As you may know, we’ve been moving around more than usual lately. We’ve recently been in Vienna, which is not a city we know at all! So we’ve been playing the tourist and doing the most typical things we can imagine. Here’s a report.
Going to the Opera
Vienna is known for its opera, so, hey, we’re there! This one was a close call – we weren’t able to get tickets, but then a friend who has a box invited us to join her (huge thanks for that – you are the best!). We saw Rossini’s Barber of Seville and it was fabulous! Just the kind of over-the-top costuming you want for a show like that, with pink wigs and purple shoes and everything. Not us, mind you: the singers. And the staging and scenery were minimalist. Which is, as you know, our thing. Plus we got to practise our Italian!
Kaffe und Kuchen
Vienna is also known for its coffeehouses. One is spoiled for choice, but we went to Demel, an old classic. Where we had hot chocolate, a sachertorte, and a lovely gluten-free thing called a Fragilité that was light as air. Then they had to peel us off the ceiling after our sugar high!
Soaking up the Art
There are several fabulous museums in Vienna. The Kunsthistorisches, for one, and the Albertina for another. We knew they had good stuff, but we did not remember just how much, and we were blown away by the buildings. The Kunsthistorisches Museum has astonishing Egyptian antiquities, two wildly famous Roman bits and bobs (the Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus and the Gemma Augustea, to be precise), and more Velazquezes and Titians and Rubenses and Breughels than you could possibly imagine. And loads of other stuff too, including our new favourite Judith and Holofernes, this one by Lucas Cranach the Elder!
The Albertina contains more modern art, pretty much (at least) one from everybody you’ve heard of: Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Klee, Matisse, Kandinsky, Miro, and an excellent sampling of lesser-known Austrian artists. Our visit coincided with an exhibition of nude drawings pre- and post-Michelangelo, and we loved that too!
Visiting a Heuriger
These are gardens where you can drink new wine directly from vineyards (the German word means ‘this year’). Usually they’re informal little places, in the . The wine is very cheap, and they serve hot and cold food. We found one just outside the center of the city, tucked away near City Hall, and spent several happy hours there.
Getting Deep into the Unconscious
Think Vienna, think Sigmund Freud. At least we did. So naturally we went to the museum located where his apartment and practice were located. It was pretty spectacular, focused on both his family and his work, with all kinds of photographs and artifacts and copies of his most important books in many languages.
Imperial City
This town has thrown around a lot of marble and gold to look good. Mostly, it was Franz Josef I who did the throwing, with a little help from his wife Sisi. There are dozens of beautiful buildings, scattered all across the city. You’ll find your favourites, but some popular ones are the Secession, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the Hofburg.
Noshing at the Naschmarkt
All that gold can give you a powerful hunger. Plus, as you know, we’re all about the essen and trinken. So don’t think we’d leave you hanging with only a cup of coffee and a sweet (and wine). Aside from the heuriger, the other classically Viennese eating experience is the Naschmarkt, which is about evenly divided between delicacies to take home with you and small restaurants serving a huge variety of food. Obviously, you won’t leave here without a pretzel, but there’s lots of other stuff on offer, from cheeses and meats to fruit vinegars, teas, and all kinds of sweets.
So that’s just a few of the things to do in Vienna. We look forward to getting back sometime soon, since we’ve only scratched the surface. Though, to be honest, it’s a pretty attractive surface!
