OK, I've said this before to many a misguided soul singing the praises of Paris, but personally,-- I LOVE Vienna.
Raph and I spent an amazing Valentine's weekend there, visiting Katja, my childhood friend, and former ballet student of my mother's. She is still a ballerina, and also a Shiatsu masseur, and lives a happy life in district 9, with her roomate and two cats (Cosmo and Sputnik).
We arrived Saturday evening by bus, at the gorgeous Burgtheater and Rathouse (right), which had a huge ice-skating disco rink built in front of it, in the center of the city. After dropping our bags at Katja's, I drank real chocolate and we ate to a cool international remix at World Cafe. When we got home, to our surprise, Katja's roommate's boyfriend (who's name is also Raphael), (unbelievably generously) handed us the key to his upstairs apartment for the entirety of our stay!
Early (early) Sunday morning, we walked to the Burgskapelle, through a number of impressive architectural feats (even just the city library, left, is devastating) to hear the Vienna Boys Choir at mass. Standing room was free, and much farther from the incense:) They were beautiful to listen to, although shockingly young (some looked six!) for sailor-suited superstars, to whom tourists flocked to have their picture taken afterward.
Next, we stopped at a Viennese cafe to warm up. This cafe came complete with a tuxedo-clad waiter, no menu, and free (get that, Czech Republic?) water, without having to ask for it:) After hours of deep psy
choanalytic discussion, bratwurst and warm chestnuts, we headed to the Hudertwasser museum (below right), where the famed modern artist refused to leave even the floors, windows, or toilets out of his masterpiece. Across the street, we visited the museum of fakes, where many of the great counterfeits and their histories and secrets are on view. Here, you can order a counterfeit copy of any work you like for between 1,000-3,000 Euro. We made a quick stop for some Wiener Schnitzel and some kind of white root, and then off to Haus der Music, which is a great example of the fun one can have with the technological advances of our age.
You could honestly spend an entire day at that museum, so good thing it's open til 10pm! Among the music-ed gimmicks and fun activities are a movie theatre that plays Strauss concerts from the Vienna Konzertsaal, a dice game that lets you create your own personal waltz, a sound board that allows you to remix the Magic Flute or Moonlight Senata with your own voice or the sounds of the ocean, etc., and take it home on CD (mine wasn't very good, so I saved the 7 Euro)! You can also conduct the Vienna orchestra with a life-size screen and movement detected wand, that makes the orchestra move at your whim. However, if you get too wild, the head violinist stops playing and says " We can't play like this! Have you ever even HEARD this piece before?" Last stop for the evening was the famed international jazz club, Porgy and Bess. My reaction to the American Jazz group playing there, was "It's just noise-- they're not even listening to each other." To which Raphael responded, "It's an assault on the ears darling, but it's much more than noise."
Monday I slept in and Katja gave me a Shiatsu massage (which was FABULOUS-- everyone, go to her!), while Raph went to Bratislava to finally get his paper work (from entry "Andel Bound") in. We met Raph at the train station and went to the Gulasch Museum, which is a restaurant that serves "every kind of goulash imaginable," but I could imagine a lot more. I had "Mozart Goulasch" which was chicken goulash in capers, and Raph had "Fisch Goulasch" and we finished with "Chocolate Goulasch", which Raph says is not really goulash. We souvenier-shop hopped for various kinds of Mozart Kugeln, Klemt Prints, and T-shirts that read "No Kangaroos in Austria", and just made it to the Stadtsoper to get standing room tickets (2 Euro!) to Beethoven's (only?) opera "Fidelio." What can I say, the Austrian's love their opera, and the musicians are unmatched anywhere. Check out Austria's less stuffy side by examining the statue (above) closely.
Tuesday, we had some home-made Katja breakfast, and went to visit Schoenbrunn castle (left). It was beautiful and sunny, and I'm so glad we went that day. It was really wonderful for me to go back and learn and see the life of the Habsburgs, after having taken ReActing to the Past (a uni course) at Columbia, and having had to really delve into the life of King Louis XVI. And the Habsburgs really had money-- their creations rival Versailles and their 700-year legacy is untouchable. I don't know what was wrong with that Elizabeth princess ("Sissi") they go on about, I would LOVE to be a Habsburg princess-- or at least play one in a movie;)
After the Schoenbrunn tour, we went to the big fruit, veg, spice and cheese market, called "Naschmarkt" (~ Temptation market; see right). Raph gave me a pretty flower made out of dried fruit for Valentine's Day, and the lady promised it could last for 2 years (as long as our relationship), but I'm already eating it...The trip from Prague is only 4ish hours, and our student round-trips cost US$35 each. Amazing.
Welcome new Anděl arrivals Gianni (Giovanni) from Italy and Felix from (the French part of) Canada!! Now I have someone to practice my Italian with, and Erik has someone to root for Canada with him at the Olympic hockey games:)
