Vienna, Austria

Monday, June 26, 2023- Vienna, Austria

       We were up early at 4 A.M. We prepped for the day and then breakfasted in the main dining room. Most of the ship’s compliment were scheduled for a 9 A.M. bus tour of Vienna. We assembled dockside and mounted our tour buses, with great expectations of what we were to see. We had been to Vienna once before and were looking forward to revisiting this wonderful old city.

          Five arms of the Danube and two rivers flow through the delta of land that forms this ancient capitol. Vienna is by any standards, an imperial city. Once, Vienna had been the capital of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, an expanse of eighteen current countries. This city of two million souls had been the seat of the Hapsburg Royal family. They had ruled here from the tenth century until after the end of W.W.I, when the empire had been broken up by victorious allies. The impressive buildings and city layout reflected its imperial heritage. Built in concentric circles, the city has 23 separate zones. Every building loomed larger than life. 

We drove along the Ringstrasse. It is the outer and most prominent main thoroughfare. It had been built, after Emperor Franz Josef levelled the City’s outer defensive wall and filled in its defensive moats. The walls and moat weren’t just for show. The forces of the Ottoman-Turks had besieged the Capital twice, in 1529 and 1683.It was the armies, of the Princes of Poland, that had ridden to break the sieges and scatter the armies of the Ottoman Turks.

The architecture, along the Ringstrasse, represents a variety of differing styles, ranging from Gothic, to Romanesque to Beau Arts, depending on what era the buildings had originated in. In great old cities like Vienna, you got a sample of just about everything. I had the same impression of Vienna, that I did upon entering Washington D.C., or any of several other Federal capitols. The place had been built to impress visitors. 

The Ritz Carlton and the Imperial hotel are five star residences for visitors. Curiously, a memorial to a soviet soldier still stands. It was a relic of the era after WW II when the city, like Berlin, had been divided into four sectors, one of them governed by Russia. The memorial was erected in the honor of the several thousand soviet soldiers who had been killed here in WW II. 

The ornate Opera House, the Goethe Memorial, the Maria Teresa Art Museum and an impressive Greek style Parliament building stood in stylish architectural array. Outside of Parliament stands a 75 foot tall statues of Athena, with a golden helmet. Wags say that it is the only place near Parliament that truth is represented. A Volks Garten, with four hundred types of roses, softens the city center. Five Universities call Vienna home, with their many thousands of students populating the cafes and bistros.

The bus dropped us off on the Schwedenplatz, a conglomeration of bus and rail lines in the city’s center. We then hiked along busy Rotturn Strasse to the ancient, 650 year old  St. Stephen’s Cathedral, with its ornate Twin Spires ascendant, is impressive. Built in the Baroque style, it is ornate, but begrimed by centuries of Industrial pollution. The square out-front of it was awash with tour groups and student assemblies. We went inside and sat for a time, enjoying the ornate, gilded statues and huge pillars that supported the vaulted roof. The support of flying buttresses, like those of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,  for the massive, vaulted roofs, had not come into architectural use when these grand churches were constructed. Mary lit a votive candle for all of those we knew who were ill and needed our prayers.

It was hot outside. The temperature was in the mid-eighty degrees range (F). We walked down the crowded and busy Rotturn Strasse, headed towards the Schwedenplaz and our bus. A small café, with shaded umbrellas, caught our attention. The “Rot # 12” offered up some decent cappuccinos. We sat for a time, outside the café’, and watched the busy swirl of people flow by us. Many languages, and people from everywhere, were visiting Vienna this day.

The buses returned us to the Danube and our berth aboard the Tir. I wrote up my notes and we enjoyed a glass of Cote Du Rhone on our balcony. The river traffic was nil here. This section of the Danube must be reserved for tour boats. We cleaned up and prepped for dinner.

Our boon companions, the Broyles and the Piazza’s met us in the dining room at 7:30 P.M. We enjoyed some wonderful mushroom soup, a cod with roe and a sinful cherry strudel, all washed down by that very good German Cabernet.

After dinner, we retired to our cabin. We watched some of the run up about the Russian military revolts and then read for a time. It had been an interesting day in one of the world’s more historic capitols.

Tuesday, June 27^th, 2023- Vienna, Austria

We were up by 5:30 A.M. it was 63 degrees out (F) with a light rain falling. We enjoyed a late breakfast and then had a brief walk along the Danube. We were taking the day off. We have been to Vienna before. There are a few art galleries that tempted us. One had a Vermeer exhibit that sounded interesting. But, the local cabs wanted a mortgage on a house to ferry you there and back. Public transportation was an option, but the nearest link was a good ¾ miles each way. That, and the walking involved with the museums, would I thought not be within my capabilities.

When last here, we had dined in the Vienna woods and much enjoyed the experience. I include a description of the practice that locals call “Hurtigen.” Vienna is a large city in area. Its north side encompasses grape arbors and a large wooded section called appropriately “The Vienna Woods.” There, we dined at a small restaurant  with the name “Schrieberhaus” on its front. We filed into the very German looking restaurant. It opened up onto a large outdoor patio that sits on three levels of terraces, connected by stone-flagged steps and shaded by large Linden Trees. We sat at open picnic tables, on the upper tier, about ten feet from rows of grape vines. The waitresses brought pitchers of red and white wine, which we imbibed liberally.  They brought out platters of appetizers and then entrees family style and in good quantity. An accordion player sang for his supper, with many Austrian melodies, while we enjoyed dinner al fresco. The wine flowed freely and so did our moods. We sang, laughed and enjoyed the customs of “Hurtigen” about as much as anyone could. We all tipped the accordion player as we left. It had been a fun night in the Vienna Woods.

We had also spent a Day at the Hapsburgs “Schoenbrun Palace.” Set in a grand entry plaza, the three-story center building of the palace was daubed a pale yellow and looked somewhat Georgian in appearance. Symmetrical wings, for servants and guests, stretched out on either side of the grand dual staircase. The palace has over 1400 rooms, but only 40 are open for public viewing. W.W.II bomb damage had been slight and quickly repaired.

        We lined up for the inside tour and were suitably impressed. This wasn’t one dreamer’s attempt to replicate Versailles. This was Versailles on steroids, the Imperial seat of the Hapsburgs Dynasty. Wooden parquet floors stretched throughout and were framed by the flocked and gilded wallpaper, accentuated by grand crystal chandeliers throughout. In nearly every room stood a seven-foot porcelain and hand painted furnace, though none were ever used here in summer. 18th century portraits, of all the Hapsburgs Royalty, smiled down on us in Reubenesque fashion. Marie Antoinette. A royal daughter and Princess of the Empire, looked well dressed and fashionable, like her relatives. You couldn’t yet imagine her stretched out over the guillotine waiting to be beheaded.

         Blue velvet drapes adorned the master bedroom. In spite of all the grandeur, the place looked comfortable to live in. Padded divans, sofas and chairs were set near card tables and fire places, like the residents would return soon to take up their lives. The grand ballroom was meant to impress. Vast ceiling murals, crystal chandeliers above a marble floor and bedecked with oil portraits of various royals, gave utterance to who lived here.  Khrushchev and Kennedy had met here in the 1960’s discussing various international matters, as had other European leaders. The palace had been in the spotlight of history for generations. The Hapsburg dynasty is a complicated mishmash of Spanish, German, Austrian and other royal ties, all intermarried. World war I, as in most of Europe, was more of a family feud that sectarian warfare.

           At the rear of the palace, vast formal gardens stretch several hundred yards to a hillside. At the center and crest of the hill is seated a victory arch celebrating a defeat over Napoleon Bonaparte. It was only one of the many wars that raged here over the last few centuries. We enjoyed strolling through the grounds and admiring the castle in the brilliant sunshine of an 85 degrees Austrian day. By 10 A.M, the enormous forecourt,  of the palace, was jammed with thousands of tourists waiting for their timed tours. Some three million souls per year visit here. Schonbroen, as a tourist venue,  is like the Vatican. Get here early.

Back aboard the Tir, topside, all of the twelve moored ships were engaging in what I can only call a “ship’s ballet.” Due to the limited docking space in Vienna, several of the two-deck cruise ships were often berthed alongside of each other, raft style. During the day, each ship, would change its position, depending upon what hour of the day they were due to depart. It enabled the earlier departing ships leeway to maneuver.

We read for a time and then conferred with Mr. Ozzie Nelson. It was a nice day off and a way to slow down and ready for our last City, Buda Pest, Hungary and then a lengthy trip home. At 6 P.M. we assembled in the second floor lounge for a meeting regarding our ship’s disembarkation procedures, buses to the Buda Pest airport and other details we needed to get ready to depart.

The Broyles and the Pinazza’s joined us for dinner at 7 P.M. A shrimp cocktail, a local trout and crepe suzettes were wonderful. The wine flowed rather freely. Perhaps we were celebrating our friendship and the success of the tour. Laughter and a flow of stories were traded back and forth. Our good Friend Mr. Pinazza importuned his pal, Andrei our faithful waiter, to deliver two bottles of wine to us as we left. We settled into the second floor lounge and the merriment continued. It was fun and laugh filled. Mary and I managed to leave before midnight. Our good friends left when they left. You never ask those questions when everyone is out and carrying on. Whisper on the ship the next day placed a very happy Australian gent at the bar, sipping a good Kentucky Bourbon, with the ship’s hotel manager until a “later time.” You never ask those questions. What happened in Vienna stays in Vienna. It had been a good visit to a very interesting city.

                                                                        -30-

                                                               (1,911 words)

                                                          Joseph Xavier Martin