From croissants to Kaiser buns .......and the Royal Fold

Today was a full day starting with the Vienna marathon.

Did I tweak your curiosity? Yes we secretly travelled here to run in the Vienna marathon! Not a chance. It's more like we are here to run from one coffee and dessert place to another!



Our day started with a wonderful buffet breakfast at our hotel where kaiser buns were on the menu, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, German bread and coffee!!!!
Next to the subway station next door to buy a 48 hr ticket for Vienna transport then we headed off to the centre of town. First stop was St. Stephen's cathedral, An enormous, historic gothic church in the center of town. Today was Palm Sunday - take a look at the unique 'palms' distributed at mass, pussy willows with a sprig of a green vine.









A leisurely walk through the center of Vienna led us to the Sissy museum (Empress Elizabeth) - the mysterious, narcissistic and beautiful wife of Emperor Franz Josef who ruled for 68 years. This woman was extremely unique and odd. It took her a day to wash her hair with a mixture of egg yolk and cognac, took 3 hours to style her hair, exercised incessantly in her home, left two of her kids with her mother in law, and left her home for years for 'health reasons'.



This was also the former winter home of the Hapsburg Empire. Viewing the lavish apartments was like walking through Versailles. Look at the beautiful porcelain, table settings, cutlery and tea cups.





















Uh um - drum roll!!!!!!!
Ladies and gentlemen - here is The Royal Fold (not royal flush). Look at the way the napkin is intricately folded. This was placed at every banquet table setting in the castle and apparently there were only 2 people who possessed the art of The Royal Fold. Imagine having that job. Wonder if Kate and William will eventually have their own royal fold.




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A TTT day - taxi, train, tram - transfer from Vienna to Prague

Today was a complete travel day to our next destination - Prague ( after shoe shopping in Vienna). What a great experience on the train. We felt like we were traveling back in time as we moved from Austria to the Czech Republic. The buildings seemed to get older and looked to be in much need of repair. On the train we managed to snag a cabin with 6 seats just for us.
Off the train in Prague we each took out $3000 -haha in Czech crowns (Koruny) about $170 cdn for expenses like our dinner that cost $670 ($38 cdn).

Then we made our way to the tram with the crowds and all our luggage ( well, all Pascale's luggage). 5 nervous stops later and we were off the tram negotiating our luggage with our maps through the winding cobblestone streets of old town to our hotel, the Cloister Inn, a former prison and convent (at the same time?).

A short walk from our hotel brought us to the most beautiful sunset you can imagine over the Vitava river.










And then we walked over the Charles Bridge built in 1357. Its construction was commissioned by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. An interesting fact: it is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge. How apropos at this time of year.
Here are a few pics of our short walk giving us a taste of what's to come over the next few days.




























We're thinking of touring the Museum of Torture tomorrow. If we survive there will be a blog post.

Today's photos are brought to you by Pascale - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad2

An idiotic style...... Walking in the footprints of history

Another wonderful sunny warm day in Vienna. We have been really spoiled on this trip!

Today we were up and out early shortly after breakfast. First destination was the house of Dr. Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis.




We viewed an interesting collection of a number of his possessions and his obsessions - travelling, smoking and antique collecting - Egyptian and Buddhist statues. Here's a picture of his reading chair built just for him. He read with his legs over the sides and his head unsupported. Very odd.






When Freud graduated high school, with distinction of course, his German teacher stated that he possessed an idiotic style. Analyze that!!

Next we jumped on the tram and proceeded to the museum of the famous Huntertwasser - an Austrian painter and architect - and ate lunch. The architect incorporated natural features of the landscape into his buildings like the apartment block we saw here in Vienna. It has what they refer to as undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a melody to the feet" he said) a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. Some pics below!










Back on the trams (we are getting to know our way around now - if we could figure out the 'platz's, ringstrasse's, strabe's, etc). And then we were off to the Schonbrunn Palace - the Versailles of Austria - home of various emperors and empresses. Our tickets included a visit to the palace grounds, dinner and an evening concert. This world heritage site is beautiful. Being surrounded by so much beauty and wealth can be a bit overwhelming.
Scandalisé - Pascale has been repeating!!


















One of the most interesting things for me in this palace was standing in the same room where 6 year old Mozart performed for the Empress and then following his recital jumped into her lap. What a feeling walking through history.

Easter is a few days away and on the grounds of the palace was the Osterhase - the Easter market.








A great opportunity for us to see the handicrafts of Europe, beautifully decorated eggs, ceramic crafts, and so much more.

















Off to dinner and a lovely concert at the palace.





Tomorrow is our last day in Vienna then off to Prague. No excess luggage problem on the train trip. Oops I now owe Pascale 1 euro.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

From croissants to Kaiser buns .......and the Royal Fold

Today was a full day starting with the Vienna marathon.

Did I tweak your curiosity? Yes, we secretly travelled here to run in the Vienna marathon! Not a chance. It's more like we are here to run from one coffee and dessert place to another!









Our day started with a wonderful buffet breakfast at our hotel where kaiser buns were on the menu, as well as cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, German bread and coffee!!!!
Next to the subway station next door to buy a 48 hr ticket for Vienna transport, then we headed off to the centre of town. First stop was St. Stephen's cathedral, An enormous, historic gothic church in the center of town. Today was Palm Sunday - take a look at the unique 'palms' distributed at mass, pussy willows with a sprig of a green vine.

















A leisurely walk through the center of Vienna led us to the Sissy museum (Empress Elizabeth) - the mysterious, narcissistic and beautiful wife of Emperor Franz Josef who ruled for 68 years. This woman was extremely unique and odd. It took her a day to wash her hair with a mixture of egg yolk and cognac, took 3 hours to style her hair, exercised incessantly in her home, left two of her kids with her mother in law, and went on vacation for years for 'health reasons'.






This was also the former winter home of the Hapsburg Empire. Viewing the lavish apartments was like walking through Versailles. Look at the beautiful porcelain, table settings, cutlery and tea cups.




































Uh um - drum roll!!!!!!!
Ladies and gentlemen - here is The Royal Fold (not royal flush). Look at the way the napkin is intricately folded. This was placed at every banquet table setting in the castle and apparently there were only 2 people who mastered the skill and art of The Royal Fold. Imagine having that job. Wonder if Kate and William will eventually have their own royal fold.








Pangs of hunger led us to the famous Cafe Sacher - home of the Sachertorte cake. Here is a pic of our lunch. (Bruno will appreciate this photo)(and Claire's mouth will be watering)
























We finished the day at the one of Mozart's apartments where much inspiration led him to compose the 'Figaro' and many other famous pieces of music.








I get a lot of startled looks when taking pictures with my ipad2. It's like kinda going back in time. Instead of using my 3 inch camera I take out my 10 x 6 notepad point and shoot. So far I haven't used my camera and not sure if I will. The pics are not the best quality but I am having a blast with it and I am using all the PDF info files that I have have downloaded on each city and of course wherever I can find wifi I connect. A very useful and lavish toy. I am certain that Sissy would approve.







Tomorrow we'll travel back to the city center for a little more touring and tomorrow evening we have reserved a tour, dinner and a concert at Schonbrunn Palace. Until then gute nacht von Wien.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad