Day 85 - Rainy Day Activities

In Vienna we have continued the theme of Europe getting the lion´s share of rain. In Istanbul it was consistantly in the 30´s with sunshine. When we arrived in Vienna last Tuesday, it was 15 and raining. As of today (Friday) it has yet to break 16 and continues to rain. Hence the preponderance of indoor activities and "layered look".

Today we sought shelter from the weather in the Schloss Belvedere, The Staatsoper, and a wee coffeeshop.

Schloss Belvedere is one of the many palaces that dot Vienna. Today it contains an art gallery, most notable for Klimt´s "The Kiss". In addition to The Kiss, it contains Viennese masterworks of the Middle Ages, 18th and 19th century, and well as a number more works by Klimt, Schiele, and their contemporaries. And that´s just Upper Belvedere. The museum is spread over the palace grounds comprising Lower Belvedere, The Orangerie, and Carriage House. Because of the rain, and because most of what we wanted to see was in Upper Belvedere, we did not venture out to the other buildings.

Since we have been to the Opera nearly every night, we thought it only fitting to take a tour of the house. Very little of the building remained after WWII. Of the surviving rooms, perhaps the most miraculpous is the Kaiser´s intermission room. The adjoining box, main house and staircase were all destroyed by fire. The intermission room somehow escaped, and is still furnished with the original gold wall coverings and some furniture. It currently functions as a press room for the Divas and Divos, the room where the season and designs are presented, and for important meetings. Another intermission room, the one for audience members also survived the war. It is quite lavish, decorated with busts, frescoes, and all th gilding expected of a great Opera house. Naturally one of the most prominant busts is that of Vienna´s own prodgidal (and a bit prodigal) son Mozart. Frescos of scenes from three of his operas occupy the niche behind his head. The one on the right is Don Giovanni which we designed for a class project, and which therefore causes a combined chuckle and cringe.

In the main house, we watched part of the changeover (when one show is taken down and another is put up). The Staatsoper is rep house, with over 50 shows in its 10 month season. As a The same shows are never played on back-to-back nights, Meaning that a one week visitor can see a different opera nearly every night of their stay! Good for the audience, hell on the company. The opera employs over 300 technicians to make it all possible! The schedule goes something like this: Evening performance. Changeover. Technical rehearsal (in the wee small hours of the morning!). Possible second changeover. Evening performance. Repeat for 10 months. I do not think I will ever complain about a tech schedule again!

All museumed out, and with a train to catch, we decided to while away the afternoon in a classic Viennese coffeshop. One had been recomended to us by a friend, but we simply popped into the nearest doorway after the metro stop. It was a tiny, cozy place, populated entirely by Vienese matrons and pensioners having their coffee and kuchen over the day´s papers.

After a brief stop back at the hostel to collect our bags, we were off again to Franz Josef´s Bahnhoff to catch a commuter train out to Eggenburg. A friend we had met on the Camino had extended an invitation to visit his village when we came to Vienna. We had not thought we would have the time, but with our extended stay, it suddenly became possible. Every year his village hosts one of the largest and best medieval festivals in Austria, and just happens to be this weekend. So, we are working our way back in time 19th centrury opera house, 18th century palace, now off to an 11th century fair!

The train ride paralelled several rivers, including the Danube for a while. Everwhere the water was roiled up with the colour and opacity of milky coffee. In places, the rivers had flooded all the up the base of the railway embankment. All the houses in the area seemed prepared though, either built on stilts or with sealable lower floors.

Our friend met us at the train platform and walked us to his flat. After dinner, it was slide time. These were not your ordinary "yawn" vacation slides. Our friend is a world-traveller and had pioneered a school program in Brazil. The first round of slides were of India, our next destination. Seeing pictures definitely helps us to know what to expect, though I expect to still have some measure of culture shock. Some of the most beautiful pictures were from the northwestern corner of the country, unfortunately now torn by civil war, and therefore inaccessible. After India came Brazil, with photos of grinding poverty contasted against lush landscapes. It was great getting insight into a place where we will soon find ourselves, and inspiring to hear how one idea by one person (the school project in Brazil) actually came to fruition and continues to grow.