The Events of Saturday, July 2, 2011

                Lindsey planned to introduce us to Vienna with a public transit and walking tour of the city center. From our apartment, we walked a few blocks to the nearest subway station, Westbahnhof, where we tried to figure out the best transit ticket option for today. Communication with the limited-English transit official was difficult, but in the end, we decided on the Vienna Shopping Ticket, which provides twelve hours of unlimited use on bus, tram, or subway.

                We took the subway to the Opera stop, where we hoped to take Rick Steves’ narrated tram tour. Rick wrote that the #2 tram follows the 190-foot wide three-mile long Ringstrasse boulevard around the city center. Well, the tram routes changed somewhere between the publication of our travel guide (2005) and today. About 15 minutes into our trip, Ben noticed that we were no longer on the “ring” and heading away from town. So we hopped off, took a #2 tram back to the ring, and caught a different tram (#1) to complete the circuit.

                Back at the Opera stop, we stepped inside the Staatsoper (State Opera House) and bought tickets for the English-language tour. Deni, our enthusiastic guide, showed us some of the lush lounges and reception areas. A mantle piece caught my eye, a bust of Gustav Mahler by Auguste Rodin. Who knew that one of my favorite sculptors admired one of my favorite composers? Next, Deni led us through a maze of passageways and into the seating area. Wow. Like something from the movies, this horseshoe-shaped hall has six vertical levels of seating. That is, there is a large ground floor and then there are five more floors, straight up, all the way around, for a total capacity of around 2700. Our next stop, the stage area, impressed me even more. The ceiling was over 70 feet high, and the floor area was about 100 feet across and 200 feet deep – what a huge stage! Deni also showed us a photo of the stunning Vienna Opera Ball (aka Debutante Ball). The Taylor ladies listened attentively as she shared the details of this annual spectacle, in which thousands of spectators watch hundreds of young dancers spinning around the floor of the Opera House. I think that, even as I write this blog, our girls are all dreaming of dancing in the Opera Ball in their white gowns and glittering new Swarovski-crystal tiaras.

                Once we finished our Opera House tour, we searched for and eventually found the Opera Museum. It was free with our tour tickets, and we enjoyed seeing some of the opera costumes and learning a bit more about the rich history of this place. Then we took a tram to the Stadtpark (City Park), where we happened upon a huge festival: “Wasserfest” (Water Festival). It was time for lunch, so we sat on the grassy shore of a lake and watched toy boats zip around on the water. There were speed boats, tug boats, fire boats, fishing trawlers, and even a swamp boat.  The speed boats especially stunned us, with their precise turns and vicious acceleration.

                As we finished our meal, the weather turned drizzly, so we packed up and headed off to St. Stephan’s Cathedral. Here we encountered a particularly aggressive band of salespeople. Dressed as baroque musicians, with white wigs and fancy clothes, they were pitching local concerts. Assertively. We took refuge inside the Cathedral, where we encountered some unexpected music, courtesy of a youth chorus who were rehearsing. We had hoped to climb the tall south tower, but it was closed for repairs.

                From there, Lindsey led us through some shopping districts and public squares, to the famous Demel Café. A bit hungry from all our walking, we decided to try out this Viennese café. Lindsey and Abby had the Sachertorte (excellent), Ben had Apfelstrudel, Caitlin ordered the Annetorte (decadent), Pam tried two miniature Sachertortes (too much raspberry for her), and I took a risk with a Fachertorte (crumbly pound cake with a layer of apples). We also tried the “mélange” (coffee with some cream). But the overall favorite was their hot chocolate with whipped cream. Pam described it as the best she has ever had. As a chocoholic and, if I may add, a hot chocolate snob, this is no empty praise. It is safe to say, we will be returning to this café quite soon.

                As we sipped our hot drinks and slowly enjoyed our rich desserts, we strategized about future aggressive concert salespeople. Ben suggested we adopt an obscure foreign language. I thought it would be more fun to engage them in conversation and then steer it into obscure tangents:  “Could you tell us what is it like to live here in Vienna? Have you been watching the Women’s World Cup? Who’s going to win tonight? How is your mother? Do you still call her?” Pam’s first suggested that we inform them, “27 – you are the 27th person who has approached us so far.” Her other idea (and we all agreed, a better one) was that we should scream and run away.

                There remained for us two tasks for today: get reservations for tomorrow’s lunch and buy tickets for Tuesday’s visit to Schönbrunn Palace. The first was quick and easy. The second was slow (it involved a subway ride with a transfer) and unsuccessful (the ticket office was closed). We took the subway back to Westbahnhof and returned to our lovely apartment. Lindsey and I took a quick and unsuccessful shopping trip to get some cereal – we forgot about the 6:00 Saturday closing time. Pam and the gang served up a yummy green salad and some delicious spaghetti with sausage. Then we took turns on the laptop, while non-users watched Sweden beat North Korea in the Women’s World Cup.