Vienna to Amarillo 10/31-11/1

Vienna, October 31, Wednesday, the last day

Oh, my goodness.  I had to check to see if I had legs or just stubs left -- still two legs -- but they are tired.  I think I have walked miles, befpmostly looking in shops and at buildings.  I even rode the tram some.  Garrett will have to identify some of the things I took pictures of.  It was chilly, but not uncomfortable.  The trees are loosing their leaves, the people are bundled up, Christmas decoration shopping has started.  We stopped for coffee and cake again about noon, so I am not hungry for dinner yet.  Austrians walk a lot, so, even if they eat cake, they seem to be in pretty good shape.  It is easier to walk in Vienna than it was in Rome because the sidewalks are smoother.

This is part of the breakfast bar we see each morning: boiled eggs, vegetable salad, tomatoes, cukes, egg salad, olives, pickles, 3 kinds of yogurt, hazelnuts, raisins, 3 kinds of cereal, several cheeses, several meats, 2 juices, coffee, tea, cocoa, several breads, butter, honey, jams

                                   Garrett and Goethe

                                       Garrett and Schiller

 

We went back to the gasthaus we have been to before for our last dinner this trip.  Both of us had the garlic cream soup and we shared the cevapcici and fries.  It was delicious, and not too much.  Then we had to pack to go home.  We went to bed about 8:30 since our pick-up time was 3:45. 

 

Vienna, November 1, Thursday

We got up at 3 and were ready to go in half an hour.  The man at the desk fixed coffee, and the van came by at 3:45.  Making the reservations for transportation has been worth the time and money.  There has been someone there for us every time scheduled.  It took about 25 minutes to reach the airport, and we were through the check in and security in just a few minutes more.  It was very smooth and easy.  I got some pictures out the window on the way down into Frankfort.

 

In Frankfort we had to move to another terminal again and go through security again.  It went smoothly.  We boarded the big bird home on time and took off.

It was a LONG ride.  My seat mate (since I was in the middle) had been a teacher in the Greek school I went to.  She taught English and ESL.  The food was good and the wine was plentiful.  They even gave us Bailey’s Irish Cream.

Houston was not fun.  We had to go through customs, get our bags and recheck them, find our terminal and wait for the plane to Amarillo.  We had been told the flight would be late leaving, but it was on time.  Carl and Celeste met us at the gate; we were glad to see them, but didn’t stay long.  We wanted to get home!  It was a lovely trip.

Vienna 10/27

Vienna, Sunday, October 28

I don't know what we will do today.  Yesterday it was cold and rainy all day, but we walked anyway.  We went downtown to the pedestrian district and walked with hundreds of people, all carrying umbrellas most of the time.  We went into Stephansdom, but couldn't see much because of the crowds.  They seemed to think worship services were more important than tourists.  Feature that!  We did get to hear the orchestra and singer practicing for that night's concert.  The tickets were very expensive, so I was glad of a small sample.

 

There was a shop with children's tracht clothing, the traditional clothing of Austria.  It is coming back into style  We had fun looking at the tiny models wearing it.  I had read in a magazine that it was something to look for.

 

I got on the Internet last night and found a fabric store on the shopping street our hotel is near.  I want to check it out tomorrow.  There is also a Swarovsky crystal store downtown that I want to go into; it's a cinch I can't buy anything there, but I'd like to look.

 

This is the 150th anniversary year of the birth of Gustaf Klimt, so there are things everywhere about him.  At least 2 museums have his work on display.  I'd like to go to the Art Nouveau museum.  We have seen copies of his work, especially The Kiss everywhere: cards, prints, umbrellas, even in a pastry shop.

 

Vienna 10/30

Vienna, October 30, Tuesday

I went to the most amazing fabric shop I have ever seen: Komolka. I think much of the fabric was couture; everything from beads and crystals to sewed on roses to feathers to something like the design felting I have seen demostrated. I asked if I could take some pictures for my friends in America and did so.

The feathers amazed me most. I couldn't figure out how they were attached. They were real feathers: blues on blue, reds on red, multicolor on anything. There was one fabric that made me think of the 20's dresses I have seen in pictures with rows of strings hanging down like fringe, but all over, not just at the bottom. I went into the pattern area and saw a book of tracht designs, the traditional Austrian/Bavarian costume, with swatches to show what was used. One taffeta had a hunting scene at the edge.

I also went into a craft shop. It was stuffed with beads, pens, paper, inks, clay, everything.

I didn't buy anything. The fabric was expensive, up to $300 per meter.

We had a Mozart cake and coffee downtown just after noon because we planned to go out later with Garrett's friend from Fullbright days. The cake was heavenly. The coffee was too. The cake was 2 layers of chocolate with a filling of pistaccio nougat and milk chocolate frosting--fondant that tasted like fudge. Oh man!!!!

I had planned to go to the Secession museum in the afternoon, but it was something of a disappointment. The only Klimt was the Beethoven Frieze, down 2 sets of stairs and up one. Because it is a frieze, it is installed at the top of the wall, so you have to climb it to see it. It was along 3 walls, and there was a guide to explain. It was strange.

Gernot took us to a restaurant that featured wild game. Garrett and Gernot had venison, and I had rabbit. It was a new experience, but good; the meat was dark, in a sauce and with potato dumplings. I couldn't begin to eat it all.

Garrett and I shared a dessert, crepes with plum conserve and poppy seeds and whipped cream, and Gernot had poppyseed cake. We rode back to our hotel on the bus.

Vienna 10/28

Vienna, Monday, October 29

I was very self-sufficient yesterday and went to the Bellevedere Palace Museum by myself on the bus.  I asked at the desk which one to take and the stop and walked there by myself as Garrett wanted to do his own thing.  There are 2 museums in Vienna with exhibits featuring Gustaf Klimt because it is 150 years since he was born.  It was fairly cold, but I wore my fleece vest and my windbreaker with hood.  I wished for mittens and a scarf.

 

 

The exhibit was wonderful.  They had set up one half of the first (read second here) floor just for it.  The walls had been marked with quotations from his diaries and the words of others about him (in large letters like the ones you can buy at home to put on your walls).  It made it easier to understand the stages of his life.

In the beginning he and his brother had commissions to paint inside theaters and churches, rather regular art work.   You could see as you went on through the rooms how his work changed after Ernst died to become more and more Nouveau and excentric.  He and some contemporaries founded a movement called Secession.  I hope to go to that museum today or tomorrow.  The picture is a display we saw in a pastry shop window because I couldn't take pictures inside.

 

I should have gotten the audio to go through the rooms, but didn't.  When I got to the last room, there was a curator and a large crowd at The Kiss, and the man was explaining the painting.  Unfortunately for me, it was all in German.  The painting is magni-ficent with gold leaf or paint on much of the surface.  He also used gold on many others like Judith and Sophie.  Many of the paintings are very large.
 

I went through the other rooms quickly (spending some time at the Napolean on his horse by David), and looking out of the windows at Vienna spread out below.  I also went into the museum shop for some cards since I couldn't take pictures.  To get back to the hotel, I just took the same bus and got off at a place I recognized.

 

Garrett had already finished his ramblings, so we went back to the cafe where we had had coffee the night before.  He had a plate-sized schnitzel, and I had a fresh sausage dish called chevapcici (I know that is spelled wrong because it is Hungarian or Polish or Czec).  Both were delicious and too big.  We had intended to go back later for coffee and dessert, but it was too cold and we were not hungry.

Vienna, October 27, Monday

This morning there is a mix of rain and snow, and Accuweather says it is    -1^oC, about 30^oF.  It will only get to about 3^o today, but will warm up in the coming days, warmest on the day we go home, about 9^oC on Thursday.  I guess we should have come earlier in the month and gone to Rome afterwards.  I think we will buy mittens and a cap for Garrett and a scarf for me today.  It won't be that warm.

 

Rome to Vienna, 10/25-26

October 25, Rome

We went last night to the same trattoria and had the special, antipasto and entree with salad and potatoes; both of us had roast chicken.  It was really good.  We got some stamps and gelato before returning to the hotel.  Later in the evening we had coffee/tea and dessert at a cafe near the church.  There was a lot of traffic there at the cafe.

 

This morning we packed up and are now at the airport, a huge one.  We are going by Austria Airlines to Vienna in about an hour.  One of the drivers we had earlier came to pick us up in a Fiat Ducat van.  It is a fair distance to the airport and the streets are rough until you get to the highway.

Saturday, October 27, Vienna

When we arrived at our hotel (in a Mercedes), they had no reservation for us but soon worked it out.  The Hotel Savoy is beautiful and elegant, very opulent in design and furnishings.  I’m glad we are here.  It didn’t look like much from the street with about 20 steps to climb with baggage, but the staff is extremely nice.  Our rooms include a bedroom with table and chairs, TV, etc., a toilet, a bath with ceiling mirror, and ample closet space in the hall.

 

The lobby has old-fashioned furniture and a glass case with knickknacks.  You can eat your breakfast there if you wish or read the paper.  The breakfast room uses  white china similar to white Racine, but with garlands.  They do not expect you to go away hungry: several meats including braunsweiger, several cheeses including camenbert, cereals, yogurts, hazelnuts, milk, some Austrian dishes like liptauer and gemeuse salat, eggs, juice, sparkling water, cake.  Someone comes in  to ask what you want to drink and brings it.  There are several kinds of bread on each table.  We find that we only need one other meal each day.

Yesterday we took a city tour with Schonbrun and afterwards stayed to walk in the gardens and see the carriage museum.  It was interesting to see how the trees and bushes of the gardens were trimmed; it lookd like someone had used a ruler.  It was a national holiday, so most of the businesses were closed.   We returned downtown on the subway and found a place to eat about 4:30.  We learned quite a bit about one of the empresses, Elizabeth or Sisi, in the carriage museum and saw some fascinating vehicles and clothing.

 

 

The restaurant is a sort of cafeteria and was full of people.  I think many had the day off with their children.  We could go around the food area and pick from appetizers, salad, meats and vegetables, pasta, breads, and drinks.  Then we went through the cashier and found a table.  Garrett got a huge sausage and veggies for both of us, and each of us choose some salads.  Later we went back for dessert and coffee.  It was good food.

We walked from there to our hotel, about a 30-minute walk, comfortable, and stayed in for the night.  It is much colder here.  Garrett needs a hat.