Part 1: Copenhagen
After getting back to my host house, I had a few hours to do laundry, shower, organize some things from the past week, check email, and managed to talk to my dad before I had to make my way back into the city to pick up mom. Unfortunately, the train schedule was all goofed up because work was being done on my line during the Easter holiday (when there are less people traveling into the city). Therefore, I had to take a roundabout way to the airport, but it was nice because I got to see some different scenery. It did take me about 2 hours to get there though (ironically the same length of time it took mom to fly from Vienna to Copenhagen). I did manage to talk to Tory on my way in though, which was very nice ☺ Once at the airport, I treated myself to some Starbucks coffee (the only Starbucks in Copenhagen is located in the airport). Shortly after I arrived though, mom came walking through the doorway from the baggage claim. It was so good to see her (and she looked great). It was almost surreal to think that she was actually here, especially since we have only been talking about this trip for so long, and it had finally begun.
We then made our way into the city via the metro and a walk through town. Overall, it wasn’t that long but I felt bad because Mom had to roll her suitcase over all the cobblestones. It ended up being okay though. After checking into our hotel, we headed over to a restaurant near Tivoli for dinner. Then after that, we simply headed back to the hotel to figure out our plan for the following day. I also got a chance to Skype with Tory, which I was really excited about since I hadn’t talked to him for almost 2 weeks (except briefly on the train ride to the airport).
DAY 1:
On mom’s first day in Denmark we managed to cover a lot of ground, but it was definitely a good thing that we planned it out a little bit the night before. We began the day by going over to Christiansborg Slot – the original location of the castle in the city, which is now home to several administrative and parliament offices. We were going to try to do more in the area, however we were actually there a little too early (15 minutes) before everything was open. Since we had so much on our list for the day, we decided to simply continue with our list of sights. Right next to the Christiansborg is the Bourse (stock exchange building). Mom really loved the dragon spire, which I will admit is really cool.
Our next (impromptu) stop was in Holmens Kirke. It is a church across the street from the Bourse. It was my first time being it. It was really simple and plain, but it had several interesting wood carved pieces. Historically, the building also used to be home to the anchor forge for the navy. Afterwards, we began to head in the direction of Nyhavn, and on our way we decided to head into Magasin (the big department store in Copenhagen). We ended up going to the food section, located in the basement, and made a few little snack purchases.
After our shop stop, we made our way to Nyhavn where we embarked on a canal tour of Copenhagen. It was this fun little boat, which wound its way around the harbor and a couple of the canals to point out difference focal attractions of the city. I think mom really appreciated it because it helped her to understand a little bit better where everything was. It is definitely something I would recommend for all tourists to do. The only down side was that it was a little chilly out and being on the water made it a little tougher to bear. Luckily the boat did have an indoor cabin, which we retreated to about halfway through the ride. One of the fun things that we saw on our ride was the rock where the little mermaid used to sit (she is now in Shanghai for the world expo). The cute thing about it was that there was a little girl sitting on the rock getting her picture taken by her family. This is definitely going to become a way for people to visit the location even though there is no longer anything there. I must admit that I hope to make it up to that area myself for that same purpose now.Following our boat tour, we walked down Nyhavn so that mom could see one of the three homes that Hans Christian Andersen lived in, as well get the “typical” picture attributed to Copenhagen – the one with all the colorful buildings located in Nyhavn. We then made our way over to Amalienborg to see the location of the current royal palace. We did have the option of tour one of the four mansions that make up the palace, however there was already a long line and we had a lot of other things on our list to accomplish for the day. Next, we made the short walk up the street to go into the Marble Church. I could definitely tell that the tourist season is beginning in Copenhagen (plus the fact that it was the Saturday before Easter) because there were many people inside the church, which is the first time that I have seen it so busy. The last couple of times I was there, I was the only one. The main thing to see in this church is the ceiling, but the rest of it is rather plain because it failed to be finished according to plan since money was tight in the city during the time of its construction.
The next stop on our daylong adventures was at Rosenborg and the King’s Gardens. Since it was a comparably warm day in Copenhagen, there were many people out walking around the gardens. It is definitely nice to see Danes out and about with the warmer weather. We then made our way into Rosenborg (a castle, which was initially a summer home for Christian IV). It now houses many objects and furniture, some of which date back to Christian IV. It also houses the crown jewel collection in Denmark. It was really cool to walk through because each room was devoted to a different monarch, and you walked through them in order. Therefore it felt like you were walking through time. It also helped because everything felt a little more connected the whole way through. 
After finishing our visit in and around Rosenborg, we still had enough time to try to head over to a church in Christianborg, which has this beautiful spiraling spire. I had to yet to go up this particular location, but I really wanted to. Also from there Mom could get a great view over the city. When we arrived in Christianshavn (after taking the Metro), we had to wait in line for a little while. It was a littler nerve racking too because it was getting closer and closer to the churches closing time. Fortunately, we made it to the front of the line just in time. Quite literally, I think we may have been one of the people that they allowed to go up the tower. We then managed to climb all the way up to the top and get the view that I had promised. (as seen in the photo).
Once we got our fill, we made our way back down all the stairs. On our way back to the hotel, we then treated ourselves to a Danish (aka pastry). Since we had done a lot of walking throughout the day, we figured we deserved it. When we got close to our hotel, we decided to make another quick stop by DIS (my school) so that mom can see where I have been studying these past few months. I didn’t make her go up to the fourth floor to see my attic classroom, however she did at least get to see the common areas where I do most of my work.Once back at our hotel, we both pretty much crashed, however we kept ourselves awake somehow because we had decided to get back to Nyhavn for dinner at one of the many restaurants on the harbor. Well, we did not quite make it that far… We did manage to get out of the hotel though and found a nice restaurant a couple blocks away. After a very nice (and filling) dinner, we made our way back to the hotel where we both practically fell asleep once our heads hit the pillow.
DAY 2:
Unfortunately, our second day in Copenhagen (also Easter Sunday) did not bring the same beautiful weather. Instead it was rainy and cold. Regardless we stuck with our plan and made our way up to my town (Hillerod) in the morning. Mom really got to experience public transportation this way, since the tracks were still being worked on. Therefore, we made our way from train to bus to train and then walked from the Hillerod station to the castle, Frederiksborg Slot, in my town. It was definitely an interesting journey, which included getting rather wet and completely ruining the umbrella mom borrowed from the hotel (but that is her story not mine; I was simply there to die laughing).
The travels were definitely worth it because the castle was amazing. (I think it might have been one of Mom’s favorite things from the whole trip.) Like Rosenborg, it had a variety of objects, furniture, paintings, etc. which date back to the time of the kings. Additionally, most of the rooms in the castle have been refurbished to the state that they were in during the reign of Christian IV. 
My favorite room in the castle was definitely the Chapel. It was beautifully decorated with large religious paintings on the walls and shields of past knights. It also houses two organs, one is an original organ and another is more modern, yet beautifully decorated. The nice thing about it was that it was decorated to an appropriate degree and didn’t get too ornate. Another cool thing about the castle is that it houses the national portrait collection. Therefore, we could keep up with the different kings and there families as we moved from room to room. Surprisingly, we were there for about two hours and still didn’t manage to see everything (but we really only missed the modern collection on the top floor, which we both decided to forgo).
We then headed back out into the rain to make our way to my house, which I have been living in for the past three months. On our way there, we also stopped at a bakery to buy a couple of cakes to have later for dessert with my host family. At the house, I showed Mom around a little bit and then we simply chatted a little bit while she waited for me to pack up some more clothes for the rest of our travels. We were also waiting for my host parents to pick us up (they were driving down from their summer home to get us and take us back up there). When my host parents arrived, we all then climbed into the car for about a 30 minutes drive to their summer home. It was actually my first time being there too, so I was equally excited.
Their house is one they designed and built by themselves. It is rather modern and very simply decorated on the interior. It is primarily one big room with a couple of bedrooms and a large porch out the back. Additionally, the entire main room (besides one wall) consists of floor to ceiling windows. Once we got settled a little bit, we sat down to have some afternoon tea, coffee, and cake and talk for a little bit. Later, we then walked off our little snack with a trip to the beach, which is only about a 5-10 minutes walk away. It was interesting to be so close to the water, which Mom and I both agreed felt a little like the Cape. On our walk, my host parents were telling us a little bit about the area. When we were getting ready to head back to the house, we ran into a crowd of people celebrating the Easter holiday by throwing boiled eggs down a large hill. I guess the point is to throw them and see if they break. If the egg doesn’t completely break, then the kids would run down the hill get the egg, run back up, and try throwing it again. It was sort of strange, but considering it was Easter it was fun to see.We then made our way back to the summerhouse. A little while after we got back, Caroline and Charlotte’s (my host mom) parents joined us. We then all sat down to dinner, after which we enjoyed the two pies that me and mom had gotten earlier in the day. At about 9:30 we realized that we should probably start our journey back into the city, since we were going to have to be up early the next day to catch our flight to Prague. Very kindly, my host mom’s parents offered to drive us to the Hillerod station, but then to our surprise and deep thanks they kindly drove us all the way to hotel in the city. It probably ended up cutting our travel time in half! It was extremely nice of them to do that. Once back at the hotel, we simply got organized and packed for our travels the next day.
I did really enjoy this day that we got to spend with my host family. It allowed mom to meet my new family and get to know them better. Additionally, it was fun to simply hangout and relax before the coming week of travels.
Part 2: Prague
DAY 1:
We woke up a little early so that we would be able to get to the airport in time for our 9:00am flight to Prague. It was almost unnecessary because we got to the airport in no time at all and there wasn’t much waiting time either. Therefore, we took a little time to look at some of the shops around the airport. I still find it very odd that the high end of high end shops are all found in airports across Europe. I just find it hard to believe that they have much turn around – especially with the enforced security issues now a day. One fun thing though was that we found the jewelry store, which my host mom does some sewing and design work for.
Our flight to Prague was perfectly fine (and I was simply excited to be getting out of Copenhagen again). Mom mostly worked on her journal entries, and I began reading up on all the things that we could do in Prague and what order to do them in, so that we could hit the ground running when we got there. Once in Prague, we collected our bags, got a taxi, and easily found our hotel (since I already knew exactly where it was). Once we got reorganized, we headed out for our first day.
We had initially planned to try to see the several churches that sit right around the Old Town Square. Unfortunately the Monday after Easter is still considered part of the holiday, we kept approaching closed doors. It was a little disappointing because we simply couldn’t seem to get in anywhere, but we did manage to regroup and headed over to the Wallenstein Gardens where we saw a “grotesque” wall and a peacock! They were pretty, however since they were not grown in yet, it wasn’t as nice as it could have been. After that we then decided to head up to the castle complex. We figured if anything was going to be open it was going to be that. 
Since it is a complex it is sort of oddly set up because you can pick and choose what things you want to see. Mom and I decided to go to the Golden Lane, the dungeon, the old palace (turned into a museum now), and St Vitus (the cathedral right in the middle of the complex). 
Unfortunately, I think we sort of started things backwards and then walking through the museum in the palace really wore me out. It was simply hard to comprehend some of the information because a lot of it dates back to the dark and middle ages; I am simply not as familiar with that time frame and cannot really place it to anything in comparison in my mind. Additionally, we some how missed out on the audio tour they had available, and when we finally located them, I told mom I didn’t think it was necessary since I thought we were almost through most of the complex. In hindsight, we should have gotten them…oh well. We still managed to have a good time and see all the highlights of the area.
Following the castle, we made our way down the primary walking street to head back to the Old Town Square. On route, we walked across the Charles Bridge and learned from our trusty guidebook what every single statute on the bridge was (during this time we also began to realize that we were going to be seeing and hearing a lot about St. Wenceslas and St. Vitus during our time in Prague). Once back at the Old Town Square, we attempted to visit one of the churches we had yet to try in the area, however it was closed too. Since there really wasn’t going to be anything open that we were going to see the rest of the day, and we were both getting tried (because we had done a lot of walking that day), we decided to sit down for an early dinner. We found a nice Italian restaurant off the main square, and ended up eating way more than necessary.
Since we were both stuffed, we decided to go for a short walk up to the Powder Gate (it used to be one of the medieval entries to the city as well as a shortage location for gun powder – hence the name). 
From there, we began to head back to our hotel an early night, however before going up to our room we decided to watch the Astronomical Clock’s “show”. On the hour, it has about a 20 second show where the 12 disciples rotate in two opened doors above the clock face. Additionally, a trumpeter then plays a little tune from the top of the Town Hall Tower. 
This would be the first of many, many times that we saw this display because our hotel room, literally looked out directly at the clock face and we could see it every single hour it we really wanted to when we were in our room. It was definitely an awesome location for us to be – right in the center of everything.DAY 2:
Day 2 began more encouraging. We began by having a very nice breakfast in our hotel, which also looked out to the clock tower. Our first sight for the day was to go into the Town Hall. We were able to walk all the way up to the top, which afforded us a great view over the city. 
Then on our way back down, we stopped into the small chapel there. It had some pretty stained glass, but the best part about it was a close up view of the 12 disciples who were part of the clock. It neat to see them close up because they are so hard to see when the clock tolls on the hour. Now that I think about it, it would have been really cool to be there when the clock rang…oh well. After the Town Hall, we then managed to see 2/3 of the churches surrounding the Old Town Square. We began at St. James, which is known for two things primarily. First, it is home to a rather elaborate tomb of a nobleman, and two, it is home to one of many “stories” in Prague. The tale goes that way back when a man tried to steal the precious stones that sit in the high altar, which depicts St. Mary. To curtain the thief, the statue of the saint reached out and grabbed his hand and held on. The grip was so tight; they eventually had to cut off his hand to free him. Gruesomely, the same hand still hangs in the church.
Our next church for the day was the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. It is mostly known for its two tall towers, which create a pretty skyline around the square. The two towers actually represent a male and female figure, and if you look at them closely, you can notice that one of the towers is slightly smaller in proportion than the other. Inside, the church contained a ton of Baroque side altars, in addition to several tombs of famous individuals (including Tycho Brahe). Following this church we attempted to visit the third one in the square, however it was once again closing for a concert. All of the churches in Prague tend to hold a lot of concerts, since the churches can be known for their acoustics and the beautiful organs that they house.
We then began to make our way across the river and decided to try to get a few postcards so we could write to family back home. On the way, I also told mom about this restaurant, which sits right on the water and is only accessible by the smallest street in Prague (I had heard about it from my tour guide when I was there with my Czech Trek group). 
It was a little early for lunch but decided to break anyways. It was a cute little place, and we were able to write our postcards in the sunshine right on the river (literally). 
After lunch, we then continued up the hill to the Church of St. Nicholas (across the river). It was a little bigger than the other ones we had seen, but still contained the same sort of relics. We were given a nice description sheet of most of it though, which helped in understanding more about the statued figures. It was simply a little easier to appreciate when we knew the meaning behind its inspiration. It was especially needed since all the churches definitely started to look a little similar – they are pretty much all Baroque, have numerous side altars, an organ, and statues of St. Wincelas and St. Vitus (to put it simply).
We then continued to walk up the hill to one of my favorite sights, the Loretto. It is a building designed as a copy of the Santa Casa and pilgrimage sight for those wanting to worship St. Mary. The Santa Casa is believed to be the original home of the Virgin Mary. In an attempt to protect the home, the story says the house was moved to a town in Italy called Loretto. Today many ‘Lorettos’ exist across Europe paying tribute to St. Mary. I had never heard of this story before, so it was interesting for me to hear and further appreciate. In addition to this tribute, the Loretto also used to be a Coventry. Once inside, we had an audio guide that told us more about the facilities, chapel, and their version of the Santa Casa. The treasury is also housed in Loretto, so we were able to see some of the older religious relics from the surrounding region, including some beautiful monstrances (although I am still not entirely sure of their purpose).After the Loretto, we made our way closer to the castle complex to head into one of the old mansions. It had this really interesting exterior façade, which made it appear as if the building has a variety of depth, however it was simply done with paint on a flat building. Inside, we were expecting to see the rooms of the mansion, including some preserved ceiling frescoes. Apparently, we misinterpreted the wording in our guidebook because the building actually houses some of the artwork from the museum. It does have some of the ceiling frescoes, but they weren’t as elaborate as we were expecting. Overall, it was only a mediocre stop and was additionally hard to appreciate after a whole day of sight seeing.
We then made our way back down to the town square and had another relatively early dinner. However, we did have a reason for eating early because afterwards we were going to see a Marionette show. It is one of the things, which Prague is known for. We saw ‘the original’ production of Don Giovanni. It was sort of goody but was still a lot of fun. We had done research on the plot, so I at least knew what was going on. The weird thing about it is that the puppeteers are almost as important to the show as the puppets themselves because they are clearly visible throughout the duration of the show and make gestures and faces to react to what the puppets are doing. I definitely enjoyed it though. I only wish we could have found puppets in Prague to purchase like the ones we saw in the show, but the only kinds that were for sale either looked to baby doll like or were simply too creepy.DAY 3:
Our last day in Prague began with quite an accomplishment; we finally managed to get into the St. Nicholas church in the Town Square. It must have been the fourth time we tried, and by that point it wasn’t because we really wanted to see it, but we simply wanted to get in. It was actually pretty small and didn’t have anything impressively unique about it, however it supposedly has very good acoustics (which is the reason why it has so many concerts and therefore makes it very difficult to visit otherwise).Afterwards, we then made our way over to the Jewish Quarter. It is supposed to be a rather large attraction in Prague, however it was even more so on this particular day because it had been closed since before Easter in recognition of the religious holiday. We knew we were going to see a lot though and had prepared ourselves mentally for this excursion. We got audio guides that took us through three synagogues, the Jewish cemetery, several museums/exhibitions, and simply told us more about Jewish history in the area. We began by visiting the Pinkas, which is now home to a memorial for all the Jews who died in WWII and contains approximately 80,000 names upon its walls for those individuals.
We then made our way through the cemetery. In a very limited space, there are believed to be about 12,000 visible tombstones and as many as 100,000 individuals buried there. In some areas, graves have been found up to 12 layers deep. It was really quite an interesting (and disheartening) sight. We then went to the Ceremonial Hall and adjacent synagogue, which are currently home to historical Jewish collections consists primarily of tapestries, relics related to ceremonial occasions, tools used in burial preparation, etc. 
Next, we walked down the street to the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe. There we heard a little more about the symbolism in the synagogue itself and how it has been preserved and developed. We then had two more synagogues on our audio tour before we were done. These included the Spanish Synagogue (the pretties one in my mind) and the Maisel Synagogue (named after Maisel who is a major historical figure in relation to the development of the Jewish Quarter). Needless to say, after this excursion mom and I were exhausted, but it was definitely worth it.
After returning our audio guides, we once again went to a restaurant on the river and had a very nice lunch (where we finally got to sit down!). Following lunch, we geared up for a long walk up the hillside to the Strahov Monastery, which is home to a gorgeous library. Unfortunately, when we finally reached the building and made our way inside we discovered that the library was under reconstruction. It was completely covered my scaffolding (except one little sliver where we could see a tiny piece of the ceiling fresco). 
Fortunately, we were able to see the Theological Hall adjacent to it, which is equally decorated and interesting. We were also able to admire a beautiful view from the top of the hillside over the city, which also helped to make the trip a little more worth it.Since there wasn’t really much else to see in the area though, we consulted our guidebook and decided to walk down the hill and across the city to the St. Agnes Convent (we initially intended to visit it after the Jewish Quarter in the morning, but we were so exhausted we completely forgot all about it). Besides the walk over, it ended up being rather difficult to find the entrance to the Coventry. Once inside, we were able to walk around some of the older parts of the building, however most of its historical integrity was lost since it fell into disuse during its lifetime and was only renovated to function as an exhibition hall as well as houses part of the medieval art collection in Prague. We also walked around the medieval art exhibit for a little bit, however it was dominated by numerous works depicting the Madonna and Child. While I really did like some of the pieces, too many of these works was simply overwhelming for one location.
For our last evening in Prague, we once again headed back to the Old Town Square for dinner where I was finally able to convince mom to have a lighter dinner in able to have room for dessert afterwards. 
We then took a short walk around the town square one more time, and then on our way into the hotel stopped at the café on the ground floor and got a delicious ice cream dessert. Following that, we headed up to our hotel room to pack and get ready for bed, so that we would be ready to head to Vienna the next morning.Vienna:
DAY 1:
This morning we had to wake up around 5:30 to make it to the airport in time for our flight. Needless to say after several days of intense tourist walking and gearing up for another city, this wake up call didn’t provide enough sleeping time. Regardless, we made it to the airport, on the plane, and to Vienna without any problems. We were in a little bit of a time crunch though leaving Prague because interesting President Obama was expected in Prague later that day for a meeting with the president of Russia to talk about arms reductions. There was slight question as whether we were going to make it off the ground before Air Force one commandeered the runway, but we managed to take off without any delay.
Once we got into Vienna, we made our way to our hotel where we did a basic check in, however we were unable to get into our room since it was only about 10:30-11:00 in the morning. We simply reorganized, left our bags in the luggage closest and headed out for the day. Our first stop was at Karlskirche, which was a church that was built after the plagues in the 18th and 19th century. It was built in commemoration of St. Charles who is the paint saint known for healing plague suffers. It was yet another Baroque style church (as if we hadn’t seen enough of these in Prague), however we were able to get an audio guide, which always seems to make everything more interesting just getting a little more information of the history and meaning behind the church and its relics.
Unfortunately, it too was being renovated on the inside, but they managed to use this renovation to the tourists benefit. The scaffolding for the renovation was built in a column with a platform up inside the dome, which we were able to take an elevator up to. It was actually really cool because we were literally meters away from the beautiful ceiling frescoes. We were then able to walk up several flights of stairs to get all the way up into the dome and get an aerial view over Vienna. The view was a little hard to see because we were still inside but it was still really neat that we were fortunate to have this added experience.
Following the Karlskirche, we made our way over to the Belvedere Palace. We had a little difficultly finding it because I was confused looking at the map exactly where it was because there is another palace, which sits literally right beside and in front of it. Once we got there though, we began by touring the Lower Belvedere with an audio guide. There was a temporary exhibit occurring, which displayed more about the estates patron (Prince Eugene of Savoy – a very prominent and successful military commander under the Hapsburgs). In this exhibit, we saw different works of art, pieces from his private collections, in addition to the refurbished rooms of the lower palace. It was interesting being in a palace like this because we hadn’t seen anything like it in Prague with everything being so lavish and showy.After touring the Lower Belvedere, we stopped for lunch at the café within the palace, where I finally had some much-needed coffee (which put me in a much better mood for the rest of the day; I was still trying to wake up at this point). It was also just a nice location to sit and relax a little bit. The café was located right outside of the lower Belvedere. It was a beautiful day (just a little breezy), and we were able to watch all the people walking around the palace gardens while eating our lunch.
Following lunch, we then made our way through the gardens and up to the Upper Belvedere. It too maintains some of the wall furnishings of the palace, however it had primarily been converted into an art museum. We didn’t walk through the whole things, but some of the highlights included several impressionist works (which I love), one of the iconic pictures of Napoleon on horseback, and Klimt’s most famous work – The Kiss. We also had an audio guide for the museum (which we very fancy on an iTouch), so we also were able to hear about the paintings and the life of the artists.
Once we had our fill, we made our way into the older part of the city to see St. Stephens. It is a rather prominent church, however the most interesting thing about it to me was definitely its colorfully tiled roof (very uncharacteristic from any gothic church I have seen). Inside, it was yet another dark cathedral. We weren’t able to take a tour or anything because they were preparing for daily mass at 6:00pm, however we made use of our trusty guidebook to at least point out some of the most important aspects of the church to us.We then decided to go sit down and have a light dinner at one of the outdoor seating restaurants on Graben. We both ended up getting a salad, however not necessarily of the healthiest choice. Mom’s had BBQ chicken wings and mine had some type of cheese wrapped in bacon ☺. I guess if we were going to go with such unhealthy choices, at least it was on top of a bed of lettuce.
Following dinner we had a little bit of time to waste, so we decided to go to a chocolate shop nearby and purchase a dessert. We ended up selecting these chocolate covered wafers with hazelnuts on top. They we so good! (We eventually went back and got more before we left Vienna).
Our last event for the evening was a Mozart string quartet concert. It was in a really neat setting, which only included maybe 50 people. It is also one of the intimate halls that Mozart himself used to play in. Now mom must have been the first person to purchase tickets for this particular show because we quite literally had the best seats in the house. Since the setting was so small, the front row (where we were) was maybe two feet from the stage. Additionally, we were sitting directly in front of the first violin. While I am not crazy about classical music, I really did appreciate and enjoy the concert. The second best part about it (since the music itself took first) was watching all the musicians play. It was funny because each musician had their own way of expressing their intensity for the piece they were performing. The first violin would begin moving all over her chair and was very animated. The cellist would sort of cock her head and smile in the direction of one of her fellow musicians. The second violin’s eyes would get really wide and intensely stare at his music. By far my favorite was the violist who kept making these funny movements with his mouth, including sticking his tongue out. This is by no means a criticism since all of the musicians were incredibly talented; these added gestures simply made the concert a little more enjoyable.After the concert wee simply made our way back to our hotel, where we got ready for bed, had a little chocolate, and geared up for the following day in Vienna.
DAY 2:
Our second day in Vienna began with a quick breakfast at the hotel and a walk over to the Spanish Riding School. We had decided way back in planning for the trip that we would attend the morning practice session there and take a tour of the facility later on, instead of going to an actual show. During the practice session, it was pretty much just watching the riders rotate a series of horses, and each horse would only be ridden for about 30 minutes. It was interesting to see the horses being trained, but unfortunately we didn’t get to see any of the famous leaps. We found out later, that since the jumps area very tasking on the horses, they are rarely performed during the training sessions and saved primarily for the performances. After sitting through several rotations of horses, we decided to continue on with our day.The royal palace near the center of the city holds a few exhibits including one with the Hapsburg tablewares, one about the Emperor Franz Joseph and particularly his wife, Empress Elizabeth (or Sisi), and one where you can walk through some of the maintained apartments of the old Emperor and Empress. Mom had actually gone through parts of these exhibits already when she was here earlier, however she told me that it was something we should do. Fortunately we received an audio guide to help us along the way. It was a lot of rooms and objects to get through in these exhibits, and I don’t know if I would have made it through without the audio guide.
We began with the tableware collection. Why anyone needs multiple table wares, or ones designed for every special occasion is beyond me, however I guess that is what you can afford to do when your are an imperial family. We did also hear a lot about the history of the Habsburgs as we walked through this collection though as it took is from tableware set to tableware set. I though one interesting thing was the real shift from the silver wares to porcelain ware. It was not only due to a fascination with the Far East but also because during times of war all silver was melted down to form currency, including the imperial table wares. Another crazy thing was the number of pieces for each individual setting. The most extensive one included at least 10 utensils and about the same number of glasses. Now I thought I was pretty knowledgeable on my table utensils, however there were several pieces that I didn’t even know what you would do with.
It was also really interesting to see the progression of the craft itself from making silver pieces to porcelain pieces, to including detailed painted work, etc. My favorite piece in the collection was a tea set that we saw at the very end, but ironically it was back with such delicacy that it ended up being to fragile to use!In the second exhibit, we learned more about the famous/infamous Empress Elizabeth (Sisi). Today, she is seen in a similar light to the Viennese as Princess Diana is to the British, however that fame only came after her death (an assassination actually). During her reign, she neglected her duties as an empress and even as a mother to her children, but regardless of her actions, she was adored by her husband Emperor Franz Joseph. One of the most peculiar things about her (at least for this time in history) was her obsession with her physical appearance. She is known to have gone a variety of strange diets in her day and have a regular exercise routine (this was in second half of the 19th century mind you) to maintain her meager weight around 100 pounds. It was interesting to hear more about her life and the stories that revolved around her, however it left many questions about her. While I understand her need to want to escape from her royal and imperial duties at times, she simply seemed like a little bit of a brat and just want to take pleasure in being royalty without actually having to do anything. (She did have some really pretty party dresses though ☺)
Attached to the end of this exhibit was a tour through some of the imperial apartments. Through these rooms we continued to listen to stories and the history about Franz Joseph and Elizabeth. It think it is always fun to walk through exhibits like these because it makes you feel like you get to know a little bit more about the individuals themselves. Additionally, it makes the artifacts seem livelier when they are seen in the environment for their intended use instead of in a glass showcase.
Well it took us about 2 – 2.5 hours to get through all three exhibits, and by the end of it we were getting pretty hungry. We found our way to the café that is located in the palace complex and had yet another nice little lunch outside. One thing that I really enjoy about going to all these cafés is the variety of coffee drinks that you can order at any time during the day. While I usually ended up getting an espresso, this time I went for a fancier looking cappuccino. Clearly, I was in heaven (as seen in the picture). I did feel really bad at one point though during lunch because our waiter came over and was trying to tell me something, however I was having serious trouble understanding him. However, it wasn’t just me because mom could barely understand him either. Eventually though he came back over and explained more clearly that he was trying to tell me that a couple of pick-pocketers had walked though the café and he wanted me to make sure I still had all my belongings, which I did.
After lunch, we then headed back to the Spanish Riding School for our tour. We were able to walk around the stables and arena and heard more about the history and functioning of the school itself. For instance, they only get their stallions from a specific farm out in the mountains in Austria, whose sole purpose is to breed these animals. While there may be around a hundred horses to choose from each year, only about three or four will make it to the Winter Riding School in Vienna. Additionally, a single rider trains each horse throughout the duration of its career. The riders’ real purpose is to train these horses, not simply to show them off. Another crazy thing is that female riders were only introduced into the riding school last year (and they are currently only still trainees – there is quiet a process), however there is one exception to this. It was made from Empress Maria Theresa, but you cannot really say ‘no’ to the Empress.
After about six hours spent around the palace, we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon walking down Graben – the main walking street. On our way, we also stopped into another church (St. Peters), since it was pretty much right there. We only went in for a little peak. It is one of the oldest churches in Vienna (and after further research, it sits right outside the oldest part of the city itself).
We then continued along the walking streets to our actual reason for walking down the street = The Sacher Hotel. It is known for being the original home to Sacher Torte. FYI this day also happened to be mom’s birthday, and we couldn’t think of a better birthday dessert than a stop here. I was a little sad though because initially mom ordered a piece of torte and I ordered an apple strudel (another traditional Viennese dessert), however they momentarily ran out of apple strudel. Therefore, I changed my order to Sacher Torte as well. I guess it simply must have been fate; I was supposed to have Sacher Torte at the Sacher Hotel.Following our afternoon treat, we headed back to the hotel to change for our big event for the evening (and mom’s birthday gift to herself) – the opera. Now the opera house itself is known as a big attraction in Vienna, so mom wanted to make sure that we got there a little early so that we could look around. The funniest thing about the whole night was that we almost missed the beginning of the opera. Mom had told me earlier in the day that she thought it began at 8:00, so we were taking our time. At one point, we went to use the restroom and when we came out there was no one else around (it was 7:28). I took a quick look at the tickets and saw that the show began at 7:30! Therefore, we took a quick run to our section to be seated, but no worries we arrived in time.
We had great seats (mom’s choice of course); we were in the balcony section and had the front row in our little box. It was perfect because we could see everything that was happening on stage. The opera we were seeing was the Barber of Seville. This was my first opera, so I didn’t really know what I was going to think. Thankfully, when we were at the hotel earlier we looked up a synopsis, therefore I at least had a general idea of what was going on. I ended up really enjoying it. I only hope that mom enjoyed it as well, which I am pretty sure she did, because it was her birthday celebration after all.DAY 3:
For our last day in Vienna, we planned to explore Schonbrunn Palace in its entirety. Schonbrunn is the Habsburg estate that sits several miles outside of the city center. It originally functioned as a hunting lodge, however was renovated during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa into the expansive, Rococo palace that exists today. It terms of monarchial estates, Schonbrunn was also built to rival the French Versailles. Now, I have never been to Versailles, however from the impression I got, I think it did just that.
To get to Schonbrunn, we figured out the underground system, which wasn’t really that difficult, to take the 15 minutes ride there. Mom had pre-purchased tickets for the palace exhibits itself, which we couldn’t go in until 11:00. We got there a little early, so we walked around the grounds a little bit – including the Neptune fountain and the hedge maze. The hedge maze was actually a lot of fun. It was a little confusing, however we eventually made our way to the center and back out again, just in time too because it began to ran shortly after. 
Since it was raining we decided to simply head inside and wait the remaining 10 minutes inside before touring the imperial apartments in Schonbrunn. Once inside, we had about an hour long audio tour (which was actually included in our ticket – I think it was to help people moving through the exhibit. It all seemed very regimented). We walked through a collection of rooms including private rooms relating to Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth again, Empress Maria Theresa, as well as the main ballroom and conference rooms. Some of the information we received was a repeat from the day before at the city palace, but we did learn more about Maria Theresa here.My favorite part about this exhibit was the collection of portrait paintings that hung on the walls throughout the apartments. It simply helped me keep a timeline as well as felt a little more acquainted with the family. It was additionally helpful because Maria Theresa had 16 children, 13 of which made it to adulthood, and only two were sons. Then many of her daughters were married in political alliances throughout Europe (including Marie Antoinette).
After making our way through the apartments, it had momentarily stopped raining, so we were able to make our way up to the Gloriette (it the building at the top of the hill). 
As part of ticket, we were able to go on top of this building and get a great view over the entirety of the estate. There is also a café located in that building, which is where we stopped for lunch afterwards.
By this time we had seen most of what we intended to see, however we had a couple other little things we wanted to check out. First, we walked over to the Palm House (the greenhouse, but they call it the Palm house because there is also a desert house next door so apparently they needed to make the distinction ☺). There were some interesting plants coming into bloom, but the added benefit of it was that it was very warm inside.
Our last stop within Schonbrunn was at the Strudel Show. We had debated going because we had just recently eaten lunch, and we figured it was probably going to be a little goofy. However, we arrived there, there wasn’t much debate. One because it smelled so good, and two because it had started raining again and we didn’t want to walk to the train station in the rain. It actually ended up being a lot of fun though. We pretty much just watched this girl tell us about making apple strudel. The neatest thing about it though was how they make the dough. They pretty much roll it out like a pizza by rotating in their hands. Its sort of hard to explain, but it was definitely pretty cool. Also as part of our ticket, we got a small sample of the strudel, which was definitely worth it.When the show was over (and it stopped raining by then), we made our way back to town and back to our hotel. On our way back we stopped at this fun little hat shop that was actually located in the underground walkways. We had passed the shop a couple of times over the past couple of days and decided that some nice Viennese traditional hunting hats would be a perfect gift. It was actually a really informative stop as well. The woman who helped us told us about the hats themselves. One thing I didn’t know was that the feathers that are worn are a symbol of prestige and where originally intended to be made from the feathers of the animals the gentleman had personally shot. With he help, we ended up making a couple very nice purchases, which I hope the intended recipients appreciate.
We then headed back to our hotel for another quick change because we planned on having a nice dinner that evening for the last night of our trip. We ended up having some time prior to our reservation though, so we walked along the shopping streets again, and mom made several purchases – I think she felt that she had to buy something, especially since we hadn’t done much shopping. She kept asking me if I saw anything I wanted, but I really couldn’t decide on anything. I eventually let her buy me some more chocolate though ☺
At 6:00 we then headed to our reservation for dinner. It was at a primo location restaurant located right across the square from St. Stephens. While the menu served a variety of international cuisine, we both went traditional Viennese dishes. Mom had Wiener Schnitzel and I got another veal dish, which I cannot remember the name of (I couldn’t even attempt to pronounce it when I ordered). It was also very good though.After dinner, we simply headed back to our hotel for an early evening where we packed, looked through our pictures, and attempted to get a good night sleep since we were getting up at 5:00 the next morning to head to airport since I had a 7:00am flight.
Overall, it was a very nice vacation and mom and I had a lot of fun. It always impresses me how many different things you can see within only a few days. I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed both cities that we went to. They were both very different, but in good ways.
So this finally completes my entries from my travel break (it only took 2 weeks!). I hope you enjoy all the pictures and my little anecdotes, but I also want to invite you to check out my mom's blog (http://www.chroniclesofacapecodgirl.blogspot.com/) if you aren't already. She is also attempting to chronicle our trip, so between the two of us we should have everything covered in case one of us missed something here or there. ENJOY!
No comments:
Post a Comment