Day 3 - My first real day in Vienna

Vienna is a predominantly Catholic city.  What that means is that they still close everything down on Sunday in remembrance of the Sabbath.  It also means a great day to adventure out with very few people around to confuse me or to cause me to get lost.  The downside is that I don't know what some of the things I saw were, other than really cool looking buildings.

I began my walk at the Strudlhof steps.  Strudlhof means the house of Strudl, but that doesn't refer to the delectable German dessert.  Peter Strudl was a very successful and well-known court painter.  These steps lead to his palace.  What little I can discern about him is that he died before the completion of the palace and that it was used to house plague victims.  Of course, I could be translating the German incorrectly.  The steps inspired Fran Karl Heimito von Doderer to write a poem, which can be read in it's original German in this photograph and a novel which can be found, translated into English, here in PDF format. 

Not too far away from the Strudlhof is the Liechtenstein Museum.  The museum is on the grounds of one of the many Liechtenstein family homes that can be found throughout Europe.  I did not have time to go to the museum today but look for updates on that later. It has lovely gardens that are open to the public to stroll through, and I did just that.  On the back half of the gardens is another building which looks as though it is another palace of the Liechtenstein's but I couldn't find anything to prove my hypothesis.  It is none-the-less truly beautiful architecture.                          

The rest of the morning stroll took me to places but I can't quite tell you what they were.

After my stroll, I found time to peruse the only open grocery store around and discovered that this really is a wine drinking country.  Wine costs about the same as soda and is often cheaper than beer.  Not being much of a drinker I didn't see much to buy, but I did find a very inexpensive bottle of prosecco and decided I would purchase it for the nightly glass of wine on the hotel roof.  This has become a tradition over the years with the institute director, Dr. Richard Benedum.

Dr. Benedum led the entire group on a tour of the city in the afternoon that included a great many sights that he promised we would visit again with more time and a note pad so we could remember what they were.  I just took some pictures.  He pointed out several plaques on the sides of buildings that have the names of famous Viennese historical figures.    This building is where Mozart lived when he composed Cosi fan Tutte, which, incidentally,  is the only Mozart opera I've ever performed in.

I took quite a few pictures during the tour and I've posted them here.

We ended our excursion at a restaurant.  Keeping in mind that my wife is a foodie I diligently took a picture of my meal.  I had Gulasch mit Semmelknödel.  It was amazing!  The pinkish round slices on the left are a kind of bread dumpling.  It was served with beef tips in a Chardonnay gravy.  It wasn't anything like I was expecting, but I loved it.  I also had a glass of white wine* with dinner since wine is the Viennese drink of choice.  

After returning to the hotel I had a lovely chat with my wife via Skype and marveled at modern technology before heading to the roof to discuss the day and get better acquainted with my colleagues.  I brought along a glass of the prosecco I'd purchased earlier.  It was a little cold out but the warm laughter, glorious Vienna skyline, and new friends made for a fantastic ending to an incredible day.

*DISCLAIMER:  Students, I am 43 years old and experiencing the traditions of another culture.  I am not, in any way, advocating the consumption of alcohol.  When you are my age and participating in a similar seminar you will get to make your own decisions regarding alcohol.  Until that day, follow your parents' instructions and/or the traditions of your religion. ;-)

THE PICTURES