was advertised as €3. I suspect there was a deposit on the mug, bringing the total to more than €5. I drank most of it – the dregs got cold. I took the mug back and couldn’t be bothered finding out whether there really was a deposit to be refunded. I bought a nice looking doughnut to have for breakfast the next morning.

I was just too tired to stay any longer than about 11pm, so I got the U2 to Schottenring, and the U4 to Heiligenstadt, then the S45 to Oberdöbling. I had a wait at Heiligenstadt, where some stupid smartarses were letting off firecrackers that were so loud they hurt. I had a headache by now and was keen to go to sleep. I got back to the hotel at about 11.45 and got as much ready for the morning as possible. I had checked the train times, and checked with hotel reception that I could check in at the airport for my 7.05 flight at 6am – the man said that because the flight was within Europe, that would be OK. The first S45 posted was 5.02am so I couldn’t get there any earlier. I noticed a sign saying that breakfast would be served on the morning of 1 January from midnight on. Maybe I read it wrong, but I think the girl I spoke to was therefore an idiot. My alarm was set for 4.15.

Stopover in Vienna from Sydney

The flight landed (beautifully) just before 6am at Vienna airport. It was still pitch black of course, and I only remembered this would be the case as we were circling above the airport. I dawdled my way off the plane after donning my boots (which hardly fit me due to swollen feet), went to the toilet, and dawdled my way through passport control and customs – ending up a little confused about my baggage belt because a sign had said ‘EU flights only’. Anyway, found my luggage and got some cash out. I transferred everything I’d need for the weekend into my backpack, transferred the last of my photos from camera to laptop, and left my big bag at the left luggage counter. I found out that by retrieving it at 5.30am when they opened, there would be time to check in for my 7.05am flight on Monday, and that the London flight would leave from terminal 1.

I decided to eschew the €9 express train to the city, and bought a €5 all day ticket for the S-trains. I got on and the train took off through a grey and frosty morning. I got caught out by a conductor who spoke no English – turns out I needed an extra ticket of €1.50 to get from the airport into the central city region. Dunno how we understood each other, but we did. He did not look impressed when I produced a €50 note, though he let me get away with not buying a ticket at all. How was I supposed to know? I guess I was lucky I didn’t get slapped with a fare evasion fine.

I got off at Handelskai station and went downstairs to find the S45 train for Oberdöbling. I found the platform pretty easily. Nice train, this one – very modern and new and comfortable. I got off at Oberdöbling, found the square with the clock, and the hotel shortly after. Thankfully, the people on reception spoke English, and blissfully, my room was ready early at 9.30am! I went up straight away, texted Dad/Jill and Mum/Tom, had a cup of tea with some horrid powdered milk, and a very welcome shower.

After working out roughly where to go and what to see, I asked reception to change one €50 note and one €100 note for more manageable change to avoid further problems. I also asked them to do an early breakfast for me on Monday (preferably to take away with me) and they said the earliest they could do it was a sit-down breakfast at 5am.

I went across the road and got a yummy vanilla and strawberry lattice pastry thing from Anker. The girl spoke English after I’d asked her if she could, and was very kind in describing all the different products, though she got stuck once or twice. I then went into the Spar supermarket to see what was interesting. There were a lot of people in there. I selected an apple and a banana and took them to the checkout. The woman picked them up, and said something in German, weighing one in each hand. I shook my head and said Entschuldigung, meaning I couldn’t understand her, but she must have assumed I was apologising for getting it wrong. She then took off into the fruit section. I was supposed to have weighed them on these big confusing scales and stuck a sticker on them so she knew what to charge. She came back with them done and I apologised in English, saying I understood now. Not sure if she understood me, but she wasn’t angry anyway. I felt very stupid.

I set off walking towards the north in search of Beethoven memorials as listed by the tourist map. It was a fair walk, though I had expected it to be. There was snow beside the path that had been shovelled off, but it looked a few days old. I found a few houses that he lived in and further up the road, a museum. I paid €1.50 to go in one section of it, and another €1.50 for a copy of his ‘Testament’ in English – a letter to his brothers expressing his despair at his deafness. It was interesting but not great. I kept walking to Heiligenstadt and got the underground to Schönbrunn because I thought it was the centre of the city. On that train I heard my first English speakers. They were English. I got off and walked for 10 minutes before deciding to go back. I did use the time to eat my banana.

Got the underground to Karlsplatz, then changed to the U1 for Stephansplatz. I saw the cathedral looming even as I walked up the steps from the station. It’s huge and dark and wonderfully gothic. I walked around it to see what else was nearby, then went inside. It was too dark inside for proper photos, and there were hundreds of people ignoring the signs for silence. I felt a lot more in my element here as it was a tourist mecca. I began to hear English being spoken more, albeit with American accents. Inside was spectacular, with huge corrugated columns and vaulted ceiling. It was also nice and warm. I had started off thinking I could handle the cold, but by now it was getting a little painful. I headed off, being accosted outside by one of many cloaked men flogging concert tickets. I didn’t like his concert (though in hindsight it would have been good as it included Beethoven and was at Hofburg Palace) and didn’t really trust him, so went on my way, walking down the pedestrianised shopping street of Kärntner Straße. I saw people setting up stages and food stalls for the following night – I think one was to have 50s rock’n’roll. The rest were pretty awful dance stuff. I wandered a little, looking for a hat to buy with no success, and FINALLY found a stall selling sausages, though they didn’t have weisswurst. I was too hungry to care (it was about 3.30pm by now) and it only cost €2.80.

I wandered to the Musik Haus while I ate and decided there was nothing there for me, so walked down a little further to the music and opera district, where I found more men in cloaks flogging concert tickets. I avoided them and looked around, ending up at Albertina, from where I found the tourist office. I went in, and looked at some concert brochures, but didn’t feel like lining up to ask questions.

So I went back out into the cold on my aching feet (the boots were a bad idea) and kept walking along the Opern Ring to what I think was the Heldenplatz. There’s a big Mozart statue just inside, and as I stepped in, I was accosted by another cloak who was this time offering a ticket for the Schönbrunn Orangery Mozart and Strauss concert for NYE that I’d read about on the website from home. I wasn’t sure I trusted him, though he did show me ID and give me his name. I paid €48 for a ticket in C section (which I thought I might regret) and headed off again in search of grand buildings and squares and Rathaus park. I had been seeing a glorious, turretted, illuminated building through gaps, and behind museums, and when I got past the amazing Parliament building to Rathaus, I found it close up – it was City Hall. I had decided to go there after the concert for NYE because I read on a billboard that they will have classical music there, and the cloak recommended it. They had their food and drink stalls set up already, though they were expensive compared to the ones in Kärntner Straße.

I walked on to Schottentor-Universitat U station, got a U2 train to Schottenring, a U4 to Heiligenstadt and the S45 to Oberdöbling. The Spar was closed, so I headed up to my blissfully warm room, drank some water and went straight to sleep after reading some brochures. It was 6pm.