Museums, Churches, and Concerts

We caught the underground train into the historic part of the city this morning and as we approached the escalator to go outside we heard classical music. We looked around to see where the sound was coming from and got a good laugh out of the "Vienna Opera Toilet - Mit Musik" (with music). We didn't pay half a euro to use it as it was entertaining enough to just look in the entrance area. I looked it up online and the cubicle doors are designed so you feel like you're walking into a private box at the theatre. Creative and quirky, to say the least!

Here's a video clip so you can get the whole experience - mit musik.

We looked around for the tourism information office but couldn't see it anywhere. What we did see where numerous concert ticket salesmen dressed in 18th century costumes. One of them asked if we needed any help and I asked him where the tourism information office is located. He said, "Oh, I know everything you'd want to know. What do you want to know about Vienna?" I replied, "No, really, we need to go there and ask them some questions. Could you tell me where the office is?" He again insisted that that he could help us because he knows tourism information. I think he was trying to be flirtatious as a sales technique but we wanted to get our day going and I wasn't amused. I said, "No, seriously, I just want the tourism office," and we started walking away. He called out, "Hey, hey, where are you from?" I told him I'm from Canada to which he replied with a sarcastic tone, "Is everyone in your country like you?" I wanted to smack him, but instead I said, "What? Is everyone in a hurry? Yes." He finally told us where the tourism office was located. From then on, whenever one of the salesmen offered concert tickets or assistance we just said, "No thanks," and kept walking.

We walked past the Staats Opera House and found the tourism office, received answers to all our questions, purchased train tickets to go to Schonbrunn Palace tomorrow, and walked across the street to explore the Albertina, an art gallery. It was primarily modern art, some of which was beautiful, much of which was confusing.

Next stop was the Wien Museum (Vienna Museum).

These sculptures were brought from the exterior of a church to be protected at the museum. I liked how they had a graceful, twisting shape instead of the usual formal posture found in statues.

Royal Jousting Armour for Maximilian II (c. 1550).

Royal Jousting Armour for Maximilian II (c. 1550).

After exploring the Wien Museum, we walked across the street to Karlskirche, a large cathedral.

Poncho protection from the rain.

"In 1713, one year after the last great plague epidemic, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emporer, pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers."

The interior of the church was dominated by a huge column of scaffolding. At first I thought it was used for repairs to the church, but it actually housed an elevator to take us to a platform nestled in the dome.

Looking up into the dome from the main floor.

I was very surprised to discover that Melinda is terrified of heights!

Part of the frescos in the dome.

Karlskirche had a museum so we decided to take full advantage of our ticket price and take a look. It's the smallest museum I've ever been in!

When we left the church, the rain wasn't just drizzling down, it was pouring down. We sat under the entrance arch to rest our feet and attempt to wait out the worst. One of the Mozart concert ticket sellers was staked out in this area, but it was a woman who wasn't trying to obnoxiously flirt with us. We want to attend a concert and hear classical music performed live; after chatting with her for a while we decided to buy tickets to see a concert tomorrow evening.

Rain may be annoying on a vacation, but it's also beautiful.
I'd rather get drenched than sunburned.

Most European cities have a main cathedral and in Vienna it's the Stephandom (St. Stephen's Cathedral). We stopped by and we agreed that the roof was beautiful, but we weren't too impressed with the rest of the building. We actually thought it was quite boring compared to many of the smaller cathedrals we've visited. We also decided that we think we're kind of spoiled by all the beautiful places we've seen.

We tried to find a place for supper near a smaller cathedral which was hosting a free organ concert later in the evening. We settled on a small, Hungarian restaurant. I wish we could have found an Austrian restaurant, but Hungarian and Austrian food seem to be quite similar so we still got a bit of a cultural experience. I love trying the local cuisine but Melinda isn't such a fan of experimenting with her food. She kept looking at food on the menu that she could easily eat back in Canada so I worked on convincing her to try something new, even if she wasn't sure what would arrive on her plate. She finally said, "Okay - you pick three items and I'll choose from them." I was nice and chose relatively normal foods and she chose a plate with stewed meat and some vegetables. I ordered a Hungarian soup which was a specialty of the house.

We still had more time to use up between supper and the organ concert so we found a Starbucks and enjoyed hot drinks while we watched the rain slowly ease up. The concert was held at Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church), a cathedral built in the eighteenth century.

The interior of Peterskirche.

A video showing the interior of Peterskirche during the concert.

The dome of Peterskirche.

The organ.

There were two skeletons of early Christian martyrs dressed regally and contained in glass cases on each side of the church. The light was quite dim so I braced my camera on a railing to allow for a longer exposure. The results were rather grotesque.

An ornately decorated skeleton.
The hand and face appeared to have some kind of coating to mimic skin and there were even fake eyes in the sockets. Quite bizarre.

We walked through the archway of the Hofburg Imperial Palace on our way to the City Hall.

When we visited the tourism office we discovered that there is a Musikfilm-Festival taking place over the next few days. There are restaurant kiosks set up in the plaza in front of City Hall and a huge screen has been raised to show recorded performances of concerts, a ballet, and some opera. Entrance is free so we figure we might as well give it a try. A huge seating area had been created so we sat down in the bleacher seating and got ready for a concert of Bruckner's Symphony Number 7.

I've always wanted to see a movie on a big screen outdoors and it was utterly magical. If you ever have a chance to see a movie like this, go for it!

City Hall with the lights out during the concert.

A video clip of the concert.

City Hall with the lights on after the concert.

Tonight we've discovered that although our accommodation is beautiful, the three flights of stairs are more than a little daunting after exploring the city for twelve hours. It felt like our bodies aged by at least sixty years today.