2004 - AUSTRIA

May 13
HELLO HELLO FROM SALZBURG . . .

Today it's rain in Salzburg. Notice, I'm now spelling it correctly, Salzburg. Jim is out in the city, in the rain at this very moment, visiting Mozart's abodes, etc. One thing we've discovered is that there really isn't much at these Mozart historical sites, only framed information in print, not much in the way of original furnishings, even when there is a room to view. Usually it's only the exterior of the buildings, and possibly a small foyer or entrance with, like I said, printed material . . . or rather . . . like Jim says. He’s the one who goes to those locations.

Yesterday we went inside the huge Dom Cathedral, which was originally built to accommodate 10,000 worshipers. Very decorative, frescos, carvings, multi-musical organs (maybe 5?). It was near Mozartplatz (Mozart Square), near the house where Mozart grew up. Jim loved the cathedral, but was disappointed in that house, nothing there but the information again. I mean the house was there, but no admittance, it's a private residence now most likely. A big yellow house, adjoining other buildings, with shops on the street level, in the midst of "Old Town". We also saw it from the boat as we cruised the Salzach River the day before.

The river cruise was a lovely ride, not very long because Salzburg is relatively a small town, only 150,000. And most of the town is centered in the "Old Town" area which is comprised of many winding, shop and cafe-lined, cobblestoned alleyways, in a concentrated area on both sides of the river - between four bridges. We've crossed two bridges on foot, and have covered Old Town on both sides of the river on foot. We did a city bus tour the first morning and saw the setting where the kids fell out of the boat in the "Sound of Music" film. That was a beautiful place. A magnificent manor house on a lake, right in the middle of Salzburg. The manor house is now owned by Harvard University. Is used as dorms. Can you believe that?

Last night we had a light dinner at the Sacher Hotel, of Sacher Torte fame, and enjoyed a bit of Sacher chocolate. I came out of there so full and uncomfortable; I think I shall never eat again. Food is better here than in Switzerland. At least, that's my opinion. Jim still can't get over the frankfurters. He'd forgotten, from last time we were here, how they are. Long skinny boiled emaciated frankfurters, served with bread. Not especially his cup of tea, although I can take a cold wiener from the fridge and slap it on a bun with mustard and I'm happy. When we're at home, he insists they be split and grilled, even insists it be done that way in cafes too. He's totally spoiled, you know. But he's eating them as they're served here and hasn't complained to the proprietors. Surprise, surprise. He doesn't care for the Austrian Weiner Schnitzel (veal cutlet, he says), however. He prefers the French and USA version. Lots of sauce. No sauce served on it in Austria. Jim's a sauce man. Doesn't care for meat not covered in "gravy", as he puts it. Who said meat and "gravy" are bad? Well, he's 92 and holding, and meat and "gravy" haven't harmed him one bit. That shoots that theory all to hades and back.

We've been unlucky in finding concerts for Jim to hear. It's just the wrong time of year, it seems. He was counting on hearing Mozart every minute (thank God, for my sake, it is the wrong time of year). But never fear, I've booked a dinner/concert for tonight at St. Peter's (converted monastery), so he'll see and hear a baroque rendering of Mozart and other music, some Sound of Music numbers too. The musicians and singers will be dressed in period costumes and the hall where the dinner/music is staged looks absolutely luxurious and of that period, if the photo serves it well. That's tonite. That'll make him happy. He doesn't know it yet, but I've also booked a dinner and a concert at the Vienna Opera House for Sunday in Vienna. He wanted to go there last time we were there, but we didn't. Now he'll get to see and experience that too. As for me, I'm taking a wokman (spelling?) with some Frank Sinatra tapes to listen to during the concert tonight. I'm just kidding!!!!! Not to worry. Maybe I'll take a book to read. No, I'm not. I know, I'll just day dream. Maybe I'll even listen. Who knows.

Tomorrow is our last day in Salzburg, so we're going up to the Fortress on the hill, which is a huge castle-like structure. We were going to go up there today, but because of the rain, we'll do it tomorrow before we leave by train to Vienna. I'm hoping to get some good scenic shots from up there.

Oh yes, this hotel is near the train station, and although considered to be in the more "common" part of town, for instance a sex toy and video shop is down the block (which Jim has perused the block-long displays in the windows explicitly), our room and the hotel is very nice. Clean, basic, also has a restaurant (breakfast is included with the room rate), and our accommodations has a sitting room, dressing room, bath, and bedroom. Like an apartment. One could live here, easily. Really. Quite a change from the very small rooms we've had thus far. Hotel Bayrischer Hof. I would stay here again. Plus it's reasonable. Very polite and helpful young desk clerks.

I had to laugh a couple days ago, when Jim was asking about a Mozart concert, the young girl at the desk suggested he go to a concert which didn't have such "old" music. Jim misunderstood her, her accent, thinking that the one he was wanting to hear was just not all that good. I had to step in and ask her to be more definitive for him, and what she said amounted to "Mozart's music is so old-fashioned." Evidently her mother and she don't care for Mozart and usually go to more modern concerts, where the music is either Jazz or of a more contemporary genre. It’s my understanding that most of the middle-aged and younger people here are not classical buffs. Hey, see, I'm not alone. Hooray for Jazz and Pop Standards!


May 17
Okay, so I truly enjoyed myself at the concert/dinner at St. Peter's in Salzburg. Yes, I'm now eating my hat. It was truly pleasant! A talented 5-man (stringed instrument) group of players, 3 young women, 2 young men were expert at their performance. All the musicians were young, I noticed. Really young. And two opera singers, one male, one female - also young. It was incredibly wonderful! I can't believe I enjoyed it all. Well, yes, I can believe it. As much as I fight the classics, they're in my blood from my "daddy". Yes, he was an opera, symphony kind-of-guy. And as always we sometimes fight how we were raised. Yep. It's still in me, that music. Well, after all those youthful years trying to learn classical music, via my piano teacher Emery Hobson in Wasco in the ‘50s, what can one expect? I even recognized some of the numbers. Amazing. I bought one of the group’s CDs.


VIENNA

And last night, here in Vienna, we went to yet another dinner/concert, only this time it was a bit different. But, it wasn’t at the Opera House like I thought it would be. We met in front of the Opera House and went somewhere else. The brochure had been very misleading.

First we, as a group of six, walked to an old Viennese tavern-like restaurant for dinner, where an accordion player sat with us at one point and played our favorites, including the Blue Danube, with Jim humming along as usual. We had Weiner Schnitzel, the usual tour dinner (veal cutlet, as Jim calls it), he's been having a lot of it by the way. (I had the vegetarian dinner at St. Peter's the night before.) Anyway, we had a lovely hour of cabaret music and dinner, and then the driver picked us up and took us to the concert hall where we were seated with about 500 or more other people in rows of chairs in a brightly lit multi-chandeliered concert hall, and the orchestra played Strauss and Mozart music for 2.5 hours. It was very impressive playing, which goes without saying. They do know their music. Every two or more numbers an opera singer would come out and sing, and a beautiful dance couple even danced on some of the pieces. I didn't make it to the second half however, at intermission I left, couldn’t take it. So I walked across the "inner-ring” section of town and waited for Jim at Cafe Mozart, which is across the street from the Albertine Museum, in back of the Stadt Opera House where we began that night. There I enjoyed a cup of very strong coffee . . . 2 cups . . . and watched people. Loved it. Jim came later and he had a scrumptious dessert. I passed on the fattening food.

Yesterday, Sunday, all the shops were closed, which is the same all over Austria (I remember when it used to be that way in England, but now it's changing in the malls. Although Harrods is closed on Sunday still.) So, while Jim went to a couple museums which usually bore me, I walked around the Albertine and into the back garden of the Hofburg Palace, loved that. I had lunch on a patio overlooking the garden, and just took it easy mainly, watching people. I snapped some photos of the tops of the buildings, so ornate, all of them. Gilded, carved, name it, soooo very artistic and creative. Took a peak into the butterfly gallery, live butterflies being raised and living in a giant terrarium one can walk through.

We arrived in Vienna late on Friday, our train was 2 hours late, didn't get here till around 8 pm. So, it was an unexpected long train journey, should have only been 3 hours, ended up being 5. Lots of single track areas, so we had to wait for other trains to pass by. And by the time we checked into the hotel . . . a HOLIDAY INN in Vienna. . . don't laugh! It's actually one of the best, if not the best accommodations we've had up to this point. A beautiful hotel, very modern, sleek, glass and mirrors, lots of wood paneling in our expansive room, chic elegance Jim calls it. And the food is really top-notch too. Very nice place. Again, this room has a separate living-room area, and a huge bedroom. Lots of closet space - a his and hers, and everything anyone would need. We're here for 6 days, so that's good. We leave on Wednesday for St. Petersburg.

On Saturday, I decided to stay in the hotel, a much needed rest-up day, and to do laundry (there was a lot of it, hanging all over the bathroom by morning's end, I felt like a Viennese washer-woman), and then I drank coffee and watched some tele - 2 channels in English (CNN and BBC). About 3 pm I ventured out into the marketplace, a wonderful daily food market to which a flea market is added on Saturdays (come to find out). The food market is blocks long, and is in stationery sheds lined up on a strip of land all to itself leading to the center of the "inner-ring". It's just a couple blocks over from here, we're just outside the "inner-ring" in the secondary ring. There are two rings, then there's just the City of Vienna beyond. So, we're pretty close into the center of things. I walked to the core of the "inner-ring", and it only took me 15 minutes. So, that'll tell you how close we are to things. Most of the main attractions are in the "inner-ring", which is a circle of downtown Vienna centered by St. Stephen's Cathedral. Jim went to the Stadt Opera House. Oh yes, there are many opera houses, we found that out when we said "take us to the Opera House" to a cabby. He said "which one?" And that was a difficult question for us. We didn't know at that point. We were to meet our dinner/concert tour guide there. The Stadt Opera House is across the street from where we stayed last time we were in Vienna (The Bristol). Boy, we've come a long way down in hotel prices, believe me, on this trip. But then Jim booked the last trip, I booked this one. We are splurging in Russia though, the highlight of our trip.

Jim went through the Albertina museum, or is it Albertini? I'm not sure. And he went to St. Stephen's Cathedral. Said it was all very lovely. I saw it the easy way, bought a book showing the highlights. ha ha

Now, TONITE is the nite for the cruise/music/dinner. I was thinking it was last night, and I kept waiting for the boat portion as we went along. Ha ha. There was a couple from Ireland with us, and she said "what boat?" when I said surely we'd have coffee on the boat maybe. Then it dawned on me. That tour is tonite, Monday. In fact I've got to get downstairs and book it. So, I'll close for now but will tell you later about the boat trip and a conversation I had with a waiter here in the hotel . . . he was born in Pakistan, is an Austrian now as is all his family. No ties in Pakistan, he says. He and I discussed Iraq and all that's going on. Very interesting conversation, seeing it from another perspective. It's a serious one, though. So, I may or may not write about it here. I will say he opened my eyes a bit. “Violence begats violence, it has to stop somewhere.” But where, is the critical question. Lots of derogatory news broadcasts and newspaper reporting against the US over here.

I'll leave on that note . . . and get busy with some tour booking and fun stuff.