A Waltz Through Vienna

 There isn't much in the central part of Vienna that we haven't seen, as we were here for a total of 5 days in September, 2018, so we opted for the tour of the Sisi Museum in the Hofburg Palace. But first, we had arrived in Vienna in the early evening in time for our dinner and Viennese music and dance presentation at the Palace Pallavicini.

 We were greeted by tuxedo-clad waiters offering champagne and non-alcoholic drinks and a trio playing music from Mozart and Strauss. Once were called in to dinner and took our tables the entertainment started. The trio moved in and continued playing augmented by some additional musicians, and our hostess for the evening, Monika, introduced the various between-course entertainers.

The trio playing before dinner

                                    

Our hostess Monika, our soprano

Our dancers

And our baritone, singing a
witty song about pigs

Our dessert - how can you go wrong with icecream,
chocolate sauce and whipped cream?

And later that evening, the Strawberry Moon
over our ship

In the morning, we headed out for our tour at Hofburg Palace. Of course, photography is not allowed inside the museums. We saw the Imperial State Rooms and some of the private apartments of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth, and then the Sisi Museum. It turns out that, while she is now a beloved figure in the history of the region, she wasn't so well-liked during her lifetime. She was a commoner who became empress, but she never took to the regimentation of regal life. Sisi was ahead of her time, but this wasn't realized until long after her death. She was assassinated in Geneva at the age of 60 by an Italian anarchist whose first choice of victim had cancelled his trip, and she happened to be in town.

After the museum we had lots of free time, so we walked around the pedestrian area in the Altstadt and found a restaurant for lunch. Of course we had to have something traditional even though there was a Five Guys burger place just next door. It wasn't anywhere near as busy as Chattanooga, which has been in the same place since 1960.

 

Pork cutlets with fries and coleslaw for Larry

Wiener Schnitzel with Erdapfelsalat (potatoes are
literally 'earth apples' in Austrian)

A quick march through the Volkspark and
its rose garden

The Mozart statue and begonia garden

We had a great meal and people watched at the same time. Although we could have spent more time walking through the parks, we elected to go back to the boat on an early shuttle and do a few things, like the blog, in the afternoon.

So, like good Germans and Austrians, we stopped for coffee and cake at our favourite Cafe Mozart in the Hotel Sacher, before boarding the shuttle bus, which, coincidentally, had its pick-up point in the same square.

Apfel Strudel 'mit Schlag'

 

Strawberry cream cake

And from the shuttle bus back to the ship

The very famous Prater ferris wheel. Built in 1896
it is the oldest in the world.

We sailed out at 10:30 and we sat outside to see Vienna go by. The iconic Jubilee Church by the river was built to commemorate Emperor Franz Josef's 50th year on the throne in 1913.

And with this, we bid Vienna Auf Wiedersehen.