Let’s take this opportunity to view a photo journal entitled: Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber ich doch spreche Bier ("I don't speak German, but I definitely speak beer"), featuring Brad.
He drank it dark
He drank it light
He drank it with a pretzel this one night
München
Our lodging in Munich was a popular and packed hostel that caters to English speakers, specifically English speakers between the ages of 18 and 22. We had a private room, but we couldn’t completely escape the college party feel of this place. However, Munich is a fun city – I can understand why college students want to spend some time here.
In the city famous for beer, we headed to the Hofbrauhaus on our first night in Munich. The Hofbrauhaus historically was home to Hitler’s “Beer Hall Putsch,” a political rally to gain support for his side before World War II. Today, you would never know that such a serious historical event had taken place at this raucous beer hall.
Once inside, you search the expansive beer hall for a couple of free seats at one of the large communal tables. Brad and I found seats next to an American couple from New Jersey. They are world travelers and we enjoyed talking to them for I don’t know how long. The soundtrack of the Hofbrauhaus is a traditional brass band that plays upbeat tunes all night. The traditional drink is a liter of beer. I’m not a beer drinker, so I quietly ordered a glass of white wine. I may have imagined it, but I think a silence suddenly overtook the entire Hofbrauhaus and everyone looked at me with horrified stares. Brad made up for my blunder by drinking 2 liters of beer.
This was his 2nd liter
Our next day in Munich was a bit more erudite and thoughtful. In the morning, we watched the bizarre 15-minute clock tower show at the “New” Rathaus (city hall) downtown. We strolled through Viktualenmarkt, an upscale open-air market. After a brief walk through the Residenz, we headed to the Alte Pinakotek, a spot where the kids staying at our hostel are rarely seen I’m sure.
The Alte Pinakotek is an art museum in Munich with an incredible collection of pieces (14th -18th painting) from past rulers of Bavaria. The museum has been accumulating these works of art for centuries and I was delighted to see the collection. An exceptionally good audioguide took us through Van Dyke, loads of Rubens pieces, Rembrandt, German painter Albrecht Durer, Spanish masters Velazquez, El Greco and Murillo (from Sevilla) and even Da Vinci. I especially enjoyed the medieval works at the museum. In some incredibly old religious paintings, the angels are tiny creatures with blue wings and tails, and each saint or member of the Holy Family has a stunning gold halo surrounding their heads. Some interesting images from the collection are below.
Adoration of the Christ Child by the Virgin, by Stephan Lochner
The Flight into Egypt, by Adam Elsheimer
Wien
Ah, Vienna . . . continental, posh, elegant, self-assured, full of Italians there for New Years. Yes, getting a room in Vienna just before Silvester (New Year’s Eve) was no easy task. Rumor had it that every hotel room in the city was booked. Having countless European and Asian tourists in Vienna just intensified the international vibe of the city.
Since Vienna is so international, Brad and I gave ourselves permission to indulge in some of the international cuisine we’ve been deprived of for months (living in Spain). Our first meal there was sushi. Our last meal there was Greek – best baklava I’ve ever eaten and the waiter gave us a glass of ouzo on the house before we left.
I remember being freezing the whole time we were in Vienna. We essentially went from restaurant to coffee shop to restaurant. We squeezed in a few tourist attractions along the way, but old castles and stone cathedrals are not heated! The time we spent outside was great even though our noses were numb. The street performers in Vienna are no joke. One trained pianist played bombastic classics on a real piano sitting in the middle of the busy pedestrian street. We also heard a trio of blind singers singing beautiful harmonies in Russian. The city’s festive decorations also made the outdoors delightful.
Street decorations – how glamorous!
Even horses look extra classy here
One night, Brad and I ducked into a cozy little bar for a warm snack and some drinks. Just as we were paying the check, I struck up a conversation with two middle-aged Austrian guys sitting behind us. They noted that not many Americans know German. This is true. I took years of German in high school and college, and it was so nice to use it again. Being able to compose past tense sentences on the fly was such a pleasure after my months of struggling with Spanish. When you know more than “please” and “thank you” in a foreign language, it can be so rewarding. Brad even picked up a good bit of German on our trip. He also just started saying English words with a German accent, because many of our words are similar.
We ended up chatting (in English) with the Austrian guys for quite a while and they even bought us two more rounds of drinks! We talked about Wyoming, Schwarzenegger, what to do in Prague (our next stop), all the Italians in Vienna and 80s music. The bar was playing really cheesy 80s songs from the US, Germany and Austria. One of the guys got the waitress to play Amadeus, a song by an Austrian band that was apparently number one in the US in 1984. The four of us laughed and sang along because we all knew it.
While in Vienna, we visited Hofburg Palace, home of the Hapsburgs. We marveled at the opulence of the Silver Collection museum, we saw the “Sissi” (a famous and strange queen) museum and the Imperial apartments. The Hapsburgs, like most royals, lived in splendor.
Outside Hofburg Palace
We went back to the chapel at Hofburg Palace on Sunday to hear Schubert’s mass performed by the Vienna’s Boys Choir. The mass was lovely, but those in attendance had deplorable concert/religious ceremony manners. Brad and I were so shocked and distracted by those sitting around us that we could hardly enjoy being there. Most of the crowd around us was Spanish and I think Brad wanted to yell, “¿Por qué no te calles?”
Since we were in Vienna just before New Year’s Eve, the city was preparing for a big celebration. Good luck items were sold everywhere – most notably: pigs, four-leaf clovers, mushrooms and pennies. Also popular were petitfours glazed with pink icing, with little pink marzipan pigs on top. Inside, was a layer of “punsch,” some type of sweet liqueur. Brad and I decided that if we ate one of these confections each day we were in Vienna, we would surely have good luck in the New Year.
A “Punsch Schnitte”
The most famous confection in Vienna is, of course, Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher. Brad and I dutifully went to the packed Cafe Sacher for a slice of the world famous chocolate cake. It wasn’t the first time I’d been to Cafe Sacher. A lifetime ago, I went for Sachertorte with 3 friends and I remember that night as one of the best nights of my life. Going back with my husband was a treat. Brad enjoyed his Sachertorte immensely and the baker in him immediately started decoding the secret to making this cake. He thinks it may be a thin layer of apple jelly just under the icing. Who knows?
Austria is famous for Schubert, Schumann, Mozart and the Waltz. A trip to Vienna would be incomplete without attending a classical music performance. Brad and I went to the stunning Musikverein for a “New Years Concert.” This was one of the many spots that Mommy Jo, my grandmother/former tourguide, suggested we go. It was fantastic. Gazing at the interior of the Musikverein is a feast for the eyes, and the orchestra played an ebullient concert of Viennese music. The performance was thrilling for me. I didn’t know many of the songs, but the conductor had obviously chosen festive, fun pieces for this special concert. An added bonus, our fellow concert-goers were Viennese little old ladies in long fur coats, instead of noisy tourists.
Interior of the Musikverein; on the night of our concert, there were pink flowers on the balconies and red poinsettias at the front
To round out our time in Vienna, we saw the Blue Danube (river), Nachtmarkt (colorful outdoor market), the Rathaus, the Austrian parliament, and we ate Wienerschnitzel. Coffee houses are also famous in Vienna, so we found a funky, mellow one on our last afternoon in Vienna. We were enjoying our cozy couch and warm drinks when I saw snow falling outside. Did I mention that one of the waltzes we heard at the Musikverein was Schneeflocken Waltz? That means "Watlz of the Snowflakes."
This was the first, not the last, time we saw snow on our trip.
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