October 15, 2015

October 15, 2015

                    

Today was spent in Vienna, Austria. At 8 C and cloudy, rain was predicted.  We had picked up our excursion number and guest pass on our way to breakfast.

We sat with the brother and sister from Delaware and a couple from Florida for breakfast. 

The announcement for the walking tour came at 8:45, so we gathered our receivers, cameras, sweaters, gloves and rain suits. Our guide was Thomas.

Vienna was a small Celtic settlement for several centuries before the arrival of the Romans – 2 legions of soldiers. When the Romans left some Germanic tribes took over, but little is known about that time. Then the Babenbergs ruled the area for two hundred years, before the Hapsburg dynasty, which lasted until World War I.

The driving tour included the Ringstrasse, a boulevard of grand buildings and palaces, which replaced the old city walls. The medieval old town is called Innere Stadt (Inner City) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a large park in Vienna with an amusement park which includes a large Ferris Wheel; the park is double the size of New York City’s Central Park.

We were shown the numerous baroque buildings, which used to be inside the old city wall, in the Innere Stadt.  We drove past St. Charles Church with its copper dome; the Opera House that was rebuilt after World War II due to bombing, having been mistaken for the train station; the first museum building in Vienna; a statue of Maria Theresa who ruled from 1740-80; the House of Parliament; the Neolithic style Town Hall; the Neo-Gothic Votive Church with its interesting roof design, St. Stephan’s Cathedral and Hofburg Palace.

We got off the bus near Hofburg Palace for the walking tour.  We walked into “Heroes Square” which is surrounded by buildings from the later years of the 19^th century.  The new palace was started in 1887 and was not completed until 1923, after the collapse of the Hapsburgs dynasty (1918).  The wing built for Leopold has a light green and yellow painted exterior. There are several different architectural styles to the additions.  The Swiss Chapel entrance was pointed out and under it is the Treasury.   Hitler annexed Austria in 1938 and made the announcement from the balcony of this building.  The Hapsburg’s were rulers of Spain and the Netherland during their several centuries as the monarchs of much of Europe. This is the home of the Spanish Riding Academy.  The white horses are born black and gradually change their hair colour as they mature. After the palace we went on a walking tour of the buildings in the area, many are in the Baroque architectural style.  There are statues of historically significant figures in some of the squares. The tour ended at St. Stephan’s Church, a sister church to the one in Passau. It is 333 feet long 111 feet wide and 444 feet to the top of the highest spire.  The bell in the tower is made from melted down Turkish cannons gathered after the defeat of the Turks in the 1680s.

We were bussed back to the ship for lunch, where we sat with a couple from Arizona.  When we finished, we checked the internet connection, but it was poor.  Two of the couples from our dinner table went on an excursion to Vienna’s Farmers Market with the ship’s Chef and took the subway back and forth. There were over 20 people who went.

This afternoon, in a light drizzle, we were on another tour, this time at the Schönbrunn Palace, which was the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with several different large formal gardens.  It was designed and built from 1696 to 1705 and rebuilt in 1744-47 for Marie Theresa’s changes. Our guide was Thomas, the same guide that we had on the morning walking tour. We browsed in the gift shop for a short while before it was our turn to enter the palace for the guided tour. Tour groups entered every 5 minuutes. We were not allowed to take photos of the interior rooms. We viewed over a dozen rooms, some with ceiling frescoes. A question in the 400 square meter ballroom was how long did the ball last. The answer was about 40 to 50 minutes – as long as the candles burned.  If the honoured guest was very important, then longer candles would be used. There was lots of gilding of architectural details.  In the room where Marie Theresa sat in her bed, at least king size, to present her first son, there was a large tapestry made of metallic thread and created by men.  She had 16 children, 11 girls and 5 boys.  Her most famous daughter was Marie Antoinette who was married to the French King Louis XVI and was beheaded during the French Revolution. After a quick look at the palace gardens it was time to get on the bus.  The temperature was 13 and a light mist had started. 

The Friday program briefing and dinner were early due to the Mozart and Strauss music concert this evening.

For dinner, as wine and beer were served, we were given a small two bite chicken satay, we had an appetizer of Greek Salad, next for the entrée was Onion Steak with mashed corn (like masked potato consistency) Then for dessert, Chocolate Cake with a chocolate sauce and coffee or tea. 

At 7:30 most of the ship got on to buses to go to the Royal Palace for a Mozart and Strauss music concert this evening. There about 1,000 people in the hall, mostly from river cruise ships. What a contrast to 18^th century paintings on the walls of ballrooms! Here, the walls and ceiling were decorated with gigantic murals of 21^st century modern art, in bright orange and other accent colours, which contracted with the white bordered frames.  The music was beautifully played by a 23 piece orchestra and 4 opera singers.  There were elements of fun especially from the percussion section. The concert ended with the Blue Danube Waltz and the Radetzki March.  We were back at ship before 11, and there was the smell of goulash wafting through the lobby, for those interested in a late night snack, due to the early dinner.  We just went to our cabin, it had been a long day.

Final steps total = 11,822, about 10.5 km.