Europe!

Tuesday, August 22

Opera Tour – I actually don’t love the look of the Opera from the outside, but inside is a completely different story! 🙂 It’s so beautiful! I took the tour, which took us onto the stage and everything, so that was really neat. Most of it has been re-constructed after World War II, but it looks great. I thought it was funny that the first time the tour guide mentioned Emperor Franz Joseph, she added, “You know, he was the husband of Sisi.” As if that’s the only thing he was famous for! 🙂

House of Music – This is such a cool place! There are all these interactive exhibits about how sound is made and then processed. And then there are exhibits on many famous Viennese composers, like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Mahler and more, and then you get to virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic! That was pretty neat, but it was hard because you had to conduct in a straight line up and down, which is not how you actually conduct, so I kept messing up the pace. Finally the quit playing and one member stood up and told me they could not work under these conditions. 😉

St. Stephen’s cathedral – this church is just gorgeous, and I really didn’t do it justice, as I was rather tired when I got there. I did manage to climb the tower, but once I got to the top, I realized I had climbed the south tower, when I had actually wanted to climb the north one! But I wasn’t about to go up again on the other side! 🙂

Sound of Vienna concert – I knew this was a tourist trap when I saw it, but I figured I’m entitled to be a tourist every now and then. 🙂 The concert was held in the National Library, and was mostly Strauss music with a few other selections thrown in. While it most definitely wasn’t the Vienna Philharmonic, it was an enjoyable enough evening!

Wednesday, August 23

Hofburg Palace & Treasury – This was the first real palace I had ever been to, and it more than lived up to any expectations I may have had! I can’t believe that people actually used to live there, or own the things in the treasury – it boggles the mind, really. I toured the State Apartments, which place a big emphasis on Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, the silver collection, and the treasury (which had some of the most amazing embroidery I’ve ever seen). I also had lunch in the cafe in the courtyard!

Augustinian Church – I just took a quick peek in here to see the church where the Hapsburgs were married. It is gorgeous!

Stadtpark – After a stop at the theatre store at Theater an der Wien, I took a quick break in this park – it is really pretty!

Kunsthistorchesmuseum – I think I was more impressed by the building than by the artwork inside! 🙂 No, that’s a lie, the artwork was fabulous, but the building really was beautiful too. I only really went through the paintings, and they were wonderful. I saw my very first Raphael! 🙂

Thursday, August 24

Schönbrunn Palace – This was *gorgeous*, even better than the Hofburg! I got there first thing in the morning, so the first part of the tour was really nice, but by the time I got to Maria Theresa’s apartments, the tour groups were out in full force, and I was pretty happy to escape! The gardens here are amazing too, and I spent a fair bit of time wandering, walking up to the Gloriette for the view, and getting lost in the maze!

Central cemetary – This was the biggest cemetary I have ever seen. 🙂 It was a very humbling experience, especially as there was a funeral going on while I was there. Of course I went primarily to see where Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, Brahms and more are buried.

Royal crypt – This was almost an afterthought, but I’m really glad I went. I mean,

I saw the Hohenzollern crypt in Berlin, but as I’m more familiar with the Habsburgs, it was much more meaningful. Of course the big attraction is the room

with Franz Joseph, Elisabeth and Rudolf. It was covered in flowers.

This was a good place to stay, and a pretty good location, though I might have preferred to have been a little closer to the centre. I met some really nice people there though, and made full use of the kitchen facilities and lovely backyard area. I would stay there again!

Check out the Hostel Ruthensteiner website!