Saturday 26 August 2017

One Night in Wien

For most of my Uber ride from the hotel to the Bratislava central station today, the song on the radio was One Night in Bangkok. Which couldn't have been more perfect a theme to send me off for my overnight stay in Vienna.

When I was planning my trip, I wanted to go from Bratislava to Krakow, but you can't fly direct and the trains are all way too long and/or require a stop at some small town in between. I finally determined that a stop in Vienna was the smart way to go, even though I wasn't particularly convinced one way or the other about this city when I visited it last. On visit number two, my impressions are about the same. It's a city. The stuff worth seeing is so overrun with tourists as to be almost a theme park, but DAMN this place is beautiful. Just effing gorgeous everywhere you look.

So early this afternoon, after a brief (but hot, no AC, and the weather continues to emulate the pits of Hell) train ride, I arrived in Vienna and headed out to make something of my short time here. My hotel is right on one corner of the Stadtpark, so I started by taking a walk across it, soaking up a nice dose of nature, and occasional shade, en route to Albertina. On the way, I stopped in briefly at Annakirche, which is nothing much to look at from the outside, but if you step inside, you'll find a very pretty church in active use.

But Albertina was the star of the show. It's an old Habsburg palace turned into a museum of art and Habsburg domestic life, and I loved it. The staterooms featuring how the House of Austria may have lived there were fine, but even with all their ornate gold and crystal, they paled in comparison to the art.  While everyone else was gaping at the Andy Warhols down the hall, I was falling in love with the work of Anselm Kiefer (my favourite of which is at right). It's an awesome collection. If you're a modern art lover and you find yourself in Vienna, GO TO ALBERTINA. Well worth the ticket price.

On the way out, I picked up a pack of note cards featuring works of Henri Matisse from his book Jazz. Because a) how fantastic are those prints?, b) I love stationery even though I don't remember the last time I mailed anyone a damn letter, and c) it was 50% off. Also, he was probably my gateway drug into the world of truly interesting modern art. As a dancer growing up, everyone was always pushing the Degas ballerinas or some kind of soft Monet lily on me, but when I was 14 I got a poster of a Matisse from his cut-out phase and stuck it up on my bedroom wall next to the rock bands. And I had totally forgotten about it until relatively recently when I was in a museum and saw the original in front of me.

But I digress. After my art viewing, I walked outside and realised that the statue out front looked familiar. In fact, it's in one of my photos from the last time I was here, with Jody. As I continued my walk back, I passed a fountain we paused to view, a souvenir shop we failed to buy something in, and even the Strauss statue we both Instagrammed. It was a bit of deja vu, since we were also here in August, it was also meltingly hot, and we stayed just on the opposite corner of the Stadtpark. So as I enjoy the cool of my (city view! check it out!) hotel room tonight, I'm remembering how we spent our evenings last time: escaping the heat indoors, Jody drinking his Almdudler (Austria's favourite soft drink) and teaching me the basics he remembered from German class.

Wo ist Dame Zwei? Österreich! 
(For one night only!)


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