Vienna
This week was the kick-off of Euro 2008, the European football (soccer) championship playoffs. Austria and Switzerland are joint hosts of the games, with Vienna as one of the playoff sites. The playoffs between the 16 European teams will continue until the championship game to be held on June 29 in Vienna. The winner will represent Europe at the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa in 2009.
Vienna was awash with soccer fans from all European countries when we arrived. The atmosphere is much like a supercharged Kentucky Derby/March madness/Superbowl rolled into one. The fans dress in their team colors, parade around the city, party, and enthusiastically promote their team. The process was noisy at times but was very controlled. The fans mixed in with the tourist and, to my opinion, added to the excitement of this ancient city.
Vienna is a "distinguished" city; it is genteel and, other than when the soccer fans are here, mostly a quiet, early to-bed town. The city is bigger than you would think, but the heart and soul is the old town area.
I started my day with a run along the Danube Canal. The tree lined path along side the water offers a great place to run. It has no traffic other than walkers, runners and an occasional bicycle; it follows the canal for many miles and is perfect for endurance or tempo training.
After a shower and leaving the hotel, we stop for a "street weenie." Like many European cities, Vienna is flush with many small stands serving everything from ice cream to beer. In Vienna, the stands are mostly Würstelstands serving various types of wieners; at this particular stand, I opt for a sausage in a bun with mustard and accompany it with a local beer. I stand by an outside table and eat it while people watching; a great start to the day!
We wanted to take a quick tour of the city on the tram. Tram #1 or #2 circle the old town on the Ringstrasse and give a quick look at all of the main sights to be seen. It is an easy way to get the "big picture" and determine where you want to start your tour. Unfortunately, due to security reasons for the soccer tournament, neither tram was running during the day.
So, we walked to Saint Stephen's Cathedral in the center of Vienna. This Gothic style church stands in the center of the city and its steeple can be seen for miles. The facade has Roman statues above the door; Vienna was a northern outpost for the Romans at the height of their empire. The interior is typically massive in the Baroque style and is free to enter. We could not take in the nave or pulpit area because mass was starting. Instead, we decided to walk up the 450 foot high south tower by taking 343 steps up. Round and round up we went in the warm air of the stone tower until we arrived at the observation area and the welcome feel of a cool breeze. The birds-eye view of the city was worth the climb; an added bonus was the up close view of the mosaic pattern of tiles on top of the church roof. I stayed until I cooled off and then walked down the stairs a lot easier than I came up.
From the church, we walked along the old streets of Graben and Kohlmarket. Graben was the original moat of the Roman camp but now is the home of many fine shops and restaurants. In the center of the street is the Trinity Column--a monument placed here around 1690 by plague survivors to thank God for allowing them to live.
At the end of Kohlmarket is Michaeler Platz and the entrance to the Hofburg Palace. At the Platz you can view parts of the old Roman wall that once stood here. Looking up from the wall toward the entrance of the Palace, you notice four hugh statues of Hercules in all his might--they are powerful and I am sure represent what the Hapsburg kings wanted others to feel as they approached the Palace. Tours for the Palace stopped before our arrival, but we walked past the Imperial Apartments into In Der Burg Square and had some coffee and apfelstrudel at an outdoor cafe; we enjoyed watching about 10 Scot soccer fans having a good time at the bar (the Scots did not make the tournament but the men were here to enjoy it anyway--I love the Scots!).
In Heros Square along The New Palace Museum, Fanfest was going on and was well attended by the soccer fans; a very big screen TV was showing one of the games as we walked by the fence surrounding the site. We did not stop at the festival, but looked in the library and at the many statues that line the wall of the Palace here. A King Tut exhibit is now appearing at the museum.
Exiting the Palace, we walked along the Burgring past the Burggarten (which was closed to the public during the soccer tournament for security reasons). This street is tree lined and, today, lively. While we walked, a large group of Turkish soccer fans paraded by us blowing whistles and horns and waving their flag. As I said earlier, the fans added to the excitement of the town, especially in this quiet section of Vienna. At the corner of Burgring and Kärntner Strasse sits the Vienna Opera (Staatsoper). The architect of this building committed suicide as a result of critics claiming the building looked like a train station; but this evening, it looked magical in the glow of the setting sun and exterior colored lights shinning on the building. We walked in to buy tickets for the performance.
We were able to get last minute standing-room tickets in the upper balcony area. Even with these tickets, you can wonder around the inside of the building and take in all of its magnificence. It is elaborate and detailed with art, tapestry, and statues. The grand stairs lead up to the viewing booths and balconies. Although casually dressed, I did not feel out of place with the patrons wearing mostly black suits and evening dresses; there were also a fair number of tourist doing the same thing were doing and not dressed in evening wear (although I would not suggest wearing blue jeans and t-shirts here). The performance was the premier of Richard Strauss' Capriccio.
After the Opera, we walked to a local Restaurant called Ubl located at Pressgasse 26 for dinner. It is a very old tavern (Beisl) with wood-paneled walls and tiled floors. It may have 10 white cloth covered tables and a small bar, but the service was excellent and the Viennese cuisine was fresh and tasty. We each had pancake soup for a starter. We sampled Gulasch and Tafelspitz (beef) for our main courses, drank either wine or beer, and followed it with sachertorte (chocolate cake with cream and ice cream) and plum schnapps.
After dinner, we caught the tram back to the hotel; as with many European cities, the mass transit system is superior and you can travel to just about anywhere in the city using the public system without any problems. Traveling the world as a pilot, I get to enjoy many cities on a weekly basis but for short periods of time. I tell others that it is seeing the world on a one dinner at a time plan. I hope you enjoyed this day with me and I look forward to keeping you informed of other cities into which I travel.
Vienna was awash with soccer fans from all European countries when we arrived. The atmosphere is much like a supercharged Kentucky Derby/March madness/Superbowl rolled into one. The fans dress in their team colors, parade around the city, party, and enthusiastically promote their team. The process was noisy at times but was very controlled. The fans mixed in with the tourist and, to my opinion, added to the excitement of this ancient city.
Vienna is a "distinguished" city; it is genteel and, other than when the soccer fans are here, mostly a quiet, early to-bed town. The city is bigger than you would think, but the heart and soul is the old town area.
I started my day with a run along the Danube Canal. The tree lined path along side the water offers a great place to run. It has no traffic other than walkers, runners and an occasional bicycle; it follows the canal for many miles and is perfect for endurance or tempo training.
After a shower and leaving the hotel, we stop for a "street weenie." Like many European cities, Vienna is flush with many small stands serving everything from ice cream to beer. In Vienna, the stands are mostly Würstelstands serving various types of wieners; at this particular stand, I opt for a sausage in a bun with mustard and accompany it with a local beer. I stand by an outside table and eat it while people watching; a great start to the day!
We wanted to take a quick tour of the city on the tram. Tram #1 or #2 circle the old town on the Ringstrasse and give a quick look at all of the main sights to be seen. It is an easy way to get the "big picture" and determine where you want to start your tour. Unfortunately, due to security reasons for the soccer tournament, neither tram was running during the day.
So, we walked to Saint Stephen's Cathedral in the center of Vienna. This Gothic style church stands in the center of the city and its steeple can be seen for miles. The facade has Roman statues above the door; Vienna was a northern outpost for the Romans at the height of their empire. The interior is typically massive in the Baroque style and is free to enter. We could not take in the nave or pulpit area because mass was starting. Instead, we decided to walk up the 450 foot high south tower by taking 343 steps up. Round and round up we went in the warm air of the stone tower until we arrived at the observation area and the welcome feel of a cool breeze. The birds-eye view of the city was worth the climb; an added bonus was the up close view of the mosaic pattern of tiles on top of the church roof. I stayed until I cooled off and then walked down the stairs a lot easier than I came up.
From the church, we walked along the old streets of Graben and Kohlmarket. Graben was the original moat of the Roman camp but now is the home of many fine shops and restaurants. In the center of the street is the Trinity Column--a monument placed here around 1690 by plague survivors to thank God for allowing them to live.
At the end of Kohlmarket is Michaeler Platz and the entrance to the Hofburg Palace. At the Platz you can view parts of the old Roman wall that once stood here. Looking up from the wall toward the entrance of the Palace, you notice four hugh statues of Hercules in all his might--they are powerful and I am sure represent what the Hapsburg kings wanted others to feel as they approached the Palace. Tours for the Palace stopped before our arrival, but we walked past the Imperial Apartments into In Der Burg Square and had some coffee and apfelstrudel at an outdoor cafe; we enjoyed watching about 10 Scot soccer fans having a good time at the bar (the Scots did not make the tournament but the men were here to enjoy it anyway--I love the Scots!).
In Heros Square along The New Palace Museum, Fanfest was going on and was well attended by the soccer fans; a very big screen TV was showing one of the games as we walked by the fence surrounding the site. We did not stop at the festival, but looked in the library and at the many statues that line the wall of the Palace here. A King Tut exhibit is now appearing at the museum.
Exiting the Palace, we walked along the Burgring past the Burggarten (which was closed to the public during the soccer tournament for security reasons). This street is tree lined and, today, lively. While we walked, a large group of Turkish soccer fans paraded by us blowing whistles and horns and waving their flag. As I said earlier, the fans added to the excitement of the town, especially in this quiet section of Vienna. At the corner of Burgring and Kärntner Strasse sits the Vienna Opera (Staatsoper). The architect of this building committed suicide as a result of critics claiming the building looked like a train station; but this evening, it looked magical in the glow of the setting sun and exterior colored lights shinning on the building. We walked in to buy tickets for the performance.
We were able to get last minute standing-room tickets in the upper balcony area. Even with these tickets, you can wonder around the inside of the building and take in all of its magnificence. It is elaborate and detailed with art, tapestry, and statues. The grand stairs lead up to the viewing booths and balconies. Although casually dressed, I did not feel out of place with the patrons wearing mostly black suits and evening dresses; there were also a fair number of tourist doing the same thing were doing and not dressed in evening wear (although I would not suggest wearing blue jeans and t-shirts here). The performance was the premier of Richard Strauss' Capriccio.
After the Opera, we walked to a local Restaurant called Ubl located at Pressgasse 26 for dinner. It is a very old tavern (Beisl) with wood-paneled walls and tiled floors. It may have 10 white cloth covered tables and a small bar, but the service was excellent and the Viennese cuisine was fresh and tasty. We each had pancake soup for a starter. We sampled Gulasch and Tafelspitz (beef) for our main courses, drank either wine or beer, and followed it with sachertorte (chocolate cake with cream and ice cream) and plum schnapps.
After dinner, we caught the tram back to the hotel; as with many European cities, the mass transit system is superior and you can travel to just about anywhere in the city using the public system without any problems. Traveling the world as a pilot, I get to enjoy many cities on a weekly basis but for short periods of time. I tell others that it is seeing the world on a one dinner at a time plan. I hope you enjoyed this day with me and I look forward to keeping you informed of other cities into which I travel.
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