Day 6
We started the day with a 4 hour guided tour of the city & it took us from one major historic building to another, what the tour did for us was to reinforce the perceived notions that we had that this city caters for those who have an appreciation for the arts, history & classical music.
We started the day with a 4 hour guided tour of the city & it took us from one major historic building to another, what the tour did for us was to reinforce the perceived notions that we had that this city caters for those who have an appreciation for the arts, history & classical music.
The highlight of our tour was a visit to Schonbrunn Palace, we spent only 2 hours there, for anybody who is planning a visit here I suggest you allow a full day.
Not only is it large (bigger than Buckingham Palace) the manicured gardens would cover more than 100 acres, they commenced building it in 1680 & completed it in 1745 , the place is full of priceless artifacts & artwork , the history of the residents of that time up until 1918 played a major part in molding world events.
During the afternoon we went to a conducted tour of the Vienna Opera House, unfortunately the interior was largely destructed by a bomb during the 2nd world war but they have painstakingly restored it to its original beautiful condition. The tour was only a little over an hour but it was superbly done as we got to sit in the Emperors box, as well as going backstage to see all of the workings that go on in changing sets from one concert to another.
We decided that we could not leave Vienna without attending a concert which we did at the Imperial Palace, with a 40 piece orchestra with performances from Baritone & Soprano singers it proved to be a terrific concert, we enjoyed it far more than we originally thought that we would.
On the way to the concert we had to walk through the major tourist area & thought we would once again partake of the local cuisine which did not work out as the first restaurant thought they were doing us a favour in allowing us to dine there & after 10 minutes with waiters walking around with their noses in the air & ignoring us we returned the compliment by walking out & leaving the Maitre de with his mouth wide open that we would do such a thing. The next restaurant also proved to be a problem, after asking for a table in a non smoking section, we found there was no such area as the stench of cigarettes was throughout the entire room, once again we got up & left.
For a city that prides itself on its fine culture, it is difficult to understand why they are so tolerant of smoking in public places.
Third time lucky we came across a small Italian restaurant which served great Calamari & Pasta; we had a nice dinner with once again some very good local wine which set us up for the concert.
Day 7
This morning we went to the famous Spanish Riding School which is where they both train the specially bred Lipizzaner horses & perform at the historic Hofburg Palace. The establishment the riding school goes back to the 17th century. The stables, facilities, saddlery & horses are magnificent.
In preparing the horses they take a long term view, they are not broken in until they are 4, they then spend another 5-6 years in training before they are ready to perform & are retired at approximately 25, the average life span is 32 which is very old for horses.
We had a traditional Austrian workers lunch, a Bratwurst Sausage with wholesome Rye brown bread accompanied by Mustard standing up at a counter in the main thoroughfare in the main street. They make good sausages.
As we had not ventured outside of Vienna we decided to take a cruise up the Danube in the afternoon.
This proved to be a good choice as we got to see the outer suburbs of the city with new (post 2nd world war) developments in the hills, this area has some similarities with the Dandenong’s in Melbourne.
The Danube is a huge river approx 500 metres wide & the colour of the water is similar to the Yarra. It carries a lot of traffic with many long narrow cruise ships berthed at different docks. The nicest feature in our eyes was the prolific amount of parkland surrounding the river complimented by numerous restaurants on the banks.
For dinner we went to arguably Vienna's best restaurant “Steireck”, it is located in one of the City’s 850 public parks & is a superb modern restaurant, the ambiance was apparent from the moment we were greeted at the entrance, the decor was exceptional & the presentation of the meals was something else eg. we were offered over 20 home made breads/rolls to select from to accompany our meal.
Different shaped & designed cutlery & crockery were served for each course.
There were over 60 wonderful cheeses to choose from on the cheese trolley.
Apart from the small tastings of Snails, Truffles & Crayfish we were served to loosen up our taste buds with compliments from the Chef we chose the degustation menu of 5 courses which was absolutely fabulous with the standout dishes being the Venison & Cherries for dessert. We were given small cards with all the ingredients used in our dishes if anybody wants a copy when we get home.
The only hiccup was with our original drink order when the beer they served was not quite cold enough, but as soon as I pointed that out the service became exceptional.
It was a memorable dinner not only for the quality of the dining but what happened about half way through our dinner. Here we were in an euphoric mood enchanted by our surroundings & exceptional dining when all of a sudden we heard a loud “ bark “from the table directly behind us, it was a bloody dog, people had actually brought their dog with them to this the most sophisticated restaurant you will ever find. It did not end there, when the owner took the dog outside temporarily for what I assume was a toilet break it disturbed a second dog which also let out with a loud bark, unbelievable!
However we leave Vienna with fond memories, we found it to be a grand city, very sophisticated with a culture of excellence, if the Arts, Classical music and History are your bag, this is the city for you to visit.
We decided that we could not leave Vienna without attending a concert which we did at the Imperial Palace, with a 40 piece orchestra with performances from Baritone & Soprano singers it proved to be a terrific concert, we enjoyed it far more than we originally thought that we would.
On the way to the concert we had to walk through the major tourist area & thought we would once again partake of the local cuisine which did not work out as the first restaurant thought they were doing us a favour in allowing us to dine there & after 10 minutes with waiters walking around with their noses in the air & ignoring us we returned the compliment by walking out & leaving the Maitre de with his mouth wide open that we would do such a thing. The next restaurant also proved to be a problem, after asking for a table in a non smoking section, we found there was no such area as the stench of cigarettes was throughout the entire room, once again we got up & left.
For a city that prides itself on its fine culture, it is difficult to understand why they are so tolerant of smoking in public places.
Third time lucky we came across a small Italian restaurant which served great Calamari & Pasta; we had a nice dinner with once again some very good local wine which set us up for the concert.
Day 7
This morning we went to the famous Spanish Riding School which is where they both train the specially bred Lipizzaner horses & perform at the historic Hofburg Palace. The establishment the riding school goes back to the 17th century. The stables, facilities, saddlery & horses are magnificent.
In preparing the horses they take a long term view, they are not broken in until they are 4, they then spend another 5-6 years in training before they are ready to perform & are retired at approximately 25, the average life span is 32 which is very old for horses.
We had a traditional Austrian workers lunch, a Bratwurst Sausage with wholesome Rye brown bread accompanied by Mustard standing up at a counter in the main thoroughfare in the main street. They make good sausages.
As we had not ventured outside of Vienna we decided to take a cruise up the Danube in the afternoon.
This proved to be a good choice as we got to see the outer suburbs of the city with new (post 2nd world war) developments in the hills, this area has some similarities with the Dandenong’s in Melbourne.
The Danube is a huge river approx 500 metres wide & the colour of the water is similar to the Yarra. It carries a lot of traffic with many long narrow cruise ships berthed at different docks. The nicest feature in our eyes was the prolific amount of parkland surrounding the river complimented by numerous restaurants on the banks.
For dinner we went to arguably Vienna's best restaurant “Steireck”, it is located in one of the City’s 850 public parks & is a superb modern restaurant, the ambiance was apparent from the moment we were greeted at the entrance, the decor was exceptional & the presentation of the meals was something else eg. we were offered over 20 home made breads/rolls to select from to accompany our meal.
Different shaped & designed cutlery & crockery were served for each course.
There were over 60 wonderful cheeses to choose from on the cheese trolley.
Apart from the small tastings of Snails, Truffles & Crayfish we were served to loosen up our taste buds with compliments from the Chef we chose the degustation menu of 5 courses which was absolutely fabulous with the standout dishes being the Venison & Cherries for dessert. We were given small cards with all the ingredients used in our dishes if anybody wants a copy when we get home.
The only hiccup was with our original drink order when the beer they served was not quite cold enough, but as soon as I pointed that out the service became exceptional.
It was a memorable dinner not only for the quality of the dining but what happened about half way through our dinner. Here we were in an euphoric mood enchanted by our surroundings & exceptional dining when all of a sudden we heard a loud “ bark “from the table directly behind us, it was a bloody dog, people had actually brought their dog with them to this the most sophisticated restaurant you will ever find. It did not end there, when the owner took the dog outside temporarily for what I assume was a toilet break it disturbed a second dog which also let out with a loud bark, unbelievable!
However we leave Vienna with fond memories, we found it to be a grand city, very sophisticated with a culture of excellence, if the Arts, Classical music and History are your bag, this is the city for you to visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment