Thursday
First thing this morning, we took bus and subway to heart of Vienna. With daylight savings time ended in Europe but not yet ended in the US, Keller would be a little shorter on available time for exploring before work. We started by visiting the TI and then got tickets for the guided tour at the Opera house.
Keller always enjoys touring concert halls and venues, so this was definitely a priority for us. We did the guided tour and even got to see the hive of activity behind the curtain backstage. The Staatoper hosts 300+ performances per year, 65+ different productions, and they never play the same production two nights in a row! As a result, there is a massive crew of people responsible for setting up the stage and preparing all the costumes and props for each show every single day. Our guide told us that because it takes so long to set up for that evening’s performance, there would not be a dress rehearsal — the performers just go straight into the production. It’s mind boggling to think about all the moving pieces involved in setting up for a new production every day.
After the Opera House we started the Rick Steves walking tour of Vienna. We stopped at Saint Stephens Cathedral — the huge cathedral in the center of the city. I climbed the tower with the kids for the pretty view. Caden and Kamy both lit a candle inside the cathedral.
We ate a picnic lunch in the park, while listening to an accordion player, before stopping at a playground for a little break. We ate dessert at Cafe Diglas and each picked out a different cake or pastry to share.
Keller went back to the house while the kids and I checked out Hofburg Palace. We did the combination Sisi Museum, Imperial Silver Collection, and Imperial apartments. Kamy enjoyed the museums, especially the Sisi Museum, but Caden was a bit bored. When the museums closed, we went back to the apartment, cooked dinner, and went to bed.
Friday
This morning, we took the bus and the train to Belvedere Palace outside of town. Belvedere was built by a military general who was credited with the successful protection of Vienna from the Ottoman Empire. As a result, he was very wealthy and built his own palace to rival that of the Hapsburg Monarchy.
It has since been turned into an art museum, with the Klimt pieces Judith and The Kiss as it’s most famous pieces. It also holds a famous portrait of Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David, which the kids recognized from our art studies.
Keller also really enjoyed the exaggerated facial sculptures by the court sculptor who went mad. They are quite expressive!
We ate lunch at traditional Austrian restaurant called Salm Braeu, where we ordered schnitzel and ribs. We headed back to the apartment and ate early dinner. Keller took Monday and Tuesday off, so we had big plans for the following four days and wanted to be rested and ready to hit the ground running. I did laundry next door and visited with Martin, our host.
Saturday
We started with the Imperial Treasury by the Hofburg Palace. It was not busy when we arrived and included an extensive audio guide. We got to see the coronation robes, crowns, and orb and scepter! Keller and Caden lost interest before Kamy did, so they left to play cards while Kamy and I finished the audio guide. The Hapsburgs collected many bright sparkly things!
We also visited the beautiful library hall. The room was immense and quite impressive!
Keller found a traditional Vienna fast food place with hot bologna sandwiches, called Leberkas – Pepi Wien. I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how much we liked them! They certainly aren’t much to look at. 😉
House of Music museum was next, where the kids got to “conduct” the symphony. Caden especially liked the piano staircase too. The Hapsburgs were major patrons of music, including Mozart and Beethoven, so there is a clear connection between classical music and Vienna.
Our plan for the day included trying to get standing room tickets to the opera that night. We were not dressed appropriatly for opera so we went back to the AirBNB to quickly make dinner and change clothes. Then we went back into town for the opera, The Masked Ball. We did get tickets and found a spot in the center section for standing room but kids couldn’t see very easily. Kamy was able to lean on the railing and see most of it, but Keller and I took turns holding Caden for performance. Despite seeming bored, both kids rated it a 8 or 9 out of 10! Apparently they like the opera! And for 3 euros per ticket, I like the opera too!
As a late night treat, we got dessert at Zanoni and Zanoni. We each had ice cream, despite the cold. We were back home near midnight, and everyone was tired.
Sunday
We got a little later start this morning, but not much. We wanted to attend the Sunday mass at the Augustinian church by the Hofburg Palace. The guide book specifically recommended it, as the church has a beautiful choir and orchestra during mass. It was very pretty and a special way for the kids to experience a Catholic Mass.
We ate lunch at Trattoria Santo Stefano — with very tasty pasta and beef dishes. The desserts were less impressive but still good.
Next we did the recommended tram tour around the center of Vienna, in which Keller had to speed read to keep up with all the notable buildings we were passing. We stopped at the Votive Church and checked out the interior on the loop.
Next we went to the Albertina museum. This was one of my wish-list items, as they had a temporary Monet exhibition. We started in the Imperial Apartments section, then moved to the regular collection. The Monet exhibit occupied Kamy and me for quite a while, so Keller and Caden moved on to moden art. We left near closing time and then grabbed a quick pizza for dinner before our concert at the Musikverein.
One of our traditions is watching the Vienna Philharmonic perform the annual New Years Concert. The orchestra performs in the Musikverein, so when we found affordable tickets to a concert in the hall, I was definitely interested!
The concert hall is so beautiful! We had seats on stage left, even with the organ, so while we couldn’t see all of the orchestra, the acoustics were phenominal! The music was very pretty too, as the orchestra performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The Hapsburg Monarchy was the primary supporter of Beethoven, so Vienna is very proud of his work. The concert was very memorable and I am so glad we did it!
On the subway ride back home, we decided we were DEFINITELY cultured that day — Sunday Mass, an art museum, and a concert at the Musikverein. There’s not much more that could be squeezed into the day!
Monday
Today’s target was Schonbrunn Palace. We were there pretty early, so there were no crowds to deal with. Kamy liked the audio tour but this was shorter than the other ones and Caden was patient.
The attached childrens museum was open, which the kids were excited about. They could try on period clothes and pretend to be royalty. We ate our picnic lunch in the museum. Then we completed the rest of the museum and exhibits on royal children and what their lives were like.
Next we wandered through the gardens, and were strongly reminded of Versailles. Schonbrunn isn’t as extensive as the gardens of Versailles, but the espalliered trees and manicured grounds certainly felt similar. Unfortunately, the maze was closed for the season already.
Attached to the gardens is the Schonbrunn Zoo, the oldest zoo in Europe. We especially liked the giraffes, arctic animals, and elephants. Kamy picked out a t-shirt with a koala. We made a quick stop in the botanical palm house, and then took the tram to the Museum of Technology.
This was a VERY cool museum — Keller could spend days in there! There was an extensive section on the history and evolution of the piano and organ, as well as a really neat touchscreen interface with eras and technology and how they changed the world. Kamy really enjoyed an interactive screen showing how a mechanical calculator worked. We left at closing time, disappointed that we didn’t have more time there. I cooked curry for dinner back at home, then bed for everyone.
Tuesday
For our last day in Vienna, we had another early start. Our AirBNB wasn’t available for this last night, so we had to change apartments. We moved to the other side of town, dropped off the car, and then took the bus and subway in.
We started with the Kunsthistorisches Museum. This beautiful building was built to be a dedicated art museum to showcase the Hapsburg’s collections. It is an exceptional building and central staircase, and they are just as impressive as the art on display.
We got to see the Brugel exhibition including Tower of Babel and The Peasant Wedding — both paintings that the kids had learned about homeschooling.
We also saw four of the Arcimboldo faces from elements and seasons series, which the kids have seen before in their art history books.
We had lunch at Mamamon Thai, which was decent but not special, nor spicy. Dessert was better — fancy cupcakes for everyone. Can you guess which one Kamy picked out? 😉
We made a stop for souvenirs from the Wein Welcome Center, two t-shirts for Keller and Sisi statue for Kamy. We also went to the Opera gift shop for Caden’s t-shirt of Vienna. Then Keller stood in line for tickets for tonight’s opera of Madame Butterfly. He only had one person in front of him in line.
Meanwhile, kids and I went to Saint Charles Church and took the elevator up to see the frescos on the ceiling. They were in the process of installing an art exhibit, so the center of the church was blocked off.
We also went to the playground for a while so the kids could run out some energy. It was cold and windy weather, but not raining at least. We made a very fast grocery stop and then joined Keller in line. We were behind him by about 20 people but we couldn’t cut the line as that was strictly prohibited. So we waited in line, got tickets, and managed to get great standing room tickets in the center of the theater and on the front row. We shared a snack of 2 shared sandwiches before the opera started. Caden again acted bored but both kids said they enjoyed it. I liked the Masked Ball better, because Madame Butterfly was too slow for me. We got back to the apartment late and fell into bed and went to sleep.
Vienna was a fast and furious six days, but we really liked it! There is SO MUCH to see in Vienna and we could have been there for a month and not seen everything. Plus 12 euros for the four of us to see an Opera is quite a lure! We’d love to return to Vienna and Austria in general — it’s definitely a favorite!
