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).
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.
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