Letzten vollen Tag in Wien!

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Thanks to European daylight savings' time I started my day an hour later than anticipated, but by no means late around 9:30. I had yet to have a "typical Vienna breakfast" and resultantly set out to accomplish that. Apparently it is the Viennese mindset that one should enjoy breakfast not at home but in a coffee house. I had a number of famous cafés to choose from and eventually settled on the Café Ladtmann. Founded in 1873, it was supposedly the preferred café of Victor Freud and one of the city's most elegant. It was a bit too chilly to eat outside to I went inside to a table near the windows. The breakfast included a soft-boiled egg, freshly-baked roll with sunflower seeds, butter and strawberry jam, and a café latte (I could have had espresso or tea as well). I felt quite fancy sitting there with my book and breakfast - a lovely way to start my day!

Since I was already in the center I thought I'd pop into the Schatzkammer, where 1,000 years of Habsburg Imperial Treasures are on display. The collection was divided into two parts, secular and ecclesiastical, and has some truly spectacular items on display. Two of the most famous items are the “inalienable heirlooms of the House of Austria”: a giant narwhal tooth which was thought to be the horn of a unicorn and an agate bowl from Late Antiquity which was thought to be the legendary Holy Grail. Another particularly interesting article was a golden relic display containing the supposed nail that was in Jesus' crucified right hand.

After this it was time for a little excursion southwest of the city to Schönbrunn Palace, the UNESCO World Heritage Habsburg Palace constructed at the end of the 17th Century. Gifted to Maria Theresa by her father, the palace became the Habsburg summer residence and was redesigned my MT in the Rococo style. I opted for the longer of the two tours which allowed me to explore 40 rooms of the palace, from the room where Emperor Franz Josef I died to where a 6 year-old Mozart performed for the Empress. Of course no pictures were allowed, but the place was obviously incredibly gorgeous with rooms made of porcelain, rosewood, and every other luxurious material you could think of.

As I emerged from the Palace I got caught in a sunshower but that quickly dissipated and I was able to walk through the gardens to the Gloriette. This structure is dedicated to "Just War", that is, war that leads to peace, and sits atop a hill at the end of the gardens. From atop this hill once can look over the entire palace complex as well as beyond into the city, itself.

By this time it was 3 o'clock and I had no patience for the other gardens or labyrinth so I hopped on the metro back toward the center. I had a place in mind for a lunch, a nice-sounding pub of sorts with well-regarded Viennese cuisine. After spending 20 minutes looking for that it was closed. My next idea was to head back to the Naschmarkt and snack upon some Balkan and Central European delights. False. This was also closed. Now I was just upset and ended up settling for a giant double bratwurst and beer from a street vendor. It was delicious and much needed.

Since I had been so frugal for lunch I decided I deserved a treat and marched right on over to the Hotel Imperial, perhaps Vienna's most luxurious hotel. It is here that the world-renowned Imperial Torte was created, a wonderful creation of cacao cream and almond pastry in a marzipan and chocolate shell. Incredible. With my cup of coffee, the classic elegance of the café, and the man at the piano I felt totally at peace.

By this time it was 5pm and thanks to new blisters and now shin splints I was literally crippled and hobbled the half an hour or so to the hostel to rest for a bit. I really wasn't in the mood to leave again, but after an hour or so the prospect of Wiener Schnitzel was calling me, and I had seen a few nice-looking places on my walk home that I wanted to check out.

Trekking back, I settled on a traditional looking place across from the Naschmarkt that was advertising a 9€ plate of Weinerschnitzel with potatoes. Perfect. After sitting down the waiter started babbling something to me in German, the gist of which was "we are out of schniztel". SCHEIßE! It was already overwhelmingly awkward that I was there alone at a table, so I couldn't possibly have born more awkwardness and just ordered my Puntigamer, an Austrian brew. Finally I settled on the next best thing, a hearty Austro-Hungarian goulash complete with giant dumpling, sausage, and fried egg. It was wonderful. Thank god I walk literally miles every day, otherwise I'd be 700 lbs after this trip.

Satisfied, and with the liter of beer numbing the pain in my legs a bit, I made it back to the hostel, only stopping for some hazelnut wafers since clearly I hadn't enough to eat.

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Comments

[Peter]

The Torte looks incredible!

[Heather]

Hey Jeff, I really enjoyed your Austria post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for good travel photos. If you have time, email us some at [e-mail] or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Heather