Journal #46 - Austria
Servus from Austria!
There was a lot of activity packed into our visit to Vienna. It began with welcoming some family who traveled to celebrate the holidays with us. While we are on our global escapades, Mr. Wanderer and I have spent several major holidays away from our loved ones, so to have people here that we cherish at such a celebratory time of year made it all the more special. Together we adventured all over the city and took in the European Christmas cheer together.
One of the first things we did was dine at the Danube Tower for our welcome celebration. Our group savored a meal overlooking the city watching the sunset. This allowed us to catch up and kick-start our travel together. It also allowed us to relish in a ride on the external slide! The metal and glass tube circles around the tower giving its participants a full view of the city. Sliding down it made each of us giggle like children again. I do not think I have unironically said “Wee!” that way in many, many years.
During our time here in Vienna, we would be remiss to ignore the nation's history of contributions to classical music. So we made sure to attend a concert put on by a string quartet. This was hosted in St. Peter’s Church - a beautiful backdrop for the musician's artistic performances. It was something I have not had the opportunity to enjoy in years and when they wrapped up their set with hymns resonating through the heavy wooden church pews, it really started to feel like Christmas.
An activity we experienced that was specific to Austria was our visit to the Spanish Riding School. The academy has a long history of coaching Lipizzaner horses to dance and perform, and we got the opportunity to attend one of their training sessions. The announcers explained all about the unique breed of horses, the rider’s training schedules, and the secret pocket hidden in their uniforms filled with sugar cube treats for the horses. It was a fun time to see such well cared for animals and on a return visit I would definitely catch the official show.
We visited several museums during our time in Vienna. One of the surprises to us was what we found in the Natural History Museum. We were astounded upon entry by the sheer volume of specimens in these exhibits. For just the geodes alone we must have walked through six different rooms filled with double-sided aisles of cases containing fragments of rocks and minerals that have been sourced from all over the world. There were thousands, in every shape, color, and size. Some of the more impressive specimens were highlighted the way you would decorative art pieces. I was astonished by how the exhibit kept going and going.
As if that was not enough, then we visited their exhibit on animals and were astounded again to find taxidermized samples of birds, rodents, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, dinosaurs, and more than could be imagined. It was a treat to spot some of the rarer or more regional animals. It was even more fun to point out to our guests which ones we, on these travels, have gotten the chance to witness live the ones we have plans to visit next. The whole museum was a joy, and that is saying something because we visited some other fantastic museums in this city.
A highlight for the group was our time in the Belvedere Palace. We had made an effort to learn about some of the more prominent Austrian artists prior to our visit and even the museum’s relationship with the restitution of art. We made sure to pose in cheesy ways with some of our favorite pieces and to admire the masterpieces included in this collection, particularly those by Austrian artists.
For history paired with art, we also delighted in a visit to Schönbrunn Palace. Here we received a lesson on the Hapsburg Dynasty. It has informed several of our other visits to other European palaces as we can place their royal family members on this family tree. The palace even had its own Christmas Market. This was one of many markets we frequented during our time here. We actually did all of our holiday shopping at market stalls. Our poor guests returned home laden down with our presents - for which we are very grateful!
We tried to balance out the favor by introducing them to one of our favorite snacks at a market – the Chimney Cake. Having first been exposed to these while visiting Prague, they are a dessert that consistently sparks joy for Mr. Wanderer and me. It was a delight to share it, doctored up our preferred way, with our loved ones – especially since everyone’s hands, sleeves, and face were covered in chocolate for the rest of the day.
We rounded out our Austrian adventure with a trip to the Opera. We were able to catch a performance written by Mozart himself, which felt fitting. It was the first time most of us had been to an opera and it was a pleasure to get all gussied up. As travelers, there are not many occasions we have to don fancy clothes and spend a night on the town. We made the most of having guests with us though and celebrated in style.
If it was not already abundantly clear, we loved our time in Austria. The visit was beautiful, festive, and filled with guests we love. We saw many unique things and learned a lot while taking in quality art. The horses, and string quartets, made this visit feel unique. We are sad to be moving on while simultaneously excited for our upcoming stop. This next location is a nation with the most castles per capita - any guesses where we are off to next?
