A Viennese Adventure: Part I

Vienna was a blur. A literal blur of snow flurries and icy rain combined with rapid cobblestone walking, extended museum visits, 40 euros worth of coffee and hot chocolate drinks, and the ultimate umbrella purchase, all contributed to 2 ½ days in Vienna that seemed a mere 2 ½ hours…. And yet in those dream-like two days, we saw Vienna. Yes, the grand sights such as the Hofburg Palace, St.Stephan’s Cahedral, the Staatsoper (the opera house), and the Albertina, were either viewed quickly from the outside or from the warm comfort of a nearby café.
Soon after our arrival on Monday, Jason and I immediately went to the Hundertwasserhaus, an architectural masterpiece of sorts, elevated to the Top 10 list of things to see in Vienna by our guidebook. Friedensreich Hundertwasser—a flamboyant Austrian artist, designed the ‘haus’, which consisted of both the interior and intricate exterior of an apartment complex. The building is colored reds, blues, oranges, and whites, with a variety of ceramic tiles inlaid on the outside to depict the size of each apartment. Ceramic pillars and onion spires are also part of this unusual dwelling.
After our little Alice in Wonderland adventure (I really felt that was where I was), we took the U-bahn to the heart of Vienna: Stephansdom. Although claimed as “Vienna’s most loved landmark and Austria’s finest Gothic edifice”, a large portion of the church was under construction, and a nearby group of breakdancers quickly caught our eyes instead. After watching the quite impressive performance (and after a few H&M purchases), Jason toured the Haus der Musik (an interactive museum that deals with the digitalization of sound), while I ran around the cold, white stone streets of old town Vienna. Amidst the high end shopping stores, I was able to observe mass at Stephansdom, find the Hofburg Palace in all its brilliance (and walk besides the Roman ruins preserved in front of the palace), see the Augustinerkirche where I went to church with my Europe Semester group two years ago, and silently and thoughtfully marvel at the Albertinaplatz statues built to commemorate the victims of war (in particular the Holocaust) and fascism. I then returned to find Jason, briefly took him on the route I previously walked, and then to dinner.
After our meal, we headed towards the Neues Rathaus (the new court house) to see it brilliantly illuminated at night. We sat on the steps of the Burgtheater (one of the most important theaters in the German-speaking world) and marveled at the lit scene in front of us. Spying two steeples in the distance, my curiosity continued to pull Jason through the cold until we reached what is known as the Votivkirche—a ornately built sandstone church located on the edge of Sigmund Freud Park. Yet as soon as the pictures started, so did the rain, and we made a beeline to the nearby station and returned to the hostel.
The next morning, I opened the curtains of our room to see snow falling from the sky. I immediately yelled at Jason, “Look Outside!”
“It’s snowing”, he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and I tried to calm my excitement knowing the native Alaskan was simply being revisited by the familiar ☺.
Coming out of the U-bahn station that morning, I felt like a little gopher checking the weather, and then scurrying through the snow with Jason, my gopher friend, to Haas & Haas, a quaint tea room, for breakfast. The breakfast was idyllic: I sat looking up through the window to see snow lightly falling on the gothic towers of Stephansdom, while enjoying my frühstücktoast (breakfast toast) which consisted of a big piece of toast with a circle cut out of the bread, a friend egg in the hole, all over slices of bacon. Combined with Viennese coffee, it was quite the scrumptious breakfast ☺.
We were then on our way to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where our eyes were privileged by the artistic delights of Peter Breughel the Elder (and his Peasant Wedding), Peter Paul Rubens’ fleshy nudes, Madonna of the Cherries by Titian, and some self portraits of Rembrandt, to merely name a few. The forty or so rooms of the museum, the same slow-pace walking and constant observance (don’t want the museum guards to think you are disinterested), and continuous effort to quiet my clicking boots with each step, made me a little weary. Yet after traversing the frozen, snow-blown streets of Vienna to view the Secession building, the Schiller monument, and the Burggarten of the Hofburg Palace, I would have done anything to be back clunking around an art museum in my boots, just to be warm. Our outdoor frozen brigade continued round the palace until reaching the Neue Burg—the palace’s large colonnade (now housing the national library and a few museums), but where in 1938, Hitler stood on the balcony and announced Nazi takeover of Austria. We walked though the magnificent marble and gold-plated architecture of the palace courtyards and made our way to the Café Demel (famous for its cakes that used to be made for the Empress Sisi) and enjoyed hot chocolate and espresso, deciding not to spend 10 euros for a small slice of Sisi’s favorite cakes ☺.
Next on the agenda: the Jewish district and the Misrachi Haus (a little museum that displays the remains of an old synagogue discovered on site as well as information about Vienna’s Jewish community before and after the Holocaust). Despite the advantage of a map (yet unaided by the area construction and of course unrelenting snowfall), we passed it twice, and our numb fingers and toes had the louder voice, and we went back to the hostel.
Now, Jason and I were about to embark on a pretty unique part of our trip. We were going to go to dinner at the home of the Warners who are missionaries in Vienna (and supported by Bethany in Thousand Oaks). I met them when I was in 5th grade, and had emailed them when I knew we were coming to the city. All I wanted was the opportunity to talk to Mr. Warner about his job with Barnabas International and working with educating future pastors or missionaries in former communist countries. Instead, Jason and I were blessed by being welcomed into their home. Thus a U-bahn and a Schnell-bahn ride later, we arrived on a tiny platform on the outskirts of the city. Although it was dark, cold, and the ground sprinkled with snow, we only had a couple of streets to walk before reaching the house. As we walked out of the station, a random guy with an umbrella looked at us and said “Howdy” (or at last that is what I though he said). Jason and I nodded, kept walking, only to be resummoned a few steps later with, “Are you Holly?” To which I replied, “Mr. Warner?” Now I haven’t seen Mr. Warner since I was 11, and since we weren’t expecting him to meet us, you can understand the overlooked “Howdy” ☺. Anyways, after a warm-hearted greeting, he led Jason and I to his home where Mrs. Warner had a delicious dinner prepared for us and we all enjoyed lively conversation with them and two of their children. Quite the delightful evening ☺.

To be continued….