Church Day!

One of the things Tom was looking for this trip was Sunday in Vienna.  It is a Catholic Holy Day, and the Cardinal of Vienna would be saying a high Mass at the Cathedral.   A high Mass means everything would be sung or chanted during the Mass.  

The Cardinal was backed up by 15 priests, a 100 person choir, and a 300 year old pipe organ.  The place was packed, but we had arisen early and were seated maybe 15 yards from the altar.  The incense was smoking, the angelic voices in harmony recited the prayers, and it lasted almost two hours.  It was all that Tom had hoped for, but damn it was cold in there and the pews never did warm up.   Following Mass it took us 20 minutes to get out because of the onslaught of people trying to enter for the next Mass were all fighting over the same entry way.

The main Altar you see in the pictures was completed in 1641, but the original work began in 1147.  St Stephan is also where Mozart took his marriage vows and was buried at young age (one should not draw any conclusions for having those two facts joined).  The Cathedral suffered greatly during WWII due to Allied bombing, but was rebuilt and still remains a magical place today.  If you like pomp and circumstance – today would have been your day!

So it is Sunday and you just went to an amazing church service… what should we do next?  Why of course - Why not go ride the oldest ferris wheel in the world!  We descended into the depths below the church and were whisked to our next destination “Riesenrad” (The Giant Ferris Wheel} at the Prater just a short subway ride away.  

Unlike ferris wheels you may have ridden before, this one has cars that are the size of train caboose.  It slowly goes around allowing you to look in all directions around the city.  Not necessarily a once in a lifetime moment, but we are glad we did it.  Check that one off the bucket list.

By this time in our trip we have adjusted nicely to the coffee shop thing.  Even though Starbucks is trying to take over the town they cannot match the intimacy and pastries at the traditional Viennese coffee shop.  Our lunch stop brought to a small shop named Aira, where a café latte with a ham and cheese toastie was called lunch, and a piece of an amazing sponge and cookie cake that was as light as feather.  There is no rush in these coffee shops.  Stay the day, read the paper, meet your friends, and for a moment remember simpler times.

It was back to the subterranean world to navigate across the city to our hotel.  Pretty much a drop run event as we wanted to be at the Music House Museum by 3:30.  Performing was group called “Pure Voices”.  A group of 20 women, whose voices are instruments filled a 5 story atrium with the sounds of Christmas.  So enjoyable!  From there we toured the museum.  I highly recommend this place for all who may visit this city.  With many interactive things to do the tour will take you from the science of sound to works of the great masters.   We spent over 2 hours in the museum and felt like we rushed it.  The most fun was an interactive display that allowed you to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.   Climbing into position with a light sensitive baton, Tom began with a slight motion with hand and the orchestra responded with Johann Strauss “Blue Danube”.  

Things were going great as the music filled the room, but with one fatal jerk of the hand things went badly and Tom could not recover.  Finally one of the musicians in the second row of strings stood up and said in German (close caption in English) that he had played this waltz for over thirty years, and each time he played the music made him cry.  What you have done to it Mr. Conductor is a scandal – please step down!   And the orchestra cheered! 

With a broken ego we departed the museum to a place Tom can excel.  A brewery named 1516, which is also the year it went into business.  They made a very nice pils, but it was very smokey and time for dinner so we did not stay long.

Dinner was more continental tonight.  We each enjoyed a small fillet with a peppercorn sauce and a baked potato accompanied by a bottle of Austrian red wine, Zweigelt.  Following our meal we just window shopped and strolled the streets.  Lo and behold we ended up at a Christmas market and participated in some outdoor drinking.  The winds had died from early in the day and it was absolutely beautiful night and this beautiful church was our backdrop to end a wonderful day.

Karlskirche a beautiful baroque church 

 Returning to the hotel we clicked on the TV to catch some world news, but instead watched about 30 minutes of the 49ers vs the Seahawks with German commentary. Very strange indeed.  Good Night to all those across the sea.