The Odd Couple - Vienna

I'm just about to cross the road on the Graben, one of the most famous streets in Vienna, and I see them. I simply had to take out my camera.....

What is the story here? What are they saying to each other? I'd love to know. Any ideas?

Wolfgang, Call Home

"Hello? Constanze? Your hunnybunny Wolfie here. What's for dinner tonight?"

"oh no, not Wiener Schnitzel again......"

Vienna State Opera

Back to my summer Europe trip.... The Vienna State Opera was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstraße and was built between 1861 and 1869. The opening opera was Mozart's Don Giovanni performed on May 25 1869. Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth were present.

Towards the end of WWII in 1945, American bombardment set the building alight. The front section housing the foyer, staircase, vestibule and tearoom was saved, but the auditorium and stage were destroyed by fire, along with the decor and props for more than 120 operas, and about 150,000 theatrical costumes.

The decision was made to rebuild the Opera House in its original style, and an architectural competition was announced. Even though the target date for opening was 1949, the theatre opened in 1955 with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio.

The Weiner Saatsoper stages 50 to 60 operas per year, and ten ballet productions. It is common to find a different opera being produced each day of the week. Over 1000 employees work here. I was able to sit and watch the stage crew change the sets for the opera that was being performed that evening.

Immediately before each performance, standing room tickets are sold at a discount. But I think it would be much nicer to occupy one of these comfy boxes. Total audience capacity is 2,200. I've never been to an opera, so would have liked to go, but as always with these vacation tours, no time!

If you can't get a ticket, the next best thing is to sit outside the Opera and watch the performance on the giant 50 square metre screen. Don Giovanni was playing. The screen was installed in 2009, to bring opera to a new audience who had never experienced it.
I couldn't stay to watch Don Giovanni.... a good reason to return to Vienna one day.

Mozart Balls - Vienna

Throughout Austria, the sweet treat to eat is Mozartkugeln. A small ball of pistachio and almond marzipan covered in a layer of nougat, and then enveloped in layers of milk chocolate. First produced in Salzburg by confectioner Paul Furst in 1890 and named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The phrase hyperdeliciously mouthwateringly splendidly mindboggling comes nowhere near describing the taste, believe me.

Sadly, Mozart himself never got a chance to taste these delectable sweets, as he died a century before Paul Furst produced them. But just imagine the inspired music he might have written with a bowl of Mozartkugeln beside him on the harpsichord!

Naschmarkt - Vienna

The Naschmarkt stretches along Wienzeile Street. There has been a market here since the 16th century. From 1793 onwards, all fruit and vegetables brought into the city by cart had to be sold here. The current location was created to cover up the Wien River in 1898. It's a long wide square filled with a busy produce market with over 120 market stands open every day except Sunday. Vienna's top chefs come here for fresh ingredients for their restaurant kitchens.

A selection of seafood, whatever your heart desires.

Renart Boulon Dutch oysters fresh from the North Sea coast.

The gourmet vinegar stall, where you can sample the aromatic vinegars with a drop on your wrist. If you are looking for a special flavour, you are certain to find it here. 
There are 11 different basalmics, and more than 20 fruit vinegars.

Wonderful cheeses, so many I had never heard of. I just wanted to sample them all. 
I'm a confirmed cheese freak!

A dizzying selection of dried fruits and nuts. 

Lokum.... a confection made from a gel of starch and sugar or honey, and delicately flavoured with rosewater, orange, pistachio, dates or lemon, otherwise known as Turkish Delight.  
Also known as Rahat in the Romanian language.

Naschmarkt is the perfect place for browsing, strolling, people watching, or buying lunch at one of the outdoor market cafes, which is what we did. Our friendly "chef" told us he had lived in Vienna only for 3 years and hailed from Tunisia.

I chose chicken schnitzel, which was so large that it was more meat than I would normally eat in 3 days!  But definitely delicious. We sat outside and watched the people go by.

More pictures to come.
If you have visited Vienna, leave a comment and tell me about it.

Shoe Shopping - Vienna

Ahhh... shoe shopping when I'm on vacation.... one of my favourite pastimes. Especially in Europe. Just wandering and looking in the Viennese store windows, and yearning after more and more shoes. I've been blessed with large... um, let's say usefully big feet (I won't blow over in a strong wind!) so if I find shoes I love, and in the right size, and they actually fit and feel good.... I just have to buy them.

Nope, I didn't buy these....

I don't think I could actually navigate my way across a small room in these. I haven't worn heels like this for many years. But they are so gorgeous!

These might be a little easier to walk in, but I couldn't possibly wear them out in the rain in case I got them muddy.

So I'll have to stick to wearing my "old lady" fancy running shoes with the bright neon pink shoelaces. Fun and comfort at the same time for my sightseeing.

It's true.
How many pairs of shoes do you have?
I just counted. Oh dear.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is visible everywhere in the downtown area of Vienna, and is one of the tallest churches in the world. It is HUGE! If you have lost your bearings in the small streets, just look for the tower. Construction started in the 12th Century on the ruins of two earlier churches. It's the most important religious building in Vienna. And it's shown on Austrian 10 cent euro coins.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is just over 107m long and 34m wide. The tallest of the four towers is 136m high and to get to the top requires climbing 343 steps. Warning: don't attempt it if you have bad knees. The towers are home to 13 bells. The bell called The Pummerin was cast from a cannon captured from the Turks in the 1600s, and is the second biggest free swinging chimed church bell in Europe.

The north side of the roof shows the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria. The Imperial double headed eagle of the Hapsburgs appears on the other side. 230,000 glazed ceramic tiles make up the steep roof. 

At the Capistran Chancel, an 18th Century sculpture shows St. Francis trampling on a beaten Turk, under a golden sunrise. St Francis looks pretty happy. I feel rather sorry for the Turk.

There's the Imperial Hapsburg double headed eagle on the roof.

Stephansplatz at night. 

More pictures to come.
If you have visited Vienna, please leave me a comment and tell me about it.

Rabbits! It's September!

A Pinch and a Punch,
the First of the Month
and no returns......
and to bring a month of good luck, my first spoken word this morning was "Rabbits"!

Which brings me to this delightful pink bunny.

Actually not a rabbit, but a hare. A magnificent pink bunny by sculptor Ottmar Hörl. It pays tribute to German artist Albrecht Dürer's 500 year old painting "Young Hare" which hangs in the nearby Albertina Museum in Vienna.