Vienna -- Sunday

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Amazing what a plate of pasta and a good night’s sleep does for one. I woke up on Sunday feeling like a new person. Cold was still lingering, but nothing like the two days before. To make things even better, when I went down for breakfast I saw that the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. What joy!

I ambled around to Stephensplatz (the cathedral square), sat outside in a café to drink a cup of coffee and debate what to do with my glorious day. The original plan had been to go visit one of the palaces, but it was just too nice a day to be inside - especially after the rain over the past two days. My guidebooks of choice are Dorling Kindersely because they have great maps and wonderful recommendations about places to visit. They’re also really good on finding small, local places to eat. One of the great things they do is recommended walks around whatever city one happens to be in. I decided to follow one of these walks as it was through parks and markets.

I began my walk in Stadtpark. On a Sunday, it is filled with families taking a stroll and just enjoying the quiet of the day. The park itself is glorious and is filled with statues of famous musicians. Of course, Vienna is filled with those statues as it prides itself on its musical heritage. My favourite, however, was a small fountain with some penguins. Some of the locals thought I was a bit mad as I scrambled over a small fence to get the best shot of it. I continued wandering, passing the statue of the most important musician of them all…

I walked into Karlskirche which is a church that was built by Karl VI in gratitude for Vienna being delivered from an outbreak of the plague in 1713. It is a simply marvellous church. Built on a very human scale, it is one of those places where one feels quite comfortable and not overwhelmed. The ceiling is full of frescos that are currently being restored. As a result, there is a lift up to the ceiling that one can take to see them up close and personal. Realising that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, up I went. Oh dear! What they failed to tell me down on terra firma was that once one stepped off the lift, one stepped onto planks of wood that creaked and bent. I absolutely froze. Breathing deeply and reminding myself that this insane fear is all in my head, I managed to shuffle over to the railing where, at least, I could hang on to something. After a while, I calmed down, but the photos are all very funny. They are all shaky as I could not get my hands to stop shaking. See for yourself.

I walked through several street markets, but they were all a bit quiet on the Sunday. Deciding that I had walked enough, I took myself over to the Hotel Sacher. Probably the most famous hotel in Vienna, it is the home of the Sachertorte - arguably, the most famous cake in the world. Remembering my experience yesterday, I was a bit hesitant, but decided that I couldn’t leave without at least tasting it. It came - I tasted - it tasted like every other chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Really, I don’t think my sweet palate is at all refined!

With just a little while left before I had to leave for the airport, I wandered back to Stephensplatz. As has been happening for centuries, the square comes alive on Sunday afternoons. It was packed with people milling around, eating ice cream and drinking coffee. There were perhaps a dozen street performers - the best being a man making animals out of balloons for the kids and a group of young men break dancing right in the front of the cathedral. Talk about the past and the present colliding!

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Photos

Penguin Fountain
How cute is this?

Beethoven
The greatest of them all -- especially because we share a birthday!

Frescos
At least I think they were....

Dancing and the Cathedral
The more things change, the more they stay the same.