SUMMARY: Austria

Austria was the eighth country that we have visited on this trip. By population, it is second smallest (8 million) only to Norway (5 million). While the country is low on people, it is high on beauty. We started our time in Austria visiting family in Villach, which is located in the south of Austria near the border with Slovenia. Next, we spent 6 days in Vienna, the capital. We finished with 3 days in Salzburg, which is on the border with Germany.

We really enjoyed our time in Austria and can’t really complain about anything. We would love to come back in the future. It seems like the more we think and reflect on our time in Vienna, the more we want to return (and do the things we didn’t have time for on the first go around).

Here is our recap.

Things we liked:

• Beautiful scenery, beautiful buildings
• Awesome (and on time) train system
• Vienna’s transit system (modern, self-explanatory, relatively cheap, and clean)
• Abundance of museums in Vienna, some of which we didn’t get a chance to visit
• Delicious pastries and desserts (Oberlaa and Demel both had unbelievably delectable cakes)
• Café culture (yummy coffee and the chance to linger and read for as long as you like)
• Gustav Klimt, an artist whom we were unfamiliar with before, but really like
• Lots of runners in both Vienna and Salzburg and easily accessible running paths

Things we didn’t like:

• Stores close really early and are not open on weekends (this burned us in Vienna, as we were too late to the grocery store on Saturday and couldn’t get groceries until Monday morning)
• Fairly expensive: Many museums seemed overpriced, restaurants were pricey (we ate in a lot)
• We were in Vienna during National Austrian Independence Day, which fell on a Wednesday, and as a result everything was closed (again)
• Smokers are everywhere; if you want to sit in the fun and happening section of the restaurant you are seated with smokers, while the non-smoking section is often empty

Interesting findings:

• Salzburg is really close to Germany…like really, really close
• Austrians love hockey, which made the people even more endearing to us Canadians
• At hockey games, Austrians whistle instead of boo to show their distaste (they clap when pleased, as was expected)
• People dress really nicely (men in fancy hats and sweater vests, women in beautiful scarves and skirts).
• Everyone smokes, even young adults; this is counter to what we experienced in other Central or Eastern European countries, where mainly the older population smokes

As always, here are some additional photos (some of them are fairly low quality due to poor lighting in the picture-taking environment).

*Villach fan sporting Kevin's jersey

*Villach fan wearing a Buffalo Sabres toque (we saw many NHL toques, but no Toronto...hmm)

*The cutest fan at the game

*The monitoring system for Vienna's metro (hard to see due to glare)

*Roman-era remains outside the Hofburg Palace

*Ceiling of St. Peter's Cathedral

*Chocolate creation in window of Demel Chocolate shop (we enjoyed some excellent cakes at the Salzburg outpost)

*Imperial Palace porcelain collection

*View of Salzach River running through Salzburg

*Pretzel lobster in Salzburg

Day 64: Salzburg

Sunday morning we wanted to go to mass so that we could hear real Salzburg organ music, the way it was intended. We left the house at around 9:30 and made for the cathedral. We had set our expectations a little too high. While the church houses 5 organs, only one was manned and the music sounded very much like music from many a church in North America. There was a choir that sang along in harmonized German, which gave it a Mozart-esque feel, but again did not wow. Maybe we’ve been spoiled by the symphony, opera, and ballet that we have already attended on this trip.

After mass we watched another game of chess while eating a pretzel. It was the same two guys as yesterday, though the outcome was different. Then we headed up to the Hohensalzburg Castle. Our guidebook stated that it was 7 Euro to go into the museums but free to walk the courtyards and ramparts. After making the steep climb we found the gates barred unless you paid a 7 Euro general entrance fee (wrong again Rick). Neither of us were in a museum mood, so rather than spend 14 Euro to stroll through grounds which we expected to be free, we decided to put that money towards coffee and tea in town. However, we did get some nice pictures during the climb up.

*Salzburg Cathedral, where we attended Sunday mass 

*Road up to Hohensalzburg

*View of fortress

On our way back down the hill we detoured to get a glimpse of the valley on the other side:

*We had to walk through this covered arch to get to the other side of the valley

*Valley with mountains in the distance

As promised, we found a nice riverside outdoor café and kicked back for a while enjoying the nice weather. It was close to 20C, clear and sunny. Afterwards we went to get lunch from a recommended Vegetarian Indian restaurant, but the owner was on vacation in India (go figure). We found a pizza parlour instead.  While okay, it didn’t match the delicious pizza we ate in both Berlin and Krakow.

After lunch we went back to the apartment and got ready for our run. It was the first run since last Sunday when Jackie hurt her hip. We did a quick 4 miler to see how/if she has recovered at all. She got through the run, but sure enough during our cool down her hip started to hurt again. She did a little more research into it and it sounds like a lot of runners experience this when they start doing distance training. The problem is likely a strained hip flexor and by doing stretches and exercises to strengthen the hip she should be able to continue with the training for our half marathon. Here’s hoping.

We spent the evening in, talking on Skype and catching up on the new season of ‘Fringe’. Tomorrow we are headed to Munich, the beer capital of Germany. I am looking forward to seeing the beer halls and maybe packing in a couple brewery tours. As always, we will keep you posted.

Day 62-63: Vienna & Salzburg

We got an early start on Friday. We checked out of our apartment at 9am and headed to the train station to lock up our luggage for the morning. From the train station we headed back into the city to visit the Belvedere Museum. The museum is housed in Belvedere, a series of two Baroque palaces that were completed in 1723. They were built by Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history. Upon his death, the palace was left to his niece who eventually sold it to the Hapsburg Royal family. In 1776, they were made into a public art gallery. The grounds are beautiful...here are a couple of shots.

The art gallery houses works from the Baroque period, as well as art from the 19th and 20th centuries. While works by Van Gogh, Renoir, and Monet are displayed, perhaps the best known pieces are by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Most of his artwork focuses on the female form and appears to be influenced by Egyptian, Greek, and Japanese art. Many of his most successful pieces include gold leaf or other colorful decorations. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the museum. However, I have included a picture of Klimt's "The Kiss" painting to give you an idea of his art style. We really enjoyed his pieces and the museum's collection as a whole.

We got out of the museum around noon and headed back to the train station. We had just enough time to grab a couple of sandwiches before boarding our train. Once again, we rode in luxury on RailJet...Austrian trains have been super nice so far. We passed the time planning our stay in Salzburg, reading, and catching up on sleep. 

At 4pm we arrived in Salzburg, Austria, which is on the border with Germany. Salzburg, which translates literally into "Salt Castle", is the fourth largest city in Austria and has one of the best preserved Baroque city centers north of the Alps. It is also on the UNESCO World Heritage List (we are really racking up UNESCO hits). The city is well-known for being the birthplace of Mozart.

We dragged our stuff (we have accumulated far too much at this point and need to send another shipment back to Canada) to our new home for the weekend. For a change, we are renting a room in an apartment, as opposed to an entire apartment. We met our host, Michael, and settled in. We had to hang out until 6pm to have another relocation chat with GE. After our chat, we headed out for dinner to a place called Die Weiss. It was basically a beer hall and is considered to have the best beer in Salzburg. We enjoyed a couple of brews along with some traditional Austrian fare. Afterwards, we headed to the city center to take in some of the sights at night. We didn't walk for too long but we were able to snag this pic of the town center, with the Hohensalzburg Castle up on the hill.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to breakfast provided by Michael, including apple strudel, ham, cheese, coffee, and orange juice. It was delicious (and a lot easier than handling it ourselves). We then set out to explore.

We started at St. Sebastian's Cemetery, where members of Mozart's family are buried. It is a beautiful garden and a serene setting just off a main shopping street. It was very peaceful. However, a few of the statues were really sad...particularly the two little angels (pictured below) that were weeping.

We then headed down a very narrow alley that reminded us very much of Rome and some streets in Prague. During an opening between buildings we were able to see the other side of the city and the large fortress.

We followed the introductory walking tour that was recommended in our guide book. Along the way, we hit the following sites:

*Salzburg Cathedral from the 17th century; we plan to attend mass on Sunday morning

*Dome of Salzburg Cathedral

*A strange statue consisting of a sphere and a human figurine

*Another view of statue

*Locals playing chess in a square

*Another cemetery that abuts a mountainside

*View of St. Peter's Church and Salzburg Cathedral from mountainside

*View in other direction from mountainside

After the tour we decided to stop for a quick and cheap bite. While we were told the wiener stands were good, a fried chicken stand appeared to be very popular. We bought a couple of pieces along with some local Stiegl beer. While not healthy, it was delicious.

After lunch, we walked down the main shopping street and passed Mozart's birth house. While we were not overly excited about this there were a ton of tourists taking photos. We then felt obligated to take one too (peer pressure).

At the end of the shopping street we stumbled upon a food stand selling roasted chestnuts. We had experimented with these for the first time in Vienna, but not with great results. These were much better.

It was getting colder and we were freezing. We hadn't worn our jackets because the weather forecast was calling for highs of 19C. I'm not sure if it got any higher than 12C. To warm up we tucked inside a cafe for a warm drink. After warming up we quickly walked back to our apartment, stopping on the way to grab some ingredients to make a salad for dinner. Now we are relaxing back at the apartment, relishing the warmth (Daryl is so warm and cozy he is sleeping).

Tomorrow we will do some more exploring. We plan to start with Sunday mass, which is supposed to feature some pretty glorious organ music. Then we will either climb the hill to the fortress or signup for the Sound of Music tour, which while kitschy and touristy, is supposed to be a lot of fun. It takes you out into the countryside to see different movie filming locations and even stops for a luge ride.

Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen!

Day 61: Vienna

Today is our last full day in Vienna. We started by heading towards a main shopping street and picking up some souvenirs of the city. It was nice that the shops were open for a change. We decided to swing back by the apartment to drop some stuff off and to fix Jackie's boot heel, which had fallen apart a couple of days ago (we picked up a tube of adhesive glue).

Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the Royal Apartments and the Royal Treasury. Both museums are located in the massive Hofburg Palace. The palace dates from the 13th century and has been expanded over the years. It housed the Habsburg Dynasty, the family of Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1438-1740. Following from there to the start of the First World War they were merely the Emperors of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For those of us who remember Grade 10 history, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who's assassination triggered WWI, was of Habsburg stock. 

*Exterior of the Hofburg Palace

Today, the Royal Apartments Museum houses the palace's silverware collection and the apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife the Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) of Bavaria. The silverware collection was surprisingly interesting. Many pieces are still used for state dinners. The following are some of the photos Jackie took.

*Kitschy collection of plates and serving bowls for their hunting lodge

*This fold style is a closely guarded secret, with only two people knowing the required steps at any given time.

*Picture credit: Daryl van Kampen

After the silverware collection, the tour heads upstairs to the Royal Apartments of Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi. Sisi led a tragic life and ultimately was assassinated. She never wanted to live the court life, but the young emperor fell madly in love with her, regardless of the fact that their mothers were sisters. She avoided many of her court duties, instead spending years at a time travelling throughout the empire and beyond. While this did not help with her popularity in Vienna during her life, after the assassination her shortcomings were overlooked. She is now remembered fondly as a beautiful woman who led a tragic life. There is much myth and legend surrounding her and she was even the subject of a series of three films in the 1950's.

Photographs were not permitted in the apartments which was unfortunate, as they were very impressive.

After the tour we headed to the Royal Treasury Museum. It was not quite as interesting, but photos were permitted which was a bonus. However, no flash was allowed. While Jack made sure not to use flash (she almost never does), she was thoroughly scolded by two attendants for using her focusing light. As a result, she had to cover the light with her finger while adjusting the camera settings to take each picture, which was a pain.

*Crown of the first Holy Roman Emperors dating from the 10th century

*Royal robes 'painted' with golden and silver threads

By now it was getting close to suppertime. We planned on eating at home but stopped in at a cafe for a couple of coffees and apple strudel. It was a great way to spend some time and the cafe was pretty classy, with our waiter wearing a tux. The following is a photo taken along one of the main pedestrian boulevards in the middle of the old town on our way to the cafe.

Afterwards, we took the metro back to the apartment. Now we are packing up and planning our next day. We are thinking of going to one more museum tomorrow morning, housed in the Belvedere Palace outside Vienna, before we catch a train to Salzburg. Until then, auf Wiedersehen!

Day 59-60: Vienna

Tuesday began better than Monday. My hip felt a lot better than it did the day before and so I was in better spirits. After breakfast, we planned out the day using our guidebook. We decided to stop by the Opera House to pick up tickets for the tour at 3pm, then hit one of the museums (art gallery, treasury, or Imperial Apartments), followed by a viewing of The Third Man, a classic British film set in Vienna.

We left the apartment and headed to the Opera House. At the last minute, Daryl prompted that we use the metro system, as we had purchased a week pass the day before. I didn't feel this was necessary as we were only going a couple of stops. Daryl won out, we boarded the subway, and (very) shortly thereafter, arrived at the Opera House. It was a good thing that we did use the metro...

We headed inside but didn't know where to get tickets. It seemed like something exciting was going on. We walked around for a few minutes, then settled on a box office that only seemed to sell tickets to shows, not tours. After only 30 seconds in line, a gentleman behind us asked if we spoke English. We said we did and he offered us two tickets to the Ballet, which was going to have a full dress rehearsal in a few minutes at 11:30. We were at first skeptical: Why didn't he want them? (Answer: He had two extras); How much did they cost? (Answer: Free). We said sure and he asked us to quickly follow him up to the balcony area. We dropped off our coats at the coat check and followed him into the auditorium. At this point, we were dumbfounded. We had only planned to come for a tour, which would have cost about 10 Euro, and now we were going to get to see the ballet for free, which was premiering in Vienna the following evening. Apparently, timing really is everything. The pictures below show the view from our seats.

Shortly thereafter, the show began. The orchestra kicked things off and then the dancing began. I was in heaven. I danced for a number of years and it was awesome to see trained ballet dancers in such a beautiful production (the showing was La Sylphide, one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets, about a young engaged Scotsman who abandons his soon-to-be wife for a beautiful forest fairy...while the fairy loves him, she cannot be tamed...he makes a pact with a witch to bind her to him forever, which results in her wings falling off and her dying).

*A picture during the end of the first act

During intermission, we wandered the halls of the famous Opera House (for free, I might add). The Vienna State Opera House was completed in 1869 and is known to be one of the premier Opera Houses in the world. Here are some pics:

*SIDE NOTE:

The Hungarian State Opera House, where we attended a performance in Budapest, was half-funded by Franz Josef, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor (who resided in Vienna). He provided the funds on the condition that the building be smaller than that in his hometown of Vienna. The resulting building was designed to be smaller in size but larger in opulence. Reportedly, Franz Josef was displeased with the result.

*END SIDE NOTE

The costumes, music, and dancing were breathtaking. Daryl also loved it and is more than willing to see another ballet in the future (or so he says). We really wished we could have thanked the gentleman again after the performance, but he left during the applause. After the ballet, we headed to a nearby restaurant that is housed in a greenhouse and overlooks the Palace Garden. It was delicious and beautiful. It was so nice that we decided to linger for an espresso after lunch.

Afterwards, we wandered through the Palace Garden and took a few pictures, including a new angle on the famous Mozart statue that we previously photographed.

Due to seeing the ballet, we had no time to do a museum before the movie. So, we just headed over to the Burg Kino (Burg Cinema...but Daryl translates it as Burger King) to see The Third Man. The movie was made in 1949 and is about an American who arrives in Vienna after WWII looking for his friend and gets wrapped up in a murder mystery. It is considered a masterpiece by many critics and is rated the best British film ever by the British Film Institute. We enjoyed the film and were seated beside a nice older couple from Boston, MA (interesting side note: movie seating is assigned in Europe).

After the movie, we grabbed a few groceries and enjoyed dinner in (the prices here are kind of steep, at least compared to Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic). We finished the night by catching up on news and some episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

Today, we got an early start, as we had to be back at the house by 4pm to Skype with our relocation consultants from GE. Our first stop was the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which is basically the National Art Gallery of Austria. It houses the Hapburgs' art that was collected over their rule from the 1400's to 1700's. While an impressive collection of art and Roman and Greek antiquities, it didn't incorporate many painting styles or artists that resonated with us. Regardless, the building was absolutely gorgeous, as so many are here in Vienna.

*Not part of the art collection, just building decoration

*Daryl getting ready to enjoy some art.

*Creepy collection of Roman busts

We spent quite a bit of time in the museum, not exiting until 14:30 or so. We decided to head to our new favourite cafe for cake and coffee/tea before our 16:00 phone meeting. Once again, the cake was outstanding. Here are a couple of shots.

*Daryl's chocolate and apricot cake

*My chocolate and vanilla cake

After our snack break, we headed back to the apartment to Skype with our relocation expert, which was fairly informative. We have another meeting tomorrow at 16:00 to discuss the shipment of our goods from Canada to the US. We are finishing the day with dinner, catching up with family, and planning for the rest of our trip.

Tomorrow, we are going to hit up a couple more museums, do some shopping (of which we have done none, so far, in Vienna), and prepare for our ship out to Salzburg on Friday.