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Published: December 18th 2013
My flight from Doha to Vienna was at 2:30am. My coworker was leaving around the same time, so we decided to have a drink beforehand. Apparently, he invited everyone because there were 6 or 7 people that came to hang out. It was a good time. However, I had warned him not to get drunk before the flight - you can get into trouble! So, I think I scared him a bit and he limited himself to 2 guinness over three hours.
I have never seen the Qatar Airways section of the airport so busy. I guess it is Qatar National Day and the week before christmas so everyone was taking off. I had already checked in online and had my boarding pass and I was bummed to see the "fast drop" line was just as long as any check in line! I stood there and asked an employee if this really was the fast drop when another woman employee came up to me and said if I was just checking my backpack, I didn't have to and to go ahead to passport control. Sweet! I was worried about Brian though - I dropped him off when I went to
go park, and I hoped he was going to make his flight. I got through passport control and security fairly quickly, and was able to see Brian come through about 15 minutes behind me. He had to take off for his flight but at least he made it!
I was sooooo tired and ready to pass out. I love QA because they give you a nice little overnight bag and I took out my eye covers first thing. I really wonder about people sometimes - you'd think they don't know how to fly, but this being Doha, you know that they had to fly to get there. Well the woman and her two kids in front of us, seated in an exit row, were sitting in the wrong seats, plus the mother had to sit by the window for take off and landing. Until finally, the stewardesses came up to me, the guy next to me and the girl on the aisle, asking us to switch with the family. Heck yeah! I was tucked in, but the leg room in the exit row was totally worth it. I slept pretty well for most of the flight and got a
nice breakfast in the morning.
Vienna airport - nothing to brag about, not exciting but seems efficient. Our flight got to the gate at 6:30, went through customs, got my ticket for the CAT (City Airport Train - 16 minutes each way), bought a 72-hour transportation pass (for ALL city transport services), figured out the metro system pretty easily and was at my hotel by 7:30. Wow. The metro line stops literally 20m from my hotel; I was actually surprised at how not cold I was. The other weird thing is that the sun was still just peeking - 7:30 and it felt like the middle of the night! I went to the checkin, obviously ridiculously early, but she said they'd hold my bags and I was free to get breakfast. Yay! i ate about 4 hours before, so I just wanted something to nibble. What did they have? HAM!!! I had ham, croissant, ham, small danish, ham, tea, and... oh yeah... HAM! I didn't realize how much I missed ham until I took my first bite and sighed....
I was seriously tempted to go to Bratislava today and get that done with (I really do want to
take a half day to see this city). But I was still so tired and I didn't want to get trapped somewhere. Instead, I took the underground to Schonbrunn Palace, home of Maria Theresia. She was the daughter and heiress of Charles VI and a beloved monarch of her country (though as usual for women rulers, the nobles didn't see it that way). The metro drops you right near the palace, though I defied death all morning as I slid along the thin ice covered stone paths. I bought a ticket for the grand tour, which takes you through the maximum 40 rooms available to the public. You automatically get an audio guide, and actually it was pretty well done. I am student of history, though Austrian has never been at the top of my interests. However, it was really neat to see the portraits and the rooms displayed as they would have been during the time when the palace was in use. Franz Joseph was the last emperor to reside there, dying in his bed in 1916. So, the rooms are kind of displayed as either during Maria Theresia's time or Franz Joseph's.
Maria Theresia had 16 children
and was madly in love with her husband. Though he didn't seem to return the favor, having kept mistresses. However, when he died, Maria Theresia wore morning clothes for the rest of her life. She even had one of the rooms devoted to his memory. She was the mother of 11 surviving children, two boys who succeeded her, and her 9 daughters who were married off to rulers all over Europe for political reasons. Apparently she cared little for their happiness and is recorded as saying that as long as her daughters fulfilled their marital obligations (produce an heir, maintain peaceful relations between countries), that the unhappy marriages are worth it. Harsh, but no different than any male ruler, right? The only daughter allowed to marry for love was Maria Christina, her favorite (and therefore, the least favorite amongst the sisters). Marie Antoinette was the youngest daughter, executed in France in 1793. The most amazing room in the palace is the Millions Room, so called because it is the most expensive. It is amazing though! It has rosewood panels, with cut outs displaying pieces of some kind of Chinese tapestry that depicts their history. In a way, it is sad
to see such a document cut up like that, but actually, it is even more amazing to see the way it has been presented. It is simply breathtaking.
Franz Joseph was a great-grandson of Maria Thersia and married his cousin Elisabeth, due to his mother's request. His mother, Sophie, was extremely overbearing, often called the only "man" in Hofburg. She originally planned to set him up with Elisabeth's sister, but when they planned to meet, her sister was sick and did not have her proper clothes (they were dressed in mourning black at the time, which set off Elisabeth's looks better). Franz Joseph immediately fell for Elisabeth and they were married in 8 months. Elisabeth gave birth 10 months later to her first daughter, and a daughter a year or so later, but Sophie took them from her and took charge of their upbringing. Elisabeth felt powerless and often travelled - she fell in love with Hungary and they her. However, Elisabeth was very beautiful and very vain. She spent hours each day on her appearance, rarely ate anything so did not join the family for dinner often, and had ankle length hair. The audio guide makes a point
to say that it is doubtful she returned her husband's passion (though no mention of the same thing for Maria Theresia....). She was assassinated at 61 years of age by an Italian anti-royal dissenter. The Emperor had already been distraught because his only son committed suicide years earlier. Franz Joseph died in his bed - there is a portrait of his death in his bare bedchamber.
Ok, enough history lessons. Basically, the palace was beautiful and it was interesting to hear the stories and room associations. Actually one of my favorite parts was watching the people restoring the rooms. One of the main rooms was being heavily restored and you can watch. Also, I liked the ceramic fireplaces that are visible in each and every room. Or the bathrooms installed. The ballroom was magnificent. And you can see the famous gardens from the windows in many of these rooms. Mozart played his first concert at the age of 6 to Maria Theresa in a beautiful reception hall. Ugh - just so much amazing history!
After the tour, I wanted to go visit the gardens, but it was cold and I couldn't figure out how to get there, so
I quickly gave up. Then I came upon the open Christmas market, which had been closed when I went in for the tour. It was in full swing at this time, with tons of kids playing and all the cute little shops open. They were selling handmade christmas ornaments, toys, candles, food, wine, and all kinds of crafts. I really wanted to try some food, but was not hungry and didn't know what to order anyway. So I decided on a hot drink. The guy gave me a mug of a hot berry punch with some alcohol in. Yum! Just the ticket. I kept the mug - you can bring it back and they give you 2 euros back, or you can keep it. He switched mugs though so mine was clean and not sticky.
By then I was exhausted so made my way back to the metro and the hotel. My room was ready and my ticket to the Nutcracker was ready too! My room is pretty sufficient - nothing fancy, but big, warm, efficient. Free wifi and i bought an adapter. I think the hotel is perfect for this type of trip. I took a much needed
nap and finished my christmas shopping.
This evening I made my way to Stephanplatz to see the giant gothic cathedral and another christmas market. I was a little disappointed in this christmas market - it was smaller than I expected and not quite the christmas feel. The cathedral was incredible though. I walked in while they were doing a christmas sermon listened for a while. Then I wandered around looking for somewhere to eat. I found only italian restaurants and pastry-type cafes or beer houses. I wanted a wiener schnitzel dang it! I tried a cafe but the service was really strange so I left after a cappuccino. I made my way across the street and wound up at an italian restaurant. Whatever. The waiter was a sweetheart and I had gnocchi, which was only ok, and a glass of wine that tasted like alcoholic grape juice. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have better luck with the foods!!!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
This looks good
I'm looking forward to trying it.