And so it was, that about a week ago, we booked a great deal on a hotel in Bratislava, Slovakia and planned to spend a day in Vienna, Austria and a day at Familypark Neusiedlersee (each about an hour from Bratislava, the three forming a triangle).
We had some nice, big rooms at the NH Gate One Hotel in Bratislava. Here's the group playing cards in one of our two rooms on Friday evening:
On Saturday we headed in to Vienna to explore--none of us having ever been there. We started at the much spoken about St Stephen's Cathedral:
St Stephen's is certainly a masterpiece of building (as are so many of the European cathedrals). I know I will sounds jaded typing this, but I was not all that entranced by it. I think is partly because it was jammed packed with tourists (I know being Easter weekend added to that--but this was seriously crowds bordering on St Peter's Basillica levels, and it was about 10 a.m.--crowds are nearly always worse later in the day), partly that most of the interior was gated off, which just makes it feel strange, and partly that the carvings, stained glass, and other art were nearly all especially gruesome and showing the Crucifixion and other tortures of Christ in gory detail--which is just not something I can enjoy. Of course, there is some of that in nearly every church, but this was much more than the norm.
After looking around St Stephan's for a bit we headed down the famed shopping street toward the opera house. None of us were particularly taken with the street either. It was too modern, too crowded, and with the exception of the cute little flower shops, pretty much devoid of charm, in our opinions (I was already thinking that when Dave commented that "this city is just not speaking to me" and then both kids agreed).
Every few feet were the "Mozart Men"--ticket sellers hawking shows featuring classic music, all dressed in classic old composer costumes. Some could be pretty aggressive, demanding to know "why not?" when you told them "no thank you" when asked if you wanted to buy tickets. We even overheard one couple say they had already seen one and the person demanded to know "when." Yeah, this did not help the lack of ambiance. Also, the vibe we all got (which may or may not be true) was that pretty much everyone in the area was a tourist. In Heidelberg, or Barcelona, or London, there are MANY tourists, but there are also many locals right in the hearts of the city--and it does change the feel; it leaves you feeling you are in a tourist city, not a tourist trap.
When we got to the opera house, we were underwhelmed:
Even less so when we saw the giant TV screen on the front of the building--ugh!
At this point we were all pretty disenchanted with Vienna--but there was still one big "attraction" to see: the Hofburg Palace complex. So, off we went!
Above is the Albertina museum section of the very large complex that includes museums, the Spanish Riding School, a park, etc. We wandered around in the area for a while:
Eventually we made it to this courtyard:
Do you see that little archway in the bottom lefthand side of the photo? Back, behind the statue and not in the area all the tourists were heading? We happened to have decided to wander through it--and it was almost like we had found the secret portal to the second Vienna--the pleasant one with locals, and pretty trees, and a nice feeling to it. We could not have been more surprised in the change of the feeling of the place. There was a big, lovely park, locals with kids on scooters and picnic lunches mixed in with substantially fewer tourist, a pretty church, etc.
So, it turns out that while most of Vienna was really not overly appealing to us, hiding within the city is a jewel that we all enjoyed, and that I am sure I would enjoy visiting again if my travels take me back to the city.
--Hadley
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