Mother Superior: Rain drops keep falling on my head….argh!! The weather man was wrong. I wanted the 60 deg and sunny weather that was in the forecast. No matter, I’ve come prepared. Princess and I could share the umbrella. The boys – well, they won’t melt. We were on and off the U-Bahn (that’s the metro for the monolinguists) in no-time. We arrived at the Hofburg Imperial Palace right as it opened. It was great that there were no crowds. In most cases, we had entire exhibits all to ourselves. The first room we walked into had entire walls filled with copper molds to make pastries for the Viennesse Court. It’s a miracle they weren’t all diabetic. Anyhow, as we made our way through the maze we were stunned to see entire rooms of sliver and vermeil dining service set – each weighed a ton! Apparently they only had their soup and dessert in porcelain, everything else was served and plated on silver or vermeil. After a short game of hide and go seek for our tickets, we perused the Empress Sissi’s Imperial Apartment. This royal’s life and death cold make someone in Hollywood rich. Married at 15, dead at 60. Murdered by an Italian Anarchist. In between, death of a daughter, suicide of her son the crown prince, anorexia, and lots of drama. Role model or not, she is a legend. Maybe Disney will make a movie. On our way to lunch, we stopped at the Austrian National Library. A beautiful baroque piece of architecture where books are treated with respect and surrounded by allegorical frescoes and protected by marble gods and goddesses. A true hidden treasure. Speaking of hidden treats, the Nationalbibliothek’s Canteen is such a well kept secret that the government employees refused to help us find it. Unwilling to give in and raise the white flag (i.e. pay big bucks) we circled back until we spotted a small menu board by an unmarked door. Jack Pot! The menu was simple. Two choices: Weiner Schnitzel or Rice with Vegetable Curry. The communal tables were great, the price was a bargain, and the British décor was priceless. I’m not sure what happened next. The papyrus museum seems like it was several life times ago. Tired and cold, we retreated to a café for some comforting treats. Disappointment struck once again – the chocolate cake was horrible and I had to send it back. The waiter looked shocked. I asked him for a recommendation and he brought apple strudel – better, but not great. The Albertina was our next stop on the museum marathon. Monkey Hat spotted an ad for one of its exhibits – Roy Lichtensteins black and white “I know how you must feel Captain Grumpy!” Right on cue, Grumpy came running up the stairs from saving our umbrella and my scarf from the lost and found closet at the café. The Albertina had a humorous collection of money statues that Princess talked to in monkey language – she is still waiting on their responses. The imperial apartments were decorated marvelously. We even got to see the section where Maria Cristina and her son would stay on their vacations in Vienna – The Spanish Crown’s official residence. The highlight of the collection was The Blue Rider exhibit, specifically, the numerous pieces the museum holds by Kadinsky. Monkey Hat and I stared at his use of colors and bold black lines for an hour. I attempted to take a few photos, but alas, the guards were too alert and I only managed to annoy them. As we tried to get away from the zealous guards, we wandered into another exhibit and found a small collection of extremely morbid, yet enlightening drawings by Kurin. We loved his dark humor. Speaking of humor, I brought Captain Grumpy a small gift with the witty words of wisdom from Groucho Marx: “I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.” On that note, let me set the stage for our next tale. My adoring husband knowing how much I love the opera, decided to treat us to La Sonnambula at the Vienna Opera House. In order to get the tickets, we waited in line for 40 minutes. The pros had little folding chairs, newspapers, and thermos filled with coffee. They were an intimidating crowd who were on a first name basis with the ushers. Meanwhile, we were armed with our trusty, Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars and our two kids. Once we purchased our tickets, we zipped by the old timers and secured our spots in the front row of the standing room only section. We used our two scarves and tied them to the monitors. Then we were free to wander around the Opera House. We broke up in to two teams. Princess and I worked our way up to the opulent salons where the crowd ranged from jeans with t-shirt to black tie and ballroom gowns. The view inside and out was spectacular. We ran into some Canadians from Toronto, who were very friendly. Princess asked them if they knew Cousin. They responded with a maybe, so Princess launched into a full description of him, his girlfriend and dog without coming up for air. Amazed and amused, they asked us to join them. Princess told them no thanks because she wasn’t allowed to sit with strange people. When it was time to go to our places (I forgot we didn’t have actual seats), we heard a chime. We headed into the main auditorium which lacks much of the orginal flamboyance and stood waiting for the Maestro. The Canadians were right behind us – we greeted each other and Princess said “Mommy, mommy, the strange people are following us.” The music started and the opera soon began. Princess lasted about 15 minutes, Monkey Hat another 15 minutes, and within 45 minutes, our Viennese Opera was over. Not bad for 16 Euros. Plus, Brad can now actually say that he took me to the opera and did not fall asleep.
Captain Grumpy: Mother Superior has finally found a way to keep me from falling asleep in my seat at the Opera…which is…not having a seat to fall asleep in. Our handsome and smart vacation planner/researcher, uncovered two great nuggets for Vienna. For those who know me, you know that when I say something is great, it usually means it was inexpensive. The first great tip has to do with the world-famous Vienna Opera House. If you are a tourist and want to see it, you can pay 20 Euros (each) for a guided tour that lasts approximately 30 minutes. Or you can do what we did…pay 3 or 4 Euros each for Standing Room Opera Tickets. Tonight’s performance was Vicenzo Bellini’s “La Sonnombula”. Basically the standing room tickets open at 6 pm with the Opera starting at 7:30. It doesn’t matter what you wear, as long as it’s appropriate (i.e. you can wear jeans, but not shorts or short skirts.) You stand in line and buy the tickets and hurry over to where you enter into the standing room only area. Once there, you can mark your spot, claiming it for the performance. We claimed our spots centered on the front row. Then for the next 45 minutes, you have free reign inside the Opera House to take pictures and tour. Then you go back for the start of the performance. Whether you stay for the entire show or only the first act or at all, really depend on how badly/how long you want to stand. Princess made it about 10 minutes before I had to pick her up and another 20 minutes before we had to leave. Mother Superior and Monkey Hat followed us about 10 minutes later, and we made our way back to the hotel. The upside is that the children now know what an Opera is like; the downside is that they know what an Opera is like (HA!) The other great tip deals with a restaurant. Vienna can be pricy. However, hidden (and I mean hidden) in the National Library is a Canteen for the students and staff of the National Library. It has a Tages Menu (daily menu with a main dish, side dish and dessert) with two choices for fewer than 5 Euros. Today it was Wiener Schnitzel (of course) and Curried Vegetables with Rice. Needless to say, we searched for this place until we found it. Not even all of the staff at the Library knew about this place. (For future reference it is called ________ and it’s on the back side of the ______________________ in a tiny _________...you have to find it yourselves…sorry) Earlier in the day, we went to the Hofburg Palace and toured the apartments of Franz and Sisi, who are turning out to be a theme on this trip. Sisi is like Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, Princess Di, and Rapunzel rolled into one person. Additionally, we saw a really cool part of the National Library and went to the Albertina Museum (boring). One more day in Vienna and then it’s on to Prague. We’re having fun, getting a lot of exercise, and not getting into too much trouble. One more thing…The question of the day from Princess was when she asked Mother Superior, “Which hurts more? Being dead or having a baby?” I’m not qualified to answer that question, but who is? Sorry. More tomorrow.
Monkey Hat: Today I woke up last, got dressed quickly and had breakfast. For breakfast, I had 1 hardboiled egg, apple juice, 2 yoghurts, cereal, and toast. All together, we left to go the Hofburg Palace. There I saw where Empress Sisi slept and went poo. We left to go to all the libraries. At the second one, we had lunch and went to an exhibit. At the exhibit, I saw papyrus sheets. Also at the third, I saw painting and rooms. I got a postcard in its gift shop, called “snake in the office.” We went to see an Opera. It was boring to me, but not to mom. So we came home, ordered a ham pizza, ate it and went to sleep.
Princess: Today I went to an Opera. It was about a wedding. I bought a funny postcard. I am tired.
No comments:
Post a Comment