We came in so late the previous night that we figured it would be OK to sleep in a little bit. Our hotel was a bit different from the previous hotels, kind of decorated in an artsy avant garde style. It boasted four stars but based on the size and the layout it seemed like a reach to call it a four-star hotel. However, when we travel we don’t need much, and they had comfortable beds, a toilet that flushed, and we were all set.
By the time we were up and moving around the sun was out and it was a much hotter day. We tried to walk in the shade to avoid most of the heat, but this was as warm as Zadar was back on the sunny Adriatic coast. As we walked through central Vienna the city felt much quieter and conservative than Budapest. It felt more upscale and classy somehow. The architecture in central Vienna was no disappointment – classical structures and church towers were liberally spread throughout the city. You always could see something on the horizon that made you want to explore more. This was going to be a big job.
Our first stop was my request, a visit to the Austrian National Library to see the State room. Our timing happened to be perfect – we arrived just ten minutes before it opened and we could get in before crowds of people made taking pictures more difficult. The books in that particular room were beautifully maintained and surrounded by elegantly painted ceilings, classical statues, and rich warm wood shelving. That room alone was worth the visit to Vienna for me.
Feeling a little hungry we stopped at an outdoor cafe nearby called “The Guest Room” and ordered up an omelet and some eggs Benedict, fruit juices, and some coffees afterward. Sitting outside leisurely eating and drinking – that’s what we are always looking forward to. Our German skills are pretty weak, but the waitress spoke great English and once again I was considering myself lucky to be born an English speaker. The food was good too – I love eggs for breakfast.
After breakfast we did some other sightseeing – the Opera House (one of many, actually), and St. Stephen’s cathedral in the central touristy area. I liked the roofline of the cathedral, again decorated in patterned tiles, and even though one tower was under construction it made for an imposing landmark in the center of town.
Conveniently located near the cathedral was a Maner shop, selling one of the souvenirs that is apparently the big seller in Vienna. The wafers, crème and chocolate looked pretty good, so we decided to do our trip souvenir shopping here later on.
Down the street Kuniko requested that stop at Demel for a slice of chocolate cake. This shop had a branch in the Kansai area in Japan, and I had told Kuniko previously that we shouldn’t go there until we try the home bakery in Vienna. The cake was really, really good. Intense chocolate creaminess on the outside, and rich warm (and almost unsweetened) chocolate cake inside. We each had a glass of champagne with it, and it was a good match.
To burn off chocolate cake calories we spent the afternoon walking around town seeing more landmarks – the Votive cathedral downtown, and the city hall (which they call the “Rathaus”, which is a pretty cool nickname). Near the downtown area they had a street festival going on, as kind of a prelude to a movie screening later on that evening. Big events going on in Vienna in the summer. Other than the festival and the tourists, however, the city was really quiet. Some blocks had almost no people at all – like a ghost town. Lots of natives were probably out of town for their summer holidays, and I’d bet that the city is completely different during the other seasons.
On the way back to our hotel we tried our best to find a supermarket open to sell us bottled water, but everything was closed. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was a holiday weekend, and that day and the next were national holidays. The tourist shops were making a killing by selling water at double the regular price! We did manage to find a cafe to sell us water (and a beer afterwards). Our table was on the outside edge of their outdoor terrace with nobody around us. We enjoyed the smoke-free environment (Europeans sure do like to smoke!) for a while, until two motorbikers sat down next to us and lit up. Check, please!
Back at the hotel we took a little break to rest our feet, and I took a short nap. For some reason Kuniko started to have some kind of allergic reaction – sneezing ten times in a row, and getting a skin rash. We weren’t sure why, but we decided to go sit outside at a park to see if a change of environment would help. There was a nice little park just down the street from our hotel, and we sat on a bench near a food truck grilling burgers and selling beer. What a smell – I wanted a burger badly, but I convinced myself that it would be better to stick with Austrian food for the next couple of days.
Kuniko’s nose was still running, and she was using some tissue to try to keep it under control. As we sat on the park bench surrounded by kids being watched by their mothers and fathers, Kuniko would look around surreptitiously and then stick the white tissue up her nose. I warned her not to look so suspicious doing it – she looked like someone sneaking cocaine in a public park. Luckily nobody called the police.
For our dinner on the first night in Vienna we found a traditional underground wine cellar/restaurant called Esterhazy Keller. It had some historic events in its past, but we were more interested in their wine and food. It was certainly dramatic to enter, walk slightly downstairs, and take turn after turn through an old cellar. It was well lit and sanitary, which was a good sign for the food we were about to eat.
We started with wine – and you could choose from a couple different house whites and a couple house reds. We chose at random and were very pleased with the results. So cheap, too! The food was excellent. Kuniko ordered a “fitness” salad that had big pieces of salty chicken and strips of mango mixed in with the lettuce and vegetables. I think the fitness came from not eating red meat, but that didn’t last long. I ordered some homemade viennese sausages, and we had goulash (crazy about the goulash – this one was one of the best examples). We also had boiled beef with apple/horseradish and tartar sauces to use for dipping the meat. The boiled beef was better than it sounds, and with glass after glass of cheap delicious wine I fear our happy exclamations were ringing through the cellars.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped for some lemon and vanilla gelato to go, and then sat down to watch the lighting of the Vienna National Library as the sun set behind us. There were lots of people walking around the square and it was nice to just sit on a bench and have some slow time. Once the lights finally came on they were a little less dramatic than I had expected, but it was still a nice time.
From there we decided to head on back and get some sleep at the hotel. Thanks to all the wine we slept pretty well that night.
