We met Tina, our tour guide, in the hotel and then left at 9 to explore the city. Tina spoke about the history of Vienna and refreshed our memory from what we learned yesterday at Schonbrunn palace, while keeping us interested with interactive questions. She took us to various statues and monuments, buildings and houses where famous musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart wondered the people of Vienna.
Tina then took us on a walking tour through the city. We visited another palace, Belvedere, which was the home of a prestigious military figure. He had statues of a man trying to tame a rearing horse all around his palace, with the horse symbolizing anger, to represent that he could tame his temper. We saw many of these statues in our tour. We also saw the city hall, the parliament, and the Hofburg, which included the Spanish riding school. We visited the ruins of ancient Roman walls, a giant old drawing of a rabbit on the stairs of a famous museum, and a memorial depicting refugee Jews that were hiding underneath a building which collapsed, trapping them underground and eventually, killing them.
We visited the church where Queen Elizabeth 'Sissi' and other Habsburg royals were married. We were very astonished to learn that there is a room in this church filled with all of the dead Habsburgs' hearts in jars, because they believed that the heart was the most important part of the body. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go inside this room, however, we were able to see a photo of this outside.
After a full morning, we said goodbye to Tina as we ended our tour in front of St. Stephen's cathedral and were given free time for lunch. Our friend Stef, who was with us for the first half of the trip and had already returned to her home in Vienna, met with us for these 2 hours. Some of us ate the traditional (but expensive!) schnitzel, while others went for simply paninis, sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Later we treated ourselves to dessert, such as gelato, macarons, and delicious cakes (including the very traditional Sacher-Torte).
The end of our free time brought a sad goodbye to Stef, but we all know we will see her again one day, because as Rapha has told us - "You always meet people at least twice". We set off walking to Mozart's house (well, one of his houses - we learnt that he had at least 11 but never paid his rent!!). While we were walking, Rapha showed us the traditional folklore outfits of Austria in a shop window, explaining each part and what each colour signifies, which could cost from 60€ up until a lot more!
We reached the house and made our way through the rooms on three levels, with the help of an audio guide each. This was only the second time we'd used audio guides, which proved to be quite good as they allowed them to go at our own pace. We saw many of Mozart's compositions on paper, as well as the kitchen, dining room, and where he slept. However, these rooms are just an educated guess by specialists, as they have no way to know for sure which room was used for which purpose. We also learnt about Mozart's relationships with his family, royalty, and the people of Vienna, giving us an idea of the kind of person he was.
After this upbeat day, we were able to relax and enjoy the city from horse-drawn carriages, for which we went in groups of 4. We recognized places that we had seen that morning with Tina but at a more leisurely pace, taking photos and admiring more of the architecture. We were given some more free time in another part of the city centre to wander around, shop for souvenirs and traditional Austrian sweets, and shortly afterwards we headed to dinner. Here we had a great number of options in a buffet style of traditional Austrian food, including of course, the delicious schnitzel!!
Afterwards, we split off into two different groups. Some of us went to an opera, an optional part of the tour, while others decided to stay back at the hotel. The opera was so much better than anyone had expected. We were dazzled by the small orchestra, playing a wide variety of well known and respected artists with energizing vigor. They were accompanied by fantastic classical ballet dancers and opera singers who performed in every few compositions, making the experience more amusing for the audience. Even though many of us were expecting a large theatre with many rows of red, fixed seats, we lived a more traditional and authentic Viennan atmosphere, limited to only about 400 members in the audience, which was culturally enriching.
Later on, our trusty bus driver picked us up from the opera and returned us safely to our hotel, where we all fell exhausted into bed.
Gute Nacht und schlaft schön!
Isabel the paparazzi Aussie and Scarlett the clumsy Ecuadorian-American
Belvedere!
Fiaker ride in Vienna
Fiaker ride in front of St Stephan's basilica in Vienna
Operah night.
Concert Hall
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