Christmas in Vienna - Day 2

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I slept in this morning - gosh that is nice! - and had more ham, croissant, and fruit at this morning's free breakfast buffet. I took my time getting ready, debating on where to go.

I finally decided to check out the Karslplatz area and see if I could find the Opera House. I got off the metro, walked outside, and there it was. At first I walked a little to the side to look further down because I couldn't believe that was it. Don't get me wrong - it is a very nice building - but I was just expecting something a little more grand. Maybe it will look better tomorrow night. I peeked inside and the interior does look incredible. I kept walking up the main street there and did some shopping - I had forgotten my hat and gloves. Doh! I realized Vienna is very centralized and it didn't take me long to get to the St Stephansplatz again so I could see the beautiful cathedral at day time. By this time it started to snow and I figured I should find some place warm. I have not been in snow since I was home in Geneva last March - I do miss it sometimes... Then I get cold!

I headed to the nearby Mozarthaus, which is a museum dedicated to Mozart. Let me just say (D and MJ - please note!), I did not think the museum was worth the 10euro price. There are a lot of documents and they give you an audio guide, but there was no real flow to the information. Half the information I saw or attempted to pay attention to was more about what was going on in the world at the time (Washington crossing the Potomac, for instance) or colleagues instead of Mozart himself. The discussion about his untimely death was actually interesting. The only other part I found interesting was the old apartment he lived in while he wrote his famous Marriage of Figaro. Even that - it was the apartment and neat to see what the layout of a standard successful apartment looked like, but there were no furnishings of his and they weren't even sure which room was which... After about half an hour, I decided to move on.

I decided to try to find this Christmas market that is supposed to be hidden away in a residential courtyard. I found the street, but no market. I did find a recommended place to eat - Beim Czaak - which was actually pretty good. Very authentic, small neighborhood atmosphere. I finally tried a schnitzel (I refuse to eat Wiener Schnitzel because I refuse to eat veal) - I got the Hausschnitzel, which is chicken, ham, cheese and mushroom. I have to say I don't see what the big deal is. Fried food. Not may favorite. But the wine was delicious (Zweigelt 2011) and I hung out there for an hour. I tried again to find this hidden market, thinking it maybe opened later, but still no luck. So I headed to the Schwedenplatz metro station.

Now, I could have returned to my hotel at this point - I was a little tipsy and tired, but I was afraid if I did, I wouldn't get back out again. So, I headed back to Karlsplatz to find their christmas market. This was the biggest one I had seen so far, and I got another mug with another bit of hot berry punch (apparently, the alcohol is automatic), but I didn't see a single thing I wanted to purchased. I was bummed because I wanted to get a few authentic christmas ornaments for myself and my family. So, I headed back to Stephanplatz's christmas market. I saw a few ornaments that are possibilities. But think I will try one final time tomorrow at yet another christmas market (Rathaus), which is supposed to be the biggest in Vienna.

I returned to my hotel a good 6 1/2 hours later and passed out. The walk is not far, but my knees are killing me. :p I woke up a few hours later and took a long bath and headed out to get some food. There is no restaurant in the hotel aside from the breakfast, and I worried I would be hungry soon. I looked in the neighborhood and wound up at yet another Italian place. But YUM!!!! Seriously, the best pizza since I have had in the US and good enough to rival Tony's in Ventura (much less greasy too!). I had ham (of course) and mushroom, washing it down with an Ottakring Zwitl beer.

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Photos

Beim Czaak
delicious and authentic atmosphere

Mozart Museum
The first floor windows above the entrance were his apartment

Horse drawn carriages
Yes, it is snowing a little - just flurries

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Exploring Vienna
Note taken...if we go to the Mozarthaus we will be prepared. Thank you for the information. I'm also taking notes on your quest for ornaments at the Christmas markets. I'll be interested to see where you end up purchasing.

[lexispence10]

Suggestions
Mozarthaus was still a disappointment to me - maybe I was toured out? But I was truly interested in learning about Mozart and the initial exhibits put me off. It does get better, but I still don't think it was worth it. As for Christmas ornaments, most of the stalls are similar for the various markets. However, I wanted to get ornaments that were specific to Vienna. So I bought three in the Belvedere market (they said Vienna and had various depictions of Stephansdom or Belevedere or the like). I bought a nutcracker at Rathausplatz market as well as another Vienna ornament. Actually, here I think you have the best selection, but the others seem more quaint.