Vienna

Vienna, or Wein as it's called in Austria, is the capital and largest city in Austria. It is not far from Salzburg, just about 3 hours by train, and we planned to spend the last few days of our Christmas holiday exploring this beautiful city. Nicknamed "The City of Music", Vienna has bee the home of Mozart, Strauss (both Johann I and Johann II), Hayden, Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms, to name just a few. We had a wonderful time walking the streets stopping to peek inside St. Stephensdom Cathedral and wandering through several museums. We were also able to spend some time at one of the training sessions for the famous Lippenzer stallions. It was still Christmas week, so just being there amidst the crowds enjoying the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations was lots of fun.

We knew of Vienna's music reputation, so we booked a concert: "Sound of Vienna". What a great experience! We were treated to some beautiful classical pieces sprinkled with a few Christmas Carols. In addition to the orchestra, there were a couple of numbers interpreted with ballet, and a couple of numbers included some light opera, performed by very capable singers.

Crystal chandeliers are quite common throughout Austria, and this one in a ballroom

of the Kursalon Wien was really beautiful!

Part of the orchestra entertaining us.

Just a block or two down the street from our hotel, and right in the centre of Vienna, is the beautiful St. Stephensdom, or St. Stephen's Cathedral. The first thing we noticed was the amazing roof which consists of about 260,000 glazed tiles. Pictured in the tiles are a double headed eagle, the symbol for the Habsburg dynasty, and the coats of arms for the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria. The inside of the landmark is equally breathtaking! Whilst this cathedral was threatened 

during WWII, it was saved from destruction as the commander instructed to destroy it disregarded his orders and left the cathedral standing. Unfortunately, civilian looters set nearby buildings afire as the Russians entered Vienna, and the winds pushed the fire into the cathedral. The entire city of Vienna came together to repair their beautiful cathedral and seven years later, in 1952, it was fully reopened.

This is the Kursalon Wien. Built in the mid-1800's this building has been used fordances and concerts almost from the start. Many of the concerts were conducted

by Johann Strauss, or by his brother Eduard. This is where we went for the concert.

Restoration work, including cleaning years of soot and pollution, is going on
now at the cathedral.

Inside the beautiful St. Stephansdom in Vienna

Scott and I started our first full day in Vienna by just walking around. We had a general idea of where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to see, so we headed off. After the St. Stephensdom we found our way to the Spanish Riding School, famous for the Lipizzan Horses. We were able to buy tickets to watch their morning training exercises. The horses were quite beautiful to watch. No photos allowed in here, but Scott kindly took a photo of a postcard.

Vienna is also famous for world class museums, and we were able to enjoy two of them, the Kunsthistorisches (art history museum)  and the Albertina. Kunsthistorisches houses the collections of the Imperial Habsburg family and includes works by Raphael, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Titian along with many others. There is also a large collection of Egyptian and Near East works. The building itself, built in 1891 for it's current purpose, is amazing. 

      This is the entrance to the Kunsthistorisches. 

Each area of this museum was designed to show off a specific
collection of art. This is the inside of the dome. 

The ground level of the dome is a cafe. We enjoyed a nice lunch and cafe Mozart
whilst enjoying the beautiful architectural detail and art around us!

We came across several artists who were copying the paintings of the masters.

The second museum we visited was the Albertina. The Albertina houses an extensive collection of print and graphic arts, as well as a collection of impressionistic and early 20th century art. We had a nice time looking at the artwork on display in this museum as well.

Here are a couple more of the beautiful buildings of Vienna......

City Hall - There had been a large Advent market here, but it was in the process of being
dismantled when Scott and I visited. We think they were taking down Christmas to
prepare for a New Year's Eve celebration.

The "porch" at City Hall

City Hall at Sunset

Christmas Day

Christmas Day Scott and I boarded a coach bus and left Salzburg behind for a trip into the Alps. Our destination was an area which included the towns of Schladming and Ramsau, Austria. We were excited to get a chance to go up into the mountains and excited to finally get to some snow. Our tour included lunch and some "shopping time", but the real highlight was the sleigh ride. We really had a great time and saw some beautiful scenery. About 2/3 of the way through our sleigh stopped at a little pub where we enjoyed some warm Gluhwein and an apple strudel. We met some really nice folks from the States who had done some extensive travelling in Europe and the UK. They gave us some great pointers about Ireland, a place we have not gone yet, but intend to begin exploring as soon as the weather here in the UK improves! Once we re-boarded the sleigh our driver passed around a little bottle of some sort of "home brew". Scott was brave enough to take a wee drink, but between the idea of it being "home brew" and the fact that at least 5 other people had already had a swig was enough for me to say, "Thanks, but no thanks!". All in all, this was a very enjoyable way to spend Christmas Day.

These horses are really working hard!

This area of Austria is a well-known winter playground. This Feb. the Alpine
World Ski Championships will be held here. 

The little town of Ramsau.

Some of the sights along our sleigh ride.

One of the sleighs in our group. Our sleigh ride was generally on the runners, 

but there had not been any new snow for a few days so we had to go 

"wheels down" to cross roadways which were clear of snow.

Trying to make friends with one of our horses. It's a well known fact that horses
and I don't typically understand one another. (See blog post: "Salzburg" for
further info!) This is as close as I got to this one! I did thank her for the ride. :)

Christmas in Austria: Salzburg

Scott and I had a rather busy month of December and before we knew it we were packing for our week long holiday in Austria. We decided to begin the week in Salzburg and then, mid-week, take the train to Vienna. We arrived in Salzburg on the Saturday before Christmas hoping to find lots of Christmas festivities, mountains, and snow. Well, we definitely found Christmas and mountains! Snow, on the other hand, could only be found in left over, now grey, mounds stacked up in parking lots and off in the distance on the high mountains. Austria was in the midst of one of the warmest December week's on record which meant we were treated to rain and drizzle over snow. No worries though, being UK residents we definitely know how to handle rain and drizzle!

We stayed at the Hotel Goldener Hirsch which is on one of the most famous streets in Austria, the Getreidegasse. Most of the buildings along this street, including Mozart's birthplace, were built in the 16th century. Closed to most motor vehicles, this now mainly pedestrian street is lined with shops of all kinds, restaurants and bars, and a few hotels, like ours. Overhead, the street is lined with shop signs dating from the Middle Ages. We learned that the signs usually contained some sort of picture painted on them depicting whatever goods were sold inside the shops as most people were not able to read. The original signs remain, but redecorated to depict the current business. Even the McDonald's had a large metalwork sign with a tiny "golden arches" worked into it! From our hotel, almost everything we wanted to do or see was within easy walking distance, which was great! There was a huge Christkindlemarkt which stretched throughout many of the sidestreets and squares adjoining Getreidegasse. Scott and I enjoyed walking through the market taking in the sights, enjoying the music, and sampling some of the treats. We did visit the Salzburg fortress, perched high on a hill above the city, and several churches. Salzburg is a city of music and we attended a dinner and classical concert at the Mirabell Palace as well.
We visited two of the most famous churches in Salzburg: The Salzburg Cathedral, and St. Peter's Abbey Church. Salzburg Cathedral dates from the 17th century and it is here that Mozart was baptised.

Inside the Salzburg Cathedral

We also spent some time in St. Peter's Abbey Church and actually returned here for the 11:00 p.m. service on Christmas Eve. For two Presbyterians attending a Catholic Christmas Eve service spoken entirely in German was definitely a different experience! We emerged from the service at about 12:30 a.m. to the sound of church bells pealing all around us, however, which was just fantastic! 

St. Peter's Abbey Church grounds include a graveyard and catacombs. We did wander through the graveyard, in daylight of course! The catacombs were not accessible on the day we were there. 

High up on a hillside overlooking Salzburg stands the Hohensalzburg Castle, or "Salzburg Fortress" as it's more commonly known. Construction was begun on this castle in 1077 and it is, today, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. 

Within the Fortress walls

The view of the Alps from the Fortress.

Looking out over Salzburg from the Fortress.

Of course, in usual fashion, Scott took lots and lots of photographs in Salzburg. I seized the opportunity to try out my Christmas gift from Scott as well: a Canon PowerShot which fits neatly into my pocketbook and requires no more effort than pushing the button to turn it on and adjusting the telephoto before taking a picture. Here are some of our favourite photos from our time in Salzburg!

We took a horse drawn carriage ride through the city of Salzburg. This is one of the horses. He is "smiling" because he just tried to eat me! Scott asked me to pose beside him for a photo and the next thing I knew I felt something gnawing at my wrist. I looked down to see horse lips closed around the sleeve of my jacket! Ewwww!

The Salzach River runs through Salzburg. This is the "old town" of Salzburg including  the church steeples of the Salzburg Cathedral and St. Peter's Abbey Church, as well as the Salzburg Fortress.

We did visit a Marionette Museum whilst at the Fortress and, like many others, took advantage of these displays for some silly photo ops.
Tomorrow is Christmas Day and we are off too Ramsau in the Alps for a horse drawn sleigh ride!