Egypt at Last: Grüß Gott, Vienna!

Statue of Maria Theresa,one of Austria's most
famous monarchs

Gruss Gott is a typical Viennese greeting we’ve been hearing a lot. We’ll be here for just three days on a stopover before continuing on the Cairo, but we are thoroughly enjoying this elegant, old city.

Beautiful covered arcades in downtown Vienna

The architecture is humongous as well as stupendous – with row after row of ornate mansions covered with statues and bas reliefs. Every building looks like (and probably is) a palace dating back to the time of the Hapsburgs.

Free bubbly from our hotel

We haven’t been here in Vienna for 30 years and have to wonder what has taken us so long to come back. The people have been just as lovely as the surroundings. Apparently, Expedia booked us as VIP customers at our hotel. Why? We’re not sure, but they have been treating us like royalty. (Something we could become accustomed to - lol) They even gave us 2 small bottles of champagne as a welcome gift!

Our Austrian Airlines Boeing 767
(not a 737 MAX-8 thank God)

BTW we arrived here on Austrian Airlines, another positive Austrian experience. We had never flown them before, and they actually managed to make the 7½ hour flight reasonably painless. Foreign airlines seem to offer so much more legroom and pleasant flight attendants too.

Our hotel is brimming with old world ambiance – lots of oriental rugs and full-sized portraits of former Austrian nobility. Our hotel room is easily twice (maybe even three times!) the size of most usual hotel room. We’ve been joking that we could fit four of the tiny rooms from the Steel House in Copenhagen with room left over! (You may remember the Steel House where we were shoehorned into a shoebox sized “cell.”)

Vienna Opera House -- so reviled when first unveiled
that one of the architects committed suicide

We wandered around our neighborhood, awed by the buildings, especially the over-the-top Opera House, while we tried to avoid being run over by a tram or a bicycle. The traffic and bike paths are extremely busy here in Vienna, and pedestrians have to be cautious and follow the safety rules for crossing roads, biking, marauding trams, etc.

Frank searches in vain for a Coors Light can for Guy

Anne had researched a café called Bier und Bierli (how can you go wrong with a name like that?), and it was a perfect Supsic hangout. Good, hearty food and great local beer surrounded by walls covered with an international beer can collection that, we were told, included over 1,000 different beers. We saw plenty of old favorites beer cans, like Viking from Iceland and Birra Moretti from Italy. We searched and searched for a can of Coors Light, our son-in-law Guy’s favorite beer, but apparently it didn’t make the cut. Sorry, Guy! Lots of other American beer, but no Coors.

Final bows of the company of Coppelia

Vienna is a city of music, and we sampled some with a night at the Volksopera. The ballet Coppelia by Leo Delibes is a favorite of ours, and this production was the best we’ve ever seen. Outstanding dancers, lively orchestra, gorgeous stage sets, all in a lovely, old theater. Our third-row parkette (orchestra) seats gave us a close-up look at all the fancy footwork, and Anne was in ballet heaven.

Anne and her favorite Vermeer

On our second day in Vienna, we visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Vienna Art History Museum). Very impressive museum in an old-fashioned style with marble covered floors and walls. The collection is impressive also with plenty of Rubens, Rembrandts, Caravaggios, and Canalettos. But the star of the show, and the main reason for our visit, was the Vermeer painting “The Art of Painting.” Anne is a longtime Vermeer fan, and this painting is one of her favorites. Frank was thinking he might have to drag her out of there after a few hours of gawking! Luckily, she got hungry and could be lured away with a promise of lunch at the museum café.

Anne drinking her "kittenish" wine!

At the café, we ate a light lunch in incomparable surroundings. Anne drank a Viennese white wine described as “kittenish.” Marc, we need your help here. Is that a legitimate wine description (hard to imagine a wine like a kitten)? Or perhaps a translation error?

One of many Wiener Wurstel Stands

We ended our Viennese experience with a dinner from a Wurstel Stand. These stands are all over Vienna, clean and well-kept, offering all kinds of sausages to take away. Back at the hotel, we drank our free champagne and chowed down on “wieners.” Don’t worry, although enjoying higher standards and comforts here in Vienna, we are still the same old backpackers you used to know.

Vienna's famous (overpriced) Sacher Torte

We topped off the night with some Sacher Torte, the most famous dessert in Vienna. And only costing 17.50 euros (Frank was not pleased.) We got ours fresh from the source, the venerable Sacher Hotel. Chocolate cake covered in chocolate -- totally decadent!

Tomorrow we fly to Cairo, and the real fun begins! Pharaohs, Sphinxes, tombs, and other antiquity on steroids!!

Happy 90th Birthday, Carl!

And finally, a note of cheer to our distinguished friend, colleague, and former co-worker Carl F. Mattes – a happy 90^th birthday this month. Hope you enjoy your big day on the 17^th of March, and many more to you!!