The Raff’s in Elegant Vienna, Austria: November 30 – December 3, 2019

“I pick Vienna” said Mike during our planning session on where to go in Europe for our last few weeks.  I was surprised but thrilled.  Later, he said he didn’t even remember picking Vienna, but he thought it was a good choice. So, we dropped our original plan to spend longer in Morocco (you might remember we ended up not going there at all)  and headed back to Central Europe to enjoy the Christmas markets, beer and learn some more about those Habsburgs. 

Vienna greeted us with sunshine but cold temperatures and a freezing wind.  I was thankful for our new Black Friday duds that we bought in Granada (You may also enjoy us wearing something new).  It was quite the difference from Granada’s 60-degree weather!  It was so cold, that even the horses have hats.

One of the things I was most excited about experiencing was the Christmas markets!  They did not disappoint, and I enjoyed checking out the different markets around town.  One of the best parts was experiencing Gluwein, a hot red wine.  It’s not just the wine that is fun but also the whole process of renting a mug for a small deposit.  It was neat and fun to see the locals enjoying their Gluwein while walking around the markets.

Of course, I also really liked the giant pretzels!  Plus, we did a little Christmas shopping for the family.  I was surprised at the variety of each shop and the quality of the items.  Such a great way to get in the Christmas spirit!

We continued our Vienna-cultured drinking by going to several cafes.  The cafés are so elegant with chandeliers and velvet benches.  We enjoyed our cup of coffee and watched the Viennese enjoy their coffee while reading the papers.  The newspapers are held together with wooden spines.  It was exactly what I pictured it to be in my head.

The desserts in the cafés are also amazing.  The Sacher Torte was made famous in 1832 because the king took a liking to it.  There is always a line to get in, so we waited 30 minutes in the freezing cold.  The inside of the café is quite posh.  The cake was delicious as was my hot chocolate with chocolate liquor, which warmed me right up.

Continuing with our culinary experience, we also enjoyed the largest and best schnitzel I have ever eaten.  The local joint near our hotel was packed, so we thankfully shared a table with some friendly locals.  They are famous for their portions, so they even have a table in the dining room with aluminum foil to wrap up your leftovers!  It was yummy as was our first Austrian beer.

Vienna is famous for its music, so we took advantage of their economical ways to enjoy it as a local.  The first experience was attending Sunday Mass at Augustinian church.  This is the royal church where the Habsburgs attended, and it is well known for its music at mass.  We were treated to an amazing choir accompanied by the organ.  Everything was in German, so we just followed along and enjoyed the music and people watching.

We also opted to attend the opera.  There are 597 standing seats for each show for 10 Euros each.  It is quite the steal!  We got our tickets and were shepherded inside to our “seats”.  It was packed, but I scored us a spot with a railing and a wall!  We secured our spot by tying my scarf around the railing. Then we headed out to explore the beautiful building and people watch.  We got a glass of wine and found a spot to sit.  The people were decked out. We saw evening gowns and tuxes.  We did our best, but we were severely underdressed in our new sweaters and climbing approach shoes!

The opera was Don Giovanni by Mozart.  We had a little screen translating the music to English, so it was easy to follow along.  The music was awesome, and the story was funny.  What an amazing treat to see an opera in the famous Vienna Opera house. 

It is a tradition to eat at the brat stand outside the opera house after the show.  Since we were standing, we only made it through the first act.  Afterwards we were starved so headed to the stand.  We both ordered a currywurst.  The worker told us that the currywursts do not come on a bun. I said, no problem and Mike said I’ll take whatever comes on a bun.  Well, the guy misunderstood us and after a giant sigh, proceeded to slap the currywursts on buns.  We felt bad making such a faux pas, and I’m pretty sure he thought we were dumb.  Oops!

I loved walking around Vienna as you are surrounded by elegant buildings and store fronts.  We really enjoyed our daily walking commute to downtown.

In pure gothic elegance, St. Stephens Cathedral towers over old town.  It has a gothic exterior and was completed in 1453.  It is unique for its south tower (450’ tall) completed before the church and all in the gothic style.  Most of the time, the tower is completed last.  I also liked the colorful roof tiles including the Habsburg double eagle.

The interior was also beautiful.  I think the church architects had a good sense of humor. Under the royal balcony, there is a statue of the architect, supporting the entire thing. 

I especially liked the pulpit built into a column with great details in the stonework.  Wheels rolling uphill with 3 spokes (for the Holy Trinity) and wheels with 4 spokes rolling down (for the 4 elements of earth).  Plus, the designer is peaking out a window below!

To continue our education on the Hapsburgs, we toured the imperial apartments in their city palace called the Holfburg.  It included their extensive porcelain collection which showed off the pure wealth of the Habsburgs.  There were so many china place settings and salt and pepper shakers!  The highlight was a table set for a banquet.  The center piece was over the top:  all mirrors, candles, and flowers – of course all gold plated!  Each place had it owns wine and water decanters plus a full setting of silverware.  Just wow!

We continued our tour of the Habsburgs’ wealth with a quick visit to the treasury to see their crown jewels.  Highlights included:

Crown of Rudolf II (1602).  Super fancy and looked like a helmet.  It was used as the Holy Roman Emperor (HRE) crown for centuries.

2,680 carat emerald that was never cut as the cutter was too scared he would shatter it.  It was big but ugly.

HRE crown from 960.  So many giant jewels and gold!

On our last day in Vienna, we opted for a quick day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia.  The two capitals are the closest in all of Europe, only 50km apart.  During the Hapsburg rule of Hungary from 1526-1830, Bratislava was the capital of Hungry.  This made it easy for the Habsburgs to keep an eye on both kingdoms.

Old town was abandoned for years during communism and has just started to come back to life with shops and restaurants.  After the fall of communism, it took many years to figure out who were the rightful owners of each of the buildings in town.  We enjoyed walking around the town and checking out the UFO bridge.  I also enjoyed the random statues!

Our time in Vienna was jam-packed with sightseeing, markets and enjoying the local culture.  I was surprised how much we both enjoyed it, and we both want to come back someday.  I’m thankful that Mike picked Vienna, even if he can’t remember doing it!

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2 Responses to The Raff’s in Elegant Vienna, Austria: November 30 – December 3, 2019

  1. Anna Martucci says:

    Hi!!!!! Merry Christmas guys! Looks like a wonderful adventure!

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