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.