The train ride to Vienna was uneventful. We were in another six seater compartment, this time with slightly better seats. The West Vienna train station is decidedly Western, and easy enough to follow (especially since everything is in German, and we triplets learned German for a few years). We did get ripped off when going to the Reiseburo (trip bureau). Dad and I, clearly acting like tourists, asked for a map and the terse woman said 2.50 euro. We thought in Vienna, where nearly everything is more expensive that Budapest, that we had to pay for it. We shelled it out, but when we got back to the rest of the family we saw Sachi looking over a nice map, which was given out free at the info point station. So travel tip for Vienna: don’t go to the Reiseburo, stick to the info points marked by a lower case i. We took a taxi to the pension, and the cab driver only spoke German. I was again pleased with my ability understand the most everything she spoke, and while you might think I’m boasting, please keep in mind that I last took a German class 3 years ago, have never visited a German speaking country or have had an opportunity to speak German in a real-life setting in my life, and the three years of German I took in high school were taught by a teacher who knew a lot but could not teach for the life of him. Anyway. First impression of Vienna was that it has much more hustle-bustle than Budapest. Lots of traffic, lots of activity, and there was construction going on everywhere. Road work, building renovations, you name it. One could see tall cranes everywhere. The Pension Suzanne was in a prime location – literally in sight of the State Opera House, the Hofburg Palace, Albertina art museum, and less than a 10 minute leisurely walk from the Museum Quarter on the Ringstrasse. The Pension itself was very nice and I highly recommend it. There was a computer in the reception that I used to check e-mail, and the main receptionist knows German, English, French, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. I was sitting at the computer one evening when a Japanese couple came in. The woman was translating for the man when all of a sudden the receptionist breaks into fluent Japanese, at which point the couple gave a little jump and were then quite pleased.
The city center of Vienna is densely packed with enough museums, palaces, and sights to last three whole days for the dedicated tourist. Much of it, such as the Hofburg palace, the Parliament, the old Rathaus (City Hall), and Museum Quarter is situated on Ringstrasse (Ring street), which not surprisingly, resembles a ring. I had been briefed by this in my talks with Brandyn, and it helped quite a bit. It was interesting however that segments of the ring are named for the streets that protrude out through it like spokes in a wheel. For some blocks it is Kärtner Ring, then it will turn to Opern Ring. Walking through the center of Vienna brought most to mind the impression of a royal and grand city, more so than Rome, Paris, London, or Budapest. Well kept parks, fountains, noble architecture, and the ever present domes and spires of the palaces of the King all attribute to this. The first building we saw was the Opera House; fitting too because we visited the Budapest one just the previous day. The Vienna Opera House is larger, but the Budapest one is more ornate. Many of the rules that govern Opera Houses today were established first in this Opera house. One of this Opera House’s rules is that the same show can’t be shown on consecutive days. The demands of dismantling intricate sets and prepping for hundreds of costumes and such require the opera house to employ nearly 1000 employees. The backstage of the Opera House is immense – 60m high and 80m wide. The main stage can be lowered 11 meters. On the rear stage, the 2nd act scenery is already placed, and during intermission the entire main stage is lowered, the rear stage slides forward, and the main stage moves back and then up. Very impressive. The opera house was bombed by the Allies during WWII and much of the theater was reconstructed, therefore some rooms have a more modern feel than others. The seats here are also decidedly more expensive that the one in Budapest. Front row or box seats can cost up to 250 euros, but you can obtain seats in the standing section an hour before a performance for a handful of euros. The famous Viennese Ball is also held in this opera house, where the total cost of admission can each 15,000 euros. It is the only time that the opera house makes money. It is subsidized by the government. Our attractive tour guide was in fact a ballet dancer at the Opera, and has danced in Germany and the US. She was recovering from an injury. Members of our tour group had guessed she was a dancer by her immaculate posture and movement. During the night Sachi and I took the subway train ($1.50 euros per trip!) to the Danube Canal, hoping to find a lively and interesting river-front scene. Sadly, with the striking images of Budapest in our minds, we were disappointed. The following day we went to the Kunsthistoriche Museum (literal: Art History Museum) but is known as the Museum of Fine Arts. The building alone was worth the price of admission (7.50 euros for adults, 5.50 for students, I think). This building, whose construction was ordered by the emperor specifically for being a museum, was more beautiful than any other art museum in London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, or Budapest. I lack the words to do it justice. The Egypt section was cool to walk through, and my mood was instantly elated when I saw a tablet which proved the existence of a Stargate (I mean a Fahrgate, heh). The art galleries had lots of sofas where you can sit, rest, and take in the artwork, and the art itself was very good. I know little about art, but these were the Renaissance and Classical artwork. We saw Raphael, Rembrandt, and many more than I was not aware of. They had a section with sculptures and there was an exquisite piece which showed Leopold and Francies Joseph (I think) on horseback in ivory. Their capes were swirling behind them and the horses were raised – the way the piece captured movement was remarkable. The Kunsthistoriche Museum is an absolute must see while in Vienna. Next to it is the Hofburg palace with the Heldenplatz (Hero’s place or square) and in it there was actually a garden patch. It was in remembrance of how Heldenplatz was used to grow potatoes during the war. There was a beautiful garden just north of the Hofburg palace called the Volksgarten (People’s Garden) and here you could feel as if you were back in time. Great weather, great atmosphere, great views. The Parliament building was closed off and was under heavy construction; it seemed that a whole ramp leading up to the front was in rubble. Pity too, because the building showed signs of being absolutely amazing. We also saw the Albertina art museum that day which had an exhibit called from Goya to Picasso, and it focused heavily on the rise to modernism. My sister and Dad aren’t fans of modern art, and the more elitist private feel of this museum was a let down from the Kunsthistoriche Museum’s unparalleled beauty. The admission prices here were higher too. We were able to see a lot of Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh, and Cezanne. That night we also had Indian food for the first time on our trip. The food was not hot at all but it was good, and it marked the first time in our trip that we a) didn’t have to pay for water and b) actually got re-fills of water. It was a momentus occasion.
On our last day we took a day trip to Salzburg and got back at around 6:00pm. In Vienna, we saw St. Stephen’s church and took a look inside. In constrast to the one in Budapest, this church was definitely in a high Gothic style. The exterior, in my opinion, wasn’t much to look at and the stained glass was very simplistic. For dinner, we strolled to the Naschmarkt, a long eating, grocery, and shopping place placed on a wide median between two thoroughfares. It is a bustling place in the morning. We found a Mediterranean restaurant called Lokatta and the two guys running the place, young Iranians it appeared, were friendly and helped us find the vegetarian choices (which there were a lot of). The kindly moved a table away from the street for us as well. The prices were also great – you could order a starter and a main dish for less than 7 euros! The tomato soup was outstanding, and we all had falafel sandwiches which instead of pita bread came in a big thick flatbread pocket that the cook went to get fresh from a bakery down the street. The falafel was very good too. Mom asked the waiter for some hot sauce (she loves it) and he smiled and said “Of course, you’re Indian, you like spicy food!” and came with some hot pepper sauce. Near the end they even put in some Indian music in their stereos, and when they came by my dad asked how he got this music and the waiter said that he liked this music and Bollywood, and said how he watches the Indian movies on TV and in a local theater. Apparently Bollywood and Indian music is huge in Iran. In Vienna and Budapest, the usual tip is around 10%, but tonight I felt great and tipped them very well. It was the second best dining experience of the whole trip, with the best being the restaurant Absint on Andrassy utca in Budapest.
Compared with Budapest, Vienna is certainly busier because it has more people, more business and commercial and political activity, and is more on people’s minds when they think about touring Europe. It felt more regal than Budapest, but the traffic and particularly the construction made Budapest feel more pleasant and enjoyable as a complete package. There is certainly no shortage of things to do in Vienna, though. For a lover of the fine arts, Vienna has much to offer in terms of concerts, operas, ballets, art, architecture, and fashion.
