Vienna

Continuation from Southern Austria

Day 19 Continued (Tuesday, September 23rd 2008)

After arriving in Vienna at the Sudbahnhof train station, I took a tram to the Westbahnhof station. From here, it was just a few minutes' walk to my hostel called Wombat's City Hostel.

When I arrived at the hostel, the main lobby was filled to the brim with lots of young people talking, playing pool, and just hanging out. I had chosen to stay at a hostel in Vienna due to the high costs of hotels in the city. Even the usual cheap options, such as bed and breakfasts, were quite expensive (around 100 Euro/$150 USD per night). My only rules for staying in a hostel were that it had to be very close to public transportation, I had to have my own private room with a private bathroom, and I wanted to stay at a place that had kitchen and laundry facilities. Wombat's fulfilled all of my requirements, so I decided to book my room at a cost of 50 Euro per night. My room was basic, which was fine, but unfortunately the bed was incredibly uncomfortable and I spent most of my nights tossing and turning.

Day 20 (Wednesday, September 24th 2008)

I awoke to my first morning in Vienna with lovely rain showers outside. Much to my annoyance, the wet weather seemed to be following me around from country to country.

As I only had two full days in Vienna, I had quite a busy schedule planned for the day.

After eating a crappy 3.50 Euro breakfast at my hostel (not worth the cost and over-priced; I could have bought what I ate for much cheaper at a grocery store), I left and used the subway system to make my way into the central part of town, also known as the Ringstrasse. During the 1860’s, the Emperor of Austria (Franz Josef) decided to tear down the medieval wall surrounding the core of the city. In its place a new circular road was created that was almost three miles long. This road was given the name “Ringstrasse” and nearly all of the buildings that face the road in either direction were built during the same time frame. Per the advice of Rick Steves, I hopped on tram #2 across from the Opera House and rode it all the way around, eventually getting off about 30 minutes later. This ride provided an overview of the beautiful architecture and numerous statues that lined the boulevard.

Vienna

From the Opera House, I walked down Karntner Strasse, stopping at a few places of interest including the Monument Against War & Fascism, the Kaisergruft Crypt, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

The Monument Against War & Fascism was a four part statue created to honor the victims of war and violence. The monument was located where hundreds of people were killed when a WWII bomb attack destroyed the building they had been hiding in.

Next, I visited the Kaisergruft Crypt, which was the final resting place to several dozen family members of the Hapsburg dynasty. I have visited other such crypts in Europe, but I was surprised when I saw the first aisle of Hapsburg tombs. Instead of being made from different colors of marble as I had seen in the other crypts, these were made from bronze and each had its own unique and intricate carving. Upon arrival, I had purchased a .50 Euro map that included a chart of the family tree of the Hapsburg family and the names of every single person whose coffin was located in the crypt. This chart proved very useful as I was more easily able to understand who belonged to whom as I was not familiar with the Hapsburg monarchy compared to others, such as the British Royal Family.

Kaisergruft Crypt

After touring the crypt, I eventually made my way to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, known in German as Stephansdom. I was very disappointed to see that the exterior of the church was extremely dirty and covered in black, presumably from the years of pollution and smog. There were a few areas of clean creamy stone and scaffolding in other parts, so I hoped that they were in the process of cleaning the building. The black color sorely detracted from the beauty of the building, at least in my opinion. The interior of the church wasn’t much to jump at either; while it wasn’t as dirty as the exterior, it definitely needed a cleaning as well, as it felt very dark and dreary inside.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

From the church, I headed back out into the rain and walked to the massive Hofburg Imperial Residence.

Hofburg Palace

I walked into the palace through the gate from Michaelplatz and veered right, making my way to the entrance of the Imperial Apartments. This part of the palace contained three separate parts: Silver Collection, Sisi Museum, and the Imperial Apartments. I gained entrance to all three via the “Sisi Ticket.”

The tour began in the Silver Collection where I toured room after room filled with thousands of pieces from the Hapsburg's personal collections of silver, gold, glass, and porcelain. When the monarchy collapsed in 1918, the government took control of all of their possessions and, as a result, most of the sets are complete and in mint condition.

Silver Collection at Hofburg Palace.

Next, I walked through the Sisi Museum, which was dedicated to the life of Empress Elisabeth (more affectionately known as Sisi), wife of Emperor Franz Josef. The museum very thoroughly explained the private life and times of Sisi. After her assassination in 1898, she was almost instantaneously venerated in the press and given much more time and coverage than anyone had bothered to give her while she was alive. All of this new attention created the legend of Sisi, most of which was actually untrue. The museum does a good job a demystifying Sisi and showing the person she really was, not the one that so many people associate her with.

At the end of the Sisi Museum was the start of the Imperial Apartments. The tour took me along the private rooms of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth. I thought the most interesting rooms were Sisi’s dressing/exercise room, Franz Josef’s study, and the dining room. I learned that it would take Sisi’s servants a few hours every day to work on her hair, as she read books and learned foreign languages. In the same room, were two wooden structures on which she would exercise every day, much to the disgrace of the rest of the royal family. Franz Josef’s study was filled with family photos and several portraits of Sisi. Lastly, the dining room was lavishly set-up for an everyday family dinner: silver and gold dishes were only used for formal state dinners.

Next, I walked to the Treasury, which contained the crown jewels, swords, coronation vestments, and a smattering of other highly cherished valuables that once belonged to the Hapsburg's. My favorite items were the Throne Cradle, baptismal blankets from the 1700’s, and the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Throne Cradle was built at the request of Napoleon, who had married into the Hapsburg family. His son was born in 1811, titled King of Rome and used this cradle which was in remarkably good shape and incredibly gorgeous with intricate details. The baptismal blankets were used by the royal family during the 18th century and were a beautiful with soft pink color and very light gold embellishments. The crown of the Holy Roman Emperor was made in the 10th century and was covered with lots of gold and jewels. It was utterly amazing to me that the crown could survive for over 1,000 years and be in such good condition. Most all of the items in the Treasury were in excellent condition as they were only used during ceremonial times and otherwise stored.

Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor inside the Treasury at Hofburg Palace.

Treasury at Hofburg Palace

Throne Cradle inside the Treasury at Hofburg Palace.

Baptismal blankets inside the Treasury at Hofburg Palace.

Burg Hochosterwitz

Continuation from Slovenian Countryside

Day 19 (Tuesday, September 23rd 2008)

Today was my last day in Slovenia. After eating breakfast and checking out of the hotel, I began the drive north towards Austria. As was the case with all of my prior entrances into new countries, no passport check was completed at the border. It seems as though there is a similar agreement between countries in Europe as there is in the States; they just welcome and wave you on in!

It was raining in Lake Bled, but by the time I got to Klagenfurt, Austria the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out. Klagenfurt is the provincial capital of the Carinthia, which encompasses the southern region of Austria. The town is of medium size in terms of population (about 90,000) and offers visitors many beautiful squares and colorful architecture to look at.

After driving into the center of town, I parked in a garage located underneath Neuer Platz, which was the central square of Klagenfurt. Within the square was located the Dragon Fountain (Lindwurm), considered to be the emblem of the city.

Klagenfurt's Neuer Platz

Dragon Fountain in Klagenfurt.

Klagenfurt's Neuer Platz

Klagenfurt

Next I visited Landhaus, a small courtyard that is home to the provincial government. From the courtyard, I walked to a church located at the end of Alter Platz called Stadthauptpfarrkirche St Egid. The church was nothing spectacular or memorable inside, but I did climb the tower and was rewarded with awesome views of Klagenfurt and the surrounding countryside.

Landhaus Courtyard

St. Egid of Klagenfurt

View from St. Egid of Klagenfurt.

After the climb I walked down Alter Platz, one of the main thoroughfares of Klagenfurt, and was surprised to see the variety of colors that were used to paint each of the baroque buildings. I can only guess that, because the town is located near the border of Italy, it has many Italian influences including its colorful architecture.