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Vienna – an Imperial CityBy Caroline M. Jackson
(Picture Two Schloss Schonbrunn)
As dusk encroached upon the city, we visited the famous Naschmarkt. This long market is a drawing card for the “after hours” chic business crowd. Young people stand at counters or perch on tiny bar stools sipping wine. Others intent on restocking their larders, buy exotic cheeses, and choose from a selection of dates, fruit and spices that would surely compete with the markets of Marrakech.
Having read much about Vienna’s famous coffee houses, we decided to splurge on a visit to Café Mozart which was established c. 1794. Surrounded by gilt-framed mirrors which reflected the crystal chandeliers, we sipped our coffee from delicate china. Vienna is well served with an excellent public transport system. To orient ourselves with the centre of the city, we took the number one red and white tram around the Ringstrasse - a wide, tree-lined boulevard which follows the circular perimeter of the old city walls. Following a recommendation in our trusty travel guide, we headed to the Café Restaurant Palmenhaus for lunch. Built in 1882, it is a replica of the one in London’s Kew Gardens. It has a relaxed ambience and we sat outdoors overlooking the palace garden while tucking into chestnut crepes followed by Sacher Torte – a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in the centre.
On this, our third day, we decided to see one of the
world’s finest Baroque palaces, Schloss Belvedere, which was home to Prince
Eugene of Savoy. The upper and lower palaces are linked with a long baroque
garden laid out in Classical French style.
One of the most popular daytrips from Vienna is a visit to
Melk Abbey. Just one hour by train west of Vienna, our daytrip ticket included
our train journey, a self-guided tour of the monastery and the return trip by
boat along the Danube. Perched on a hill, the magnificent Benedictine Monastery
dominates the town of Melk and offers a splendid view of the surrounding
countryside. After visiting the ornate Abbey church, we wandered through the
lovely formal park and tarried in its Baroque pavilion. The two-hour return boat
journey along the Danube meanders through an area known as the Wachau.
On our last day, we ventured east to visit Bratislava, capital of the Slovak Republic. The train journey should have taken just over an hour, but border controls delayed us for quite some time as an émigré without the right papers was found in the adjacent carriage. Eventually he was brusquely escorted off the train and left standing in what looked like a frozen turnip field. It would be a long walk back to Vienna.
Bratislava’s train station is over a kilometer north of the city’s historical centre, so we walked into town. En route, we were joined by a delightful university student who wanted to practise her English skills and became our impromptu tour guide. The old part of town is compact with interesting Gothic churches, museums and alleyways.
Travel: Images by Hamish M. Jackson email:
caroline@crestlynn.com |
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TM
Our first morning in Vienna dawned bright and crisp with a
keening wind blowing across the Danube. Right on our doorstep was the Freyung, a
pie-shaped courtyard where a farmer’s market was being set up with stands
selling local cheese, wine, honey and organic produce. Around an ornate
fountain, a pumpkin display was attracting droves of enthusiastic school
children. Nearby, horse-drawn carriages clip-clopped along the cobblestone
street. For a few seconds, I truly thought I had walked onto a Hollywood film
set. 
Number one on our sightseeing list was Schloss Schonbrunn,
the former summer palace of the Habsburgs. Second only to Versailles, it boasts
1,400 rooms. Fortunately our self-guided tour encompassed only forty of the
opulent staterooms. After all this exercise, we followed a horde of German
visitors down to the cellar where mouthwatering apfelstrudl was being baked on
the spot and sold to hungry patrons. Afterwards we wandered around the
magnificent gardens and climbed up to the Gloriette which afforded us a
beautiful view over Vienna and the famous Vienna Woods.
Having worn through a layer of shoe leather on our first
day, we decided to go at a slower pace the following day which happened to be a
Sunday. Being mid-October, we managed to purchase a couple of last minute
tickets to hear the Vienna Boys’ Choir singing at Sunday Mass. It certainly was
a treat to sit on the balcony of the 13th century Royal Chapel and hear the
angelic voices hit the high notes. An interesting quirk is that the tickets
allow most patrons to ‘hear’, but not necessarily ‘see’ the choir, except on an
overhead screen.
Feeling well rested, we headed for one of Europe’s finest
museums, the Museum of Fine Arts. The building itself is magnificent with
elaborate murals and its walls resplendent with famous paintings by Rembrandt,
Rubens, Bruegel and Canaletto.
While there, a young music student
with powdered wig, talked us into returning the same evening to enjoy a musical
concert evening in the adjacent Orangery. We were not disappointed. 
Reputed
to be one of the most beautiful stretches of the river, we passed picturesque
wine growing villages, terraced vineyards, ruined castles and churches.
For some refreshment, we headed to a Slovak pub. Warmed by
an upright wood stove, we sat at a wooden table adorned with beautiful
hand-embroidered table cloths. The menu offered us a choice of tripe soup,
pirogi dumplings with bryndza (Slovak ewe’s milk cheese) or sausages.
Towards dusk as we headed for the tram centre, we passed
police in grey uniform huddled in the lee of large communist-era monuments. Even
though it was almost dark, the street lights hadn’t come on and the facades of
the commercial buildings stared out unseeingly. Tram lights dimmed as we crossed
intersections and our driver hopped in and out to manually changes the rails.
We might only be an hour from Vienna, yet we were a world apart.