Updated on July 8, 2013
The wonderful city of Vienna
The old city of Vienna has cobbled streets which are wonderful to walk around, as they are almost exclusively for pedestrians. Sturdy walking shoes are necessary for a day out walking Vienna’s old city streets.
Our first sortie was to the tourist information office to buy our Vienna Passes.
We also collected information about the operas and concerts so we could fit as much music into our week as possible.
We liked the look of Cafe Central for lunch as the building is a fabulous classical stone edifice. The line of waiting customers reached out the front door and onto the footpath. We decided to give it a miss.
We found a nearby pub and ordered Wiener Schnitzel. The meal was very greasy and the meat so thin it had no taste – mistake number one.
Using our trusty map we found our way to the Musikverein for a 3.30pm open rehearsal of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons. The hall was quite full except for the 40 euro seat blocks at the front. We had €5 tickets at the back of the hall which turned out to be a good position at a bargain price despite having to stand.
Next morning we walked to St Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) for the 10.15 Sunday service and found a seat quite near the front on the end of the pew so we had a good view of the proceedings. The choir stood in two lines behind the altar.
The church is quite dark. The congregation sang only one hymn, at the end of the service.
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