The Events of Monday, July 4, 2011

                Happy 4th‼ It seems odd to be celebrating the 4th of July here in Vienna, but we decided to try to anyway. Although Lindsey’s plans for today allowed for a later start, that didn’t necessarily mean more sleep. Ben awoke early to finish his blog so it could be posted in an almost timely manner. Lindsey awoke early to fit in her quiet time and finish up some research for our upcoming visit to Salzburg. And Jim and I seem to have switched our sleep cycles. Typically he is the one early to bed and early to rise, while I boast my most productive hours are after 10 pm and that if I am to only have 6 hours of sleep, the best hours for me are between 3am and 9am. However, for the past two nights, I have been yawning at 9:30 and asleep by 10, while he has stayed up, burning the midnight oil, working on the computer. As a result, for these past two mornings, I have also awoken before him, an almost unheard of feat in our 22 years of marriage. This morning I tried to sneak out of the bedroom to work on the computer, but a very squeaky door announced my exit. He soon followed and, soon after, Caitlin and Abby were awake as well.

                Lindsey’s plan for today was to lead us on a Vienna Walk called the Stones of Vienna. Years ago, my sister Pat spent time in Vienna as part of Stanford’s Overseas Program. While there she purchased a book called Vienna Walks, which has five guided walks through the streets of Vienna. When Jim and I visited Vienna in 1993 we took one of these walks and enjoyed it very much. Since Pat still had the book, we scanned and printed out the walk we thought we had taken all those years ago and brought it with us to share with the kids. Lindsey’s announcement that we were going on an architectural tour of the city was met by the groans of her siblings. When they found out the tour consisted of 54 pages of text, the complaints grew even louder. Spoiled by Rick Steves’ hour long city tours filled with humorous antidotes, they seemed determined not to enjoy today.

                The tour started out at Stephansplatz, St. Stephen’s Square, where a Rick Steves tour had taken us yesterday. However, after learning some new facts about the cathedral and its history, we were surprised to be instructed to descend back into the underground station we had just exited. There we found a subterranean chapel. Unearthed in the early 1970s with the construction of the subway system, this lovely Romanesque chapel was discovered and carefully excavated. The result was a large rectangular room with a floor lying 12 meters below the modern day plaza. Originally the ceiling reached 14 meters, almost 1.5 meters above ground level allowing windows to let in natural light. Although records show the chapel was a crypt of the finance minister of the early Habsburgs, additional research points to the possibility that this underground structure was built in the Middle Ages. Needless to say the kids’ attitude to the walk quickly changed. In fact Caitlin exclaimed, “I can’t believe this isn’t included in the Rick Steves’ tour – he usually takes us to the hidden gems.”

                Now, with the kids fully on board, the walk began to feel like a treasure hunt. They carefully listened for the next clue, direction or address and eagerly pointed it out. Then they listened as the history and detail behind it was read. Given that this was a fairly old text, probably written in the 1980s, which to our kids is ancient (Caitlin: “That is before I was born‼ That’s OLD!”); we were never quite sure that the next stop would still be in existence or still publicly accessible. We were led up streets and down allies, into courtyards and around narrow cobblestone bends. We saw all manner of facades, reliefs, sculptures and building styles. We viewed churches and synagogues, courthouses and former palaces, marketplaces and squares. Each turn and each corner led to a new discovery. These were even new discoveries for Jim and me Neither of us remember any of these stops from our last visit to Vienna. We were off the typical tourist map and seeing the sights that the average Viennese probably passes by every day.

                Lindsey’s timing for today was perfect. It had been raining while we breakfasted so we dawdled a bit. By the time we left, the rain stopped and the skies cleared and we enjoyed balmy clear blue skies for the remainder of the day. Then, just before noon, we approached Hoher Markt, home of the Anker Clock. The Anker Clock, built from 1911 to 1917, was to commemorate the Austro-Hungarian victory in World War I. Even though that victory was not to be, the clock is a mini-lesson in Austrian history. At noon all twelve of the hours, each with its representative historical figure, march by accompanied by special theme music. We arrived just in time for the complete show. Later, around lunch time, we found ourselves off the streets and back allies and in a nice square complete with benches and shade trees with a fine view of the city. What a perfect place to enjoy our lunch.

                Our tour ended on Irisgasse, Vienna’s shortest street. Pulling out the GPS, we followed Haarhof, a little lane that heads downhill to where the ancient great moat of Roman times once stood, and eventually found the underground station. Right outside the station was a Post Office. Perfect. Abby needed to pick up some Austrian stamps anyway. Soon we were on the subway and headed home. Jim and Lindsey went shopping for ingredients for our 4th of July celebration while the other kids and I returned home. Before long the kids were rotating through turns on the laptop and on the desktop computer that came with the house. Lindsey and Jim returned triumphant and in next to no time we were enjoying an American dinner of hotdogs, French fries, and ice cream. After dinner the computer rotations continued until just before bedtime. Then we watched a brief video on Salzburg before searching YouTube for some firework displays. We settled on the 2010 Washington D.C. fireworks over the Washington Monument accompanied by rousing patriotic Sousa marches. It was almost as good as being there. The kids headed to bed with Sousa ringing in their ears and flashes of color in their eyes. Not a bad way to celebrate the 4th of July, 5000 miles from home.