FOREVER VIENNAText and Photography by PamelaAnn Campbell
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Vienna, Austria: Although Vienna is about 7,000 kilometers from Toronto, a continent away, my visit begins immediately. I hear a lovely voice bidding me “Willkommen” (welcome) as I prepare for the eight-hour flight aboard Austrian Airlines, the national carrier.
Austria’s capital city is to be my gateway to Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz and Blumau and I intend to make the most of every day of my visit. Vienna waltzes to nostalgia in every direction. Architectural treasures range from Gothic to baroque to rococo. Opera and theatre remain popular. Tradition and culture are never far away and just recently the city’s old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Viennese prefer to call their city Wien (pronounced Veen.) Vienna also has taste. It is certainly unique in culinary circles – Viennese cuisine is named after the city. It embraces a medley of European influences developed during the 640-year Habsburg dynasty, the most famous of which is the Weiner Schnitzel, the veal dish from Milan that Italians called “costoletta milanese.” After criss-crossing two continents and now a third two days later, I am looking forward to just wandering around Vienna. Contrary to guidebook innuendoes the Viennese are as warm and welcoming as the cabin crew I met while winging my way here. Of course, everyone knows Austrian Airlines as “The Most Friendly Airline” as well as their commitment to passengers for service, reliability, safety and comfort (we recommend using the new Grand Class.) A local hangout A casual stroll around Naschmarkt on Weinzeile Street is a feast for the eyes and the appetite. The name means “pail” so called since 1775 when milk was sold on the Wien River banks, only to disappear under pavement, giving way to the still thriving food market. |
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At the Naschmarkt Deli it’s a bar offering takeaway (take-out) and catering. Wiener Fruh stuck wah weise kaffee, tee o der kakao (toast, coffee, tee or hot chocolate), ei (egg), butter, marmalade, semmeh (rolls) and orangensaft (orange juice) are on the menu. Under “extras” the list includes omelett mit kase (cheese omelette), Gemuse (vegetables), frisch gepebter roter grapefruitsaft (freshly squeezed grapefruit juice), honig (honey), schaf milch joghurt (yogurt) and joghurt mit honig und nussen (yogurt with honey and nuts.) I’m tempted to stay and watch the crowd dining in the open-air cafes, some casually meeting friends, others out with their dogs for a bite or visitors like myself taking it all in. Art Nouveau buildings Just steps away from the market on Linke Wienzeile my gaze shifts to two 1898 Art Nouveau creations by Otto Wagner. These apartment buildings are really stunning – Number 38 boasts an ornate gold façade with Kolo Moser medallions while Number 40 features floral tiles patterned by Alois Ludwig.
Theater an der Wien
Although it does not appear exactly as Franz Jager designed it, the building bears tribute to Schikaneder – statues portray him in his role as Papageno playing the flute for his three children, still perched above the neoclassical Papagenotor (Papageno door.) The theater was the scene of several world premieres including Beethoven’s Fidelio in 1805, Kleist’s Katchen von Heilbronn in 1810 and Grillparzer’s Ahnfrau in 1817. Operettas reigned supreme in Vienna from 1864 with Jacques Offenbach, followed by Strauss, Lehar, Millocker, Zeller and Heuberger whose operettas also made their debut here. Today world-famous musicals are among the entertainment acts that go onstage at the theater. A sipping good time Most Viennese will tell you the Viennese coffeehouse has the most relaxing atmosphere where patrons are encouraged to read the newspapers in comfortable surroundings.
When in Vienna, do as the Viennese do. Read the newspapers (for as long as you like) while sipping your coffee with any of these all-time favorites: Strudel - the melt-in-your-mouth pastry filled with apple, nut or sweet cheese, Golatschen - sweet cheese or jam in puff pastry and Zimtschecke - sugared spiral-shaped pastry with nut filling and Beugel: pastry croissant with nuts. The most delectable treat is the Sachertorte created in 1832 by Franz Sacher, Prince Metternich’s chef. The famous chocolate cake is known for its rich and tasty ingredients: egg yolks, melted chocolate, sugar, egg whites, flour, topped by apricot jam and layered with chocolate icing. (I couldn’t resist bringing one home!) Following the tour guide Friederike Krammer-Hirsch loves to show off this imperial city in an easygoing manner. Language is not a barrier; thank goodness she speaks English because my German is non-existent. It’s the best method for sightseeing then later on you can retrace those steps for a more leisurely visit.
The Hofburg or Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs is a spectacular complex of 18 wings and 19 courtyards that was constructed over 600 years (1275-1913), and exist today as a reminder of the vast cultural evolution Austria experienced. It houses the lavish Imperial Apartments, the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the glittering 21-room Imperial Treasury and the New Palace Museums (armor, music and ancient Greek statues.) Across the Ring from the Hofburg are the unparalleled Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museum of Natural History, lookalike buildings designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer. On the grounds between the two museums is a Kaspar Zumbusch statue of Empress Marie Theresia and her advisors. As the oldest European public museum (1891) the Museum of Fine Arts boasts an ornate interior (especially the ceilings) by artists including Ernst and Gustav Klimt. From the domed entrance and the marble stairway topped by Antonio Canova’s Theseus Vanquishing the Centaur to the world’s largest collection of paintings by Peter Brueghel the Elder, this is no ordinary museum. Masterpieces on display also include Titian’s Ecce Homo, Raphael’s Madonna in the Greenery and Rubens’ Feast of Venus.
The Lipizzaner Museum in the Renaissance Stallburg Palace has an audio-visual diplay of the 400-year history of the famous riding school (in English.) The horses can be seen (through a museum window) in their stalls and visitors also learn how American General Patton saved the horses from the Russians at the end of World War II. It’s virtually impossible to see all of Vienna’s treasures at once, but still I think I did exceptionally well this time around. (Please see our Spotlight section for Museumsquartier Wien – A Celebration of Culture and Play On Vienna in our Out of This World section.) Dining with the locals By the time our tour is over, Friederike figures out that I truly want to find a local dining spot. She suggests a visit to a neighborhood “Heuriger” or wine tavern (the same word is also used to describe the new wine of the latest vintage.) No other capital city in the world boasts a wine growing industry but Vienna.
It takes only minutes to get to the area, and about a 10-minute walk to Heuriger Werner Welser at 12 Probusgasse, Tel: 318 97 97. The property lies in the heart of Vienna’s wine district called Heiligenstadt. Nearby stands Beethoven’s home (Tel: 01 370-3361) where he composed his Sixth Symphony in 1817 as he gazed at the rolling vineyards. A Heuriger is identified by the ausg’steckt – a bush or wreath hung above the door. The Bushen (Scots pine branch) or straw wreath announces that they are serving their own vintage. Check the Heurigenkalender in the newspapers for wine tavern openings. This Friday evening is no exception – the locals are here to enjoy themselves. If Werner Welser tells it like it is, “a glass of good wine warms their heart” then everyone is going to be happy. A strolling musician with an accordion entertains guests tableside with Viennese classics.
The most popular selections that go well with the Heuriger are Schinkenfleckerln (baked pasta and ham souffle), Fleischlaberln (meatballs) Liptauer (spicy cheese spread), Kummelbraten (crispy roast pork) and Blumden (black pudding.) For dessert there is an assortment of strudel – the famous apple as well as plum, raspberry, blueberry and sour cherry. Rivaling the apple strudel in popularity is the Topfenstrudel – sweet cheese and raisin filling in wafer-thin strudel pastry. Vienna is all this and more, and I can’t wait to visit again. But for now, it’s your turn, so go ahead and enjoy Vienna.
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A bit further on is Joseph Olbrich’s Secession, perhaps the most famous architectural design during the Art Nouveau period. On a bright sunny day the blue sky peeks through the gilded bronze dome of laurel leaves - truly spectacular!
Nearby is the Theater an der Wien, considered to be Vienna’s “cradle” of operas and operettas. It was opened in 1801 by impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, the original “Papageno” and librettist of Mozart’s Magic Flute.
The best strategy is to try all the varieties, but chances are the melange will prove to be a favorite - coffee with frothy hot milk, served with a glass of water. The melange is prepared with equal amounts of coffee and milk, but you can request more milk (mehr licht) or less milk (mehr dunkel) which means you will be served Schale Braun or Schale Gold, denoting color and strength of the coffee. If not, try Kleiner or Grosser Brauner – coffee with cream, Einspanner – mocha with whipped cream, Eiskaffee: mocha with vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream and Flaker – mocha with brandy.
Vienna is a walker’s paradise; distance is secondary once those magnificent palaces, museums and monuments come into view, the legacy of the mighty Habsburg Empire that ruled much of Europe for more than six centuries. Thanks to Emperor Franz Joseph 1 we can still enjoy those glory days, imagining what it was like to live in such architectural wonders. It was also the emperor who rid the city of its medieval wall and replaced it with the Ringstrasse (1858-1865), a 190-foot-wide boulevard popularly known as “the Ring.”
Naturhistoriches Museum (Museum of Natural History) is among Europe’s top museums dedicated to science and nature. The eight sections include mineralogy, geology and paleontology, prehistory and anthropology (ground floor) and botany and zoology (vertebrates, insects and invertebrates) on the second floor.
The Viennese flock to the city suburbs where vineyards flourish to savor the new wine harvest, accompanied by hearty buffet-style meals and music. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II decreed that vintners could offer their wine for sale, and hundreds of wine taverns soon dotted the city limits.
We listen to the songs and laughter and notice everyone is eating and drinking. Simone, our waitress, smiling and lovely, explains that the wines are either rot (red) or weiss (white), and the varieties we might try are Heuriger, St. Laurent, Bauer Portugieser and Zweigelt.