The room was very cozy - so much that, I woke late according to my standards. It was the crows that woke me up. But I managed to get ready quite fast, and was ready to leave by 8:00. The landlady’s husband was there, and he offered me some hot refreshing coffee. After that I headed out.
Mariahilfer Guertel was deserted at that time. I had planned to head to Stephansplatz, but something seemed to tell me that it wouldn’t be a nice idea. The beautiful building of the Gumpendorferstrasse U-Bahn station was in front of me, and on intuition, I decided on Karlsplatz.
The metro station at Karlsplatz was equally beautiful like Gumpendorferstrasse. It was a single storey building, but ornamentally designed. At one corner of Karlsplatz, stood the majestic Vienna Opera House. It seemed in all ways similar to the one in Budapest. I walked around it, and came face to face with the large statue of Franz Joseph on his horse. This was the Albertina – the art museum. There was an exhibition of Impressionism running, that featured the works of (among others) Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Seurat, Degas and Lautrec. I knew that if I got in, I could spend the whole day there, and hence with a heavy heart, decided to give it a miss.
The building across from Josefplatz seemed to be buzzing with activity. People were crowded in its foyer. Curious, I went inside to see what the fuss was about. In the middle of the building was an enclosure, around which stood numerous stables. From each of them, gazed a horse – these were the famous Lipizzaners: White, huge and graceful.
Michaelplatz was brimming with people. This was the entrance into the Sisi Museum and the Imperial apartments of the Hofburg Palace. The square was full of beautiful horse-drawn carriages standing in line like the autorickshaws at Bangalore City railway station. I headed to the ticket counter at the Sisi museum. The young girl at the counter was mighty amused on hearing that I was from Bangalore. “Oh! I have been to Bangalore and South India,” she squealed.
This was what Snag was looking for all of yesterday – all the gold, silver and the jewelry. The gold, silver and the porcelain cutlery with colorful designs and paintings were awesome. The golden centerpieces were magnificent. The imperial apartments were exquisitely furnished, and there was a separate section on the “controversial” life of the beautiful Empress Elizabeth, with exact replicas of her jewels, wedding dress and coronation dress. Though so much detail was given on the life of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth, understandably the details on the controversial suicide of Crown Prince Rudolph and the events before and after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were completely absent.
The Hofburg Café had perhaps the best Apfelstrudel I had ever eaten. It just melted in the mouth. Along with the pie, and a choice of tea/coffee/chocolate, you are also given a pamphlet with the recipe for making Apfelstrudel.
Outside, the Harvest festival was still on. There were no folk performances, but the stalls were full of people. You could buy and sample out everything – bread, honey, wine, meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. Tractors stood decorated with plants, vegetables and fruit. A huge ensemble of vegetables and fruits was displayed at the entrance. People were running around, dressed in traditional Austrian costumes. The huge tents catered for beer and pastries from all over Austria. Many games like quizzes, milking the cow, chopping logs etc., were attracting people in hordes. It was also a sumptuous opportunity for lunch, with hay bales used as seats, which I could not miss.
It was almost time to start heading back home, and I decided to walk to Stephansplatz for the last train back to the Westbahnhof. The street leading to Stephansplatz was busy. This seemed to be the “Vaci Ut” of Vienna. There were plush shops everywhere, with people going gaga over the wares they displayed. The masqueraders were also there, but they seemed to be more innovative than their counterparts in Budapest. I spotted an invisible man, and a Tutankhamen, who managed to scare a lady who went close to him to take a picture. At the centre of the square stood the massive St Stephen’s Cathedral. Alas, the steeple of this church too was under renovation. The square was teeming with people, thanks to a group who were giving street performances. There were numerous people dressed like Mozart, trying to sell tickets for the evening concert at the palace. The cathedral itself was not different from the numerous others that you find across Europe, but all the people out there made it very colorful.
The train left exactly at 5:55 PM. It was the end of my memorable trip.
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