Day 35: Vienna

Yesterday was far cooler in Vienna, and sightseeing was a much more pleasant experience.

 

I started my day with a trip to one of Vienna's cafes for a leisurely morning of espresso drinking and newspaper reading. The best cafes have well-dressed waiters and international newspapers, and I can understand the cafes' popularity with the locals. My morning cafe, the Cafe Central, is one of the most famous in Vienna and was a favorite of Lenin, Freud, and Trotsky. While I stuck to coffee, the cafes also sell very impressive looking deserts and light food. Also, based on what I've observed, in the afternoon the drink of choice changes from coffee to wine or beer. Sounds like a lovely way to spend an entire day without ever having to leave the building.

 

Lovely. 

 Cafe Central.

 

After the caffeine kicked in, I went to the Imperial Palace Apartments, which were the former residences of the last Hapsburg Emperor until 1918. The apartments were beautiful, although I thought the tour was a bit overrated. The apartments also included a lengthy exhibit on the beautiful but eccentric wife, Sisi, of Emperor Franz Joseph I,. The Sisi portion was the most interesting part of the tour.

 

 

The New Palace, near the Imperial Apartments. 

 Near the Hofburg Palace

 

After the imperial apartments, I went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses the former art collection of the Hapsburg monarchy. These monarchs certainly knew how to collect art. The art museum did not disappoint, particularly the special exhibit on Durer and Holbein. I stayed longer than expected at the art museum, which is open late on Thursdays. I spent my evening at the hostel, and had the chance to meet some of my roommates.

 

 Kunsthistorisches Museum.

 

 

Front Stairway of the Art Museum. 

 

Overall, I'm really enjoying Vienna. The cafes are wonderful, and the city architecture reminds me a bit of Brussels, but much cleaner. The public transportation system is wonderful. So far, I've only found a couple of faults with the city. First, there are tour groups everywhere, and for every tour group there is an equal number of aggressive solicitors in Mozart costumes pursuing tourists on the streets to sell tickets to concerts where all the performers are likewise wearing silly Mozart-era costumes. The city is also overrun by horse-drawn carriages, but their presence is much more pleasant. Vienna's other fault is how terrible its street performers are: both today and yesterday I passed by a Mozart impersonator with gold face paint whose only street talent seems to be his very poor whistling skills. From what I can tell, he's not even whistling Mozart tunes. And he's not the worst I've seen.

 

 

Definitely no Mozart.

 

I've been enjoying Vienna so much that I've decided to stay an extra night. Back to Germany next.