Pics from the plane–flying into Dusseldorf, Germany–October 20, 2012

 

These photo’s are not particularly clear, but you can see the beautiful colors of the trees as we approached Dusseldorf.  

October 20, 2012 - Travel Day Home

Decided to take a taxi to the airport, rather than the CAT (Airport Train).  Flight was early and difference in price not that significant - not worth the trouble of dragging our luggage up the street in the early morning.    Eu 35 taxi to airport -  Eu 18 for the train.
Flight from Vienna to Dusseldorf (2 hours) -  Dusseldorf to Newark - (8 hours)    Lufthansa 

Vienna–10/18 & 10/19/12

This morning we headed out of our hotel to do the Rick Steve’s Walking Tour, which Kos downloaded onto his Kindle.  We thought the best way to really see a city, is to walk through it.   Our tour began at the Opera House so we took the U-Bahn to that area and after some confusion (OK – a lot of confusion)  – we found it.   Since this building was built in 1869, almost all of opera world’s luminaries have passed through.  Strauss, Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Placido Domingo. 



We passed by Café Sacher which is the home of the world famous Sacher Torte: 2 layers of chocolate cake separated by apricot jam and covered with dark chocolate icing, usually served with whipped cream.    As tempting as it was to stop in for a taste, by now it was almost time for lunch and we were in the market for a brat.  Next we passed passed Albertinaplatz, a neoclassical building that marks the tip of the Hofburg Palace.  The Monument against War and Fascism commemorates the dark years when Austria came under Nazi rule (1938-1945).
A few blocks away, we entered Karntner Strasse, a grand, mall like traffic free street.   Filled with shops, restaurants and street musicians, this is the central tourist area which runs  directly into Stephansplatz – St. Stephen’s Cathedral (c.1300-1450) which is known for its 450 foot tower, its colorful roof, and its place in Viennese history.   Before we tour the Cathedral --- Lunch at a Wurst stand.   Brats and various different wursts are served either alone with bread on the side, or a roll that has been hollowed out and the brat stuffed into it.  Yum.  These stands can be found all over the city. 



At this point we began the St. Stephen’s Cathedral Tour.  This church as it is today is the third one on this spot.   It dates mainly from 1300-1450 and covers almost an acre of land – which was a huge church for what was then a modest town of 10,000.  The ruler who built this church was competing with St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.   He wanted to make sure Vienna’s grand church was bigger than Prague’s which helped convince the religious authorities that Vienna deserved a bishop, thus making St. Stephen’s a cathedral.  Politically, this helped Vienna become a city to be reckoned with and it soon replaced Prague as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire.  

The guy peeking out above is thought to be a self-portrait of the sculptor.   In these times, art was done for the glory of God, and artists worked anonymously.   So often, the artists will include a self portrait.  After our tour, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  After just about a 20 minute walk, we rested a while before going to dinner.  Below is the narrow street where you can see our hotel at the end of the street (the arch).    Along the street were small shops and a few restaurants.   We chose a typical Viennese restaurant that appeared to appeal to the locals. 



The next day, Friday the 19th of October, would be our last full day in Vienna and we decided to tour the Schonbrunn Palace – the former summer residence of the Habsburgs.  Among Europe’s palaces, only Schonbrunn rivals Versailles, with 1,441 rooms.  Fortunately our tour will only allow us to see 40 rooms.  The highlight is the tour of the Royal Apartments – the chandeliered rooms where the Habsburg nobles lived.  No photographs were allowed in the palace.  With our audio guide, we moved from room to room – immersed in imperial splendor.  The chandeliers are made of either Bohemian crystal or hand carved wood with gold-leaf gilding.  Thick walls hid the servants as they ran around stoking the ceramic stoves from the back and attending to other behind the scenes matters.  Franz Josef’s study includes the desk where he conducted state business and ate his lunch.  Franz Josef was a workaholic and is said to have worked 16 hour days –7 days a week.  His beloved wife, Sisi, slept in a separate bedroom – while Franz Josef adored her, the feeling was not necessarily mutual.  The Mirrored Room was were 6 year old Mozart performed his first concert.   The Great Gallery was the site of a famous 1961 summit between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Krushchev.  After our tour of the palace, we walked around the gardens before we took the U-Bahn back to our hotel.  Below is a famous photograph of the beloved, yet eccentric- Sisi




After lunch, we went back out to do the Ringstrasse tram tour.   Although we saw most of the sights during our bus tour and walking tour, we had some time left so decided to ride the tram.   In the 1860’s, Emperor Franz Josef had the city’s ingrown medieval wall torn down and replaced with a grand boulevard 190 feet wide.  The road, arcing nearly three miles around the city’s core, predates all the buildings that line it.  One of Europe’s great streets, the Ringstrasse is lined with many of the city’s top sights.

When we got off the tram, we found ourselves in the Hofburg Palace Garden (Burggarten).  This park was once the backyard of the Hofburgs.  On nice days, it’s lively with tourists and office workers enjoying a break.   Since we have had enough of cathedrals, palaces and museums, we decided to enter the Butterfly House.  I was in heaven – the butterflies were gorgeous and plentiful.  You can see some of the butterflies hanging out on the trays with rotting slices of fruit.  They lick the fermented juice as it beads and then just hang out in a stupor – or fly giddy loop-de-loops.

After walking along Karntner Strasse one more time, we headed for the U-Bahn to go to the market area near out hotel for our last dinner in Vienna – Brats and Beer of course.   While walking along this lively touristy street, smack in the middle of the street we came upon a classical mini concert – yes – a grand piano somehow appeared in the middle of the plaza.   Amazing.

Last but not least – brats in the market and then “cheese shopping” for a late night snack.