Fast and Furious - Wien Style

Today was a absolute blur! We began the day unforgivably early at 9 AM with a whirlwind walking tour of the Stephandsom and its environs. The highlight was the area's namesake - St. Stephen's cathedral. Not only is the building gorgeous - with a chevron-patterned tile roof like I've never seen - but it is revealing. Construction on the building began in 1147, but almost nothing remains of the original. Instead the building exists as an amalgam of many architectural styles, revealing the tastes of the various rulers that added to it over time.

While stopped at a statue of a Habsburg emperor, our guide, Pier, also told us a comical story about the origin of the croissant. Many people believe that the croissant originated in Paris, he said, but not so! It was invented in Vienna after the Habsburgs defeated the Ottomans. They drew inspiration for the croissant's shape, from the crescent in the Ottoman flag. Supposedly it was meant to provocative, as if to say "Dear Ottomans, we are eating you for breakfast and washing you down with coffee that comes from your own empire. Love, the Hapsburgs"

Pier also insisted that Cappucinnos owe their origins to Vienna. They were invented, he claimed, by the sneaky Cappuchin monks. The Cappuchin's weren't allowed to consume any stimulants, but loved coffee - a dilemma that they solved by pouring steamed milk over their morning joe to disguise it. And voila - cappucinno!

All that talk of coffee made us hanker for some so we headed to Hawleka, one of the premier coffee houses in Vienna, historically popular with intellectuals. Supposedly lots of scheming has occurred within its smokey interior since its establishment in 1939. They didn't have decaf, and sneered at its mention, so Austin had to sit one out.

After a leisurely espresso, it was time to see the Lipazzaners at the Spanish Riding School.

Photo c/o Trip Advisor (I couldn't snap any good ones from our seats)

The true equine ballerinas are on summer vacation, so I resisted getting too excited but it turns out there was still a show, just of a different nature. Instead of a display of Piaffes, and other moves known as "airs above the ground," the Spanish Riding School offered a carriage show with a special guest appearance by the Lippizan foals and colts. The colts, a group of 6 stallions selected as theupcoming batch of performers, were hilarious. At only three years old, they are still trying to figure out a pecking order which resulted in much kicking, nipping, and snorting at each other.

After ooing and awing at the three month old foals they let loose in the arena, Austin and I made our way to Graham Greene's favorite Viennese haunt, Cafe Mozart. We ordered the restaurant's specialty - a dish called Taefelspitz that consists of boiled beef and root vegetables with potato, creamed spinach and apple sauce garnish. We split it, and even after we felt stuffed to the gills there was still enough meat left to sate at least a few Habsburg soldiers.

Taefelspitz

Garden at Schonbrunn

Garden at Belvedere

After lunch came the real maelstrom. Pier grabbed his car and we hit up two gardens (the Belvedere and the epic Schonbrunn, which rivals if not surpasses Versailles), the Freud Museum, Otto Wagner's Post Office Savings Bank, the UN compound, the Prater, and finally my favorite the Hundertwasserhaus. Designed by Hundertwasser as a socialist apartment block, the Hundertwasserhaus was meant as an homage to nature. There are no straight lines - for "straight lines are ungodly!"- the floors are undulating, and trees sprout willy-nilly from balconies, windows and the roof. The color scheme and materials, however, are less than organic with sesame street reds and blues, mirrors and glass dominating the facade. From what I gathered though, his point was less to make a building that could have come from nature, and more to show how the man-made environment can and should be reconcilable with nature.

We also drove by Hundertwasser's incinerator which was the quirkiest, most wonderful thing I've seen in a while.

Hundertwasserhaus

Hundertwasser's Incinerator

I really wish we had another day in Vienna. Today was amazing, but a little surface-level for my taste and I would have loved to have hit up the art galleries (they have amazing Bruegel and Klimt collections), as well as have walked more around the areas we drove through in the afternoon. Regardless, we did as much as we could with the time we had and had a darn good time doing it.

Tomorrow to Salzburg - the land of the Sound of Music!

Food for thought: Dinkels and some Hundertwasser quotes.

Dinkel. Such a better name than Pretzel.

On straight lines: If a lion is stalking you, or a shark is out to kill you, you are of course in mortal danger. We have lived with these dangers for millions of years. The straight line is a man-made danger. There are so many lines, millions of lines, but only one of them is deadly and that is the straight line drawn with a ruler. The danger of the straight line cannot be compared with the danger of organic lines described by snakes, for instance. The straight line is completely alien to mankind, to life, to all creation. It is a fiction that exists everywhere you live. Our whole civilization is founded on the straight line. The straight line came to humanity with the brick, with modular construction.

On being a responsible house-guest: "If man walks in nature's midst, then he is nature's guest and must learn to behave as a well-brought-up guest.

On dreaming: When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many dream together it is the beginning of a new reality. (Ironic for someone vehemently anti-communist...)