Chapter 11 VIENNA.

25-10-88. Overcast.

I caught the train by the skin of my teeth, it was so close that the guard gave me a helping shove as the train was moving. Perhaps I should say that I caught the train by the skin of my rear end!

Saw some little Bambi's running alongside the railway line. They were gorgeous.

On arrival at the train station I was approached by a girl who offered me accommodation for 160/s.

After walking for about fifteen minutes we reached our destination. I had absolutely no idea of my whereabouts. Her place was really lovely, all done in white cane furniture with blue curtains and bedspreads.

THEN she informed me that it was unisex!!! Remembering my experience at the castle outside Munich I declined, even though the boys all offered me their lower bunks. They were all so lovely and friendly I guess I should have stayed.

Of course then I found myself out on the street totally lost, having to find my way back to the station and tourist office to look for new accommodation.

A room at a nearby hotel for 285/s including shower and breakfast. Big difference but what price modesty!

At last VIENNA. I wasn't exaggerating when I called it the city of my dreams.

St. Stephen's Cathedral with its magnificent ceramic tiled roof.

Mozart was married in St. Stephens and some say his funeral was held here, but as no one is certain where he is buried I find that hard to believe. He died a pauper.

Inside St. Stephens.

The Figarohaus where this famous opera was composed.

Music played a huge role in my upbringing and that included the beautiful Strauss waltzes and people singing about Vienna. I always dreamed of walking in the Vienna Woods and seeing the Blue Danube.

Also the wonderful movie The Great Waltz, the story of Johann Strauss, whet my appetite even more. Much later I found out that the whole thing had been shot in Hollywood!

The beautiful Blue Danube.

What a lucky person I was, and doing it on my own was a bonus and a big boost to my self confidence after a very nasty divorce. If I could realise this dream who knows what future things I could tackle.

By now it was 2.30 pm so I went on a three hour tour. (Isn't that what Gilligan and the skipper did?). I didn't see any of the things I anticipated. We were taken on a tour of the beautiful Schonnbrun Palace, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs.

I saw the room where at age six, Mozart entertained the Empress Maria Theresa and the Royal Court.

I had no way of knowing then that in a few short years I would be back to spend three months living in this magnificent city and would become familiar with all its beauty.

Schonnbrun. (Beautiful Spring.) The Summer Palace.

The guide was disappointing as he spoke first in German then switched to English very quickly in a heavily accented voice. Also by the time he got around to the English version we were way past the subject. At 290/ schillings very expensive.

The magnificent Gloriette in the grounds of Schonbrunn.

Undergoing reconstruction in 1988.

As I hadn't yet seen any of the sights which were the reason I was here, I decided to stay longer. If I travelled to my next destination at night I would not only have an extra day but also save on sleeping arrangements. (That budget never far from my mind!)

26-10-88. Clear. Cold wind.

Up early, down to the railway station to book a couchette, store my back pack, time now for my self guided tour.

Saw the beautiful Blue Danube, old and new. The New Danube is a bypass channel built on the left bank of the river to alleviate flooding. The excavated material was used to bank a flood free island. It is only used in case of floods and drainage is controlled by weirs. The project was completed in 1988.

View of the Danube old and new, and Danube Island.
Tick.

Caught the underground railway (U bahn) then went for a thirty minute bus ride to the Vienna Woods. It didn't cost me a cent, or should I say a schilling? I had my fare ready but no one came to collect. I found on my next trip that there is a machine in the centre of the bus where passengers insert their tickets or money.

BIG trouble - BIG fine had I been caught. Written in my diary at the time......"No one seems to worry about payment and as it is such a hassle with language, I just hopped on and off buses for the time I was here."

The Vienna Woods. I love this photo. I vividly remember walking down this track.
Tick.

Autumn. What a perfect time to be here, the colours were amazing. To be here on my own was a big deal for me.

Such a memorable day and I did it myself! No guide no 290/schillings, just me. My confidence was growing.

The city from the top of the Vienna Woods.

I continued searching for special places and found myself in Stadt Park and the statue of Johann Strauss, another dreamed of site.

Next trip he was all gold.Stunning but I prefer the black.
Tick.

The Danube at night.

Due to my fascination with this mighty river, I looked up some facts.

The Danube is the second longest river (2850km) in Europe after the Volga. Originating in the Black Forest and emptying into the Black Sea, flowing through or forming part of the borders of ten countries. Germany - Austria - Slovakia - Hungary - Croatia - Serbia - Romania - Bulgaria - Moldovia and the Ukraine.

I don't remember learning this at school. As a child I thought it belonged to Vienna. No doubt the fault of Strauss.

Vienna is renowned for the love of music. The city has been home to many of the greatest names in music history.....Beethoven, Brahms Mozart, Schubert, Haydn and Strauss. There is a special musicians area in the Vienna Central Cemetery where some of these legends are buried.

Johann Strauss the younger.

Franz Schubert.

Johannes Brahms.

The Mozart Memorial.

Haydn and Schubert began their music careers as members of the Vienna Boy's Choir. Haydn 1740-1750 and Schubert 1805-1813.

There are now over one hundred members of the choir, ranging from ten to fourteen years, divided into four groups who tour the world, giving three hundred concerts a year.

One such group was touring Australia at the outbreak of W.W.2 and being termed aliens were not allowed to leave. They were fostered out for the duration and all but two remained and made Australia their home.

I was fortunate to see them on my next visit, singing the mass in the chapel of the Hoffburg Palace.

The Hoffburg Palace. Home of the Hapsburgs.

Palace and Fiacre.

Forward to 1994.

Here I include photos of my next visit where I feel quite at home. When my friend's mother died, Erna ( living in Ipswich ) returned to Vienna to sell the family home, and I went too. It took a few months to finalise things so I made the most of this unexpected and much appreciated holiday. We had a great time running around in Erna's little car. We even had a train trip to Prague.

When we weren't in the car we were cycling all over Vienna, including along the banks of the Danube.

Outside Erna's house with my trusty little bike.

The Danube bank.

Often we would cycle along the bank to this lovely spot for a glass of wine.

The United Nations Building.

Stone Monuments from all members of the U.N.

This one representing Australia comes from N.S.W.

I was so lucky to be included in a birthday party for two of Erna's friends, the father and daughter. A pig on the spit garden party.

The Invitation.

Willi and the welcome speech.

The house behind them is their summer cottage,almost on the banks of the Danube. They also have a winter home in the heart of Vienna. I will add that they are pensioners and live oh so comfortably, travelling widely across Europe. The Austrian scheme is far superior to ours. But for all that they were lovely people and made me welcome ( taking us on long car trips all over Vienna and up into the Austrian Alps) We had sing songs in the car and the only one they knew in English was 'You are my sunshine.' Boy we gave that one a hiding.

With Erna and Willi's wife Maria.

The result of that pig on a spit. Look at all that pork!


Tante Annie who long ago had migrated to Canada, was the only one apart from Erna who spoke English so they spent the night as my translators.

Another outing. I was becoming quite fond of the German beer!

A heart -to-heart with Erna, and more beer!

Yet another drop! In Prague on the bank of the Vlatava River.

More fun was had during that stay when I was introduced to a neighbour's cherry tree. I had never seen a cherry on a tree and was overawed to see them growing everywhere in back gardens on these HUGE trees.. All one had to do was grab a bucket, pick and eat! Heaven.

Check out the size of the tree!!

pick one for the bucket, eat five.

Who could possibly resist?

I ate my way through buckets and buckets ,sitting in the garden on a swing, sometimes wandering down to the Danube to sit on the bank with my bowl. Life really was a bowl of cherries in those days, until........ One day (thankfully towards the end of my stay) I was sitting happily chomping away when I happened to look down to see two bright eyes looking up at me. I learnt that day that cherries come with grubs!!! It caused great amusement among Erna and her friends. Erna said, "Didn't you hear what Gerti said to you?" As Gerti only spoke German I had no idea.

Apparently Gerti ( with cherry earrings ) was asking if I was getting my protein for the day!

I also (with the help of some written instructions including telephone number) became quite proficient at travelling. This one got me to the State Opera House and home again.

I was able to attend several operas, an unforgettable experience. Including one time when I camped out all night to get a ticket to hear Pavarotti sing Tosca. A fun night that was spent with a group of young people from all over.

Settling down for the night, see the plastic bag of cherries.

The Opera House.

The night was spent on the steps of the Opera House and I was in good company. The Viennese love their opera and take advantage of the cheap tickets. Normally they are available several hours before the opera but on occasions when HUGE celebrities are to sing, numbers are handed out at 6am that morning.

Then you return at 4pm to purchase your ticket. As public transport doesn't start running until around 6am, crowds of people sleep over. Sitting beside us in the queue was a lady celebrating her birthday and family and friends visited her all night bringing champagne and good wishes which she shared with us. (We were more interested in the champagne than the good wishes! )

It was a night to remember, who cares that Pavarotti was a no show!

I couldn't get to sleep and was wandering the empty streets looking at shop windows at 3am. Great experience to see Vienna in the dead of night.

The much prized ticket.

This is a ticket to the 'Standing Place.' The Emperor Franz Joseph decreed that a section always be made available to the common people as long as the Opera House stood. It has seating for over two thousand patrons and a further five hundred standing. 40/schillings then was equal to $5 , so how cheap was that to see Pavarotti? He had a cold that night but we all enjoyed Tosca anyway.

All set for a night at the opera. Only one problem, Pavarotti was sick!

Another example of the' no age barrier.' They all adopted me. Maybe it was the cherries!! From New York, Phoenix, Madrid and Budapest. We were such good mates by the time the opera was over.

The girl from Hungary was a lovely girl but a walking disaster, She lost her ticket, then elastic broke in her skirt, hurried search for a safety pin, she was hot and sticky so decided to wash in the beautiful fountain, got into trouble for that, then had nothing to eat, no money, then lost some of her luggage. We managed to sort her out, they finally let her in sans ticket so a good time was had by all.

Back to 1988.

After a wonderful couple of days roaming this beautiful city I reluctantly found my way back to the railway station, arriving at 6 pm. I wanted to make sure there was no repeat performance of nearly missing the train so arrived very early, completely relaxed and ready for the next leg of my journey. It was an eight hour journey so I was expecting a good night's sleep. A change of language and money as it was an italian train. The conductor advised us to put our money on our person not our handbags, also to lock the cabin door. We were a mixed group of four males and four females and luckily one woman spoke Italian and translated for us.

We were soon on our way to....

VENICE.