Yet another rainy day was perfect for sitting on a train to Vienna. After dropping off my gear I
headed back into back into the city on the subway to visit the Dom before
stopping at the Haus der Musik where I spent a couple of hours wandering
through the crazy interactive music rooms and learning about the history of
some of the masters – Mozart, Haydn, Schubert & Liszt amongst a few. I had to wander around the Hoffberg Palace
for a while before I managed to find the Ethnology Museum,
which I visited specifically to see the feathered headdress of the Aztec
Montezuma, only to find out it wasn’t on display! But the rest of the museum
was pretty interesting, with a new display on the Chinese ‘Mayo’ movement and
Eastern religions.
The following day was still cloudy so I caught a train out
to Modling to visit the “Seegrotte” Hinterbruhl – Europe’s
largest underground lake. It was formed when a water tributary was hit by the
miners, flooding the mines which were then abandoned until WWII, when the Nazis
decided to use it as a secure base to build planes for the Luffwaffe. I joined
a German/Spanish tour as I couldn’t be bothered waiting an hour for the English
tour to start, and spent most of the tour guessing what the guide was saying in
German. It was pretty amazing to walk through the shafts and tunnels thinking
about what it must have been like during the war with all the activity
underground. The tour ended with a little boat ride through the flooded section
and it was beautifully lit up, with a little fountain appearing out of nowhere
near the end of the ride. I also learned that the original “Three Muskateers”
was filmed here!
That evening I joined Nadia, a traveler from Argentina, in
attending the Vienna Opera staging of “La Italiana”. Standing tickets bought on
the day cost about E6, as opposed to prebooked seats which will set you back
over a E100. We arrived at 5:30pm for a 7:30pm showing and stood in
line for about an hour in order to get extremely cheap tickets, so that we
could tie our scarves on the railing in a good position in the standing stalls
like true locals before heading back to the bar for a drink before the show.
I’m not a big fan of opera, but found I really enjoyed the show despite having
to stand for three hours. They even have little screens in front of each seat
(or stall) that translate the Italian verse to English so that you can follow
the story. The plot was terrible but the scenery and set was amazing, Avatar
eat your heart out! Seeing the Opera House lit up at night was also beautiful
and the ice-cream shop was still open on the way home. Gelatto time!
The following day I went to see the Lipizzaner horses
training as I wouldn’t be able to catch a show that week. Unfortunately I got
there a little late and there was a massive line with what seemed like no
organization (for once I missed the UK where everyone knows how to queue) so I
gave up, thinking I wouldn’t be able to see them. I walked around the back
though and found another entrance with NO-ONE there. I thought I was in the
wrong place, but the guy at the desk sold me a ticket and I wandered up the
stairs into the gallery where I spent almost 2 hours watching the young
Lipizzaner horses training. The riders start at 15 years old (all boys of
course) and are eventually placed in charge of 5-6 horses for 15-20 years so
it’s a lifelong commitment. The horses only start training at 4 years old as
they are quite slow to mature, but are amongst the calmest horses, which is why
they can be kept and worked together as stallions. Only a very few of the very best do
what is called the “above ground” work of jumps and rears. They are born black
and gradually turn grey and then white as they mature.
I finally had enough of watching the training, and headed to
the fairground to see (but decided not to experience) the world’s highest swing
ride. They also have real ponies in the pony carousel, all attached to little
carts in an enclosed roundabout and looking quite depressed. I left when I saw
one of them eating the sawdust, not wanting to be around when it started to
colic!
After picking up my bus ticket to Bratislava for the
following day I walked over to the massive Schonbrunn Palace, where I wandered
around some of the 300acre grounds, taking in the view of the city from the
hill, and visiting the zoo for a short time where I saw my first white peacock,
as well as a baby elephant and baby panda. Awwww.
