One More Day in ViennaIt was time to get out of town with a trip to Schonbrunn Palace, the Habsburg's "hunting lodge" complete with two hedge mazes and a carriage museum. We also got a chance to live like locals, which meant sitting in front of Vienna's gothic city hall eating international "street food" and watching an Elton John concert on a jumbotron. Some things - including Sir Elton and curry from a cart - transcend national boundaries.
Our favorite thing: The open air Vienna Film Festival - Viennese college students, the Gothic-style Rathaus, fancy pancakes for dessert, and "Your Song" - how can get any better? |
Puttin' on the Ritz at
|
|
A Carriage Museum Fit for a King
Contemplating returning to town, we decided on a whim and my inner love of all things equine to tour the Carriage House Museum. Strolling through the exhibit, we were amazed at the endless variety of carriages and costumes. It seemed as though the Hapsburg's had a mode of transportation for every occasion. There were carriages for weddings and funerals, for tooling around town, and sleighs for dashing through the snow. They were meant to accommodate the grandest heads of state and the tiniest child. No detail was overlooked as the royal family had coordinating carriage and human attire with matching accoutrements, as well as complementary outfits for their team of horses. Each carriage was exquisite in workmanship and detail. The museum had something for everyone in our group, vehicles for the guys, furs and bling for the girls, more sleigh bell for Jody and crisp air-conditioning for Lex.
|
Vienna's Natural History MuseumJustin was almost inordinately excited to see a really old fish on display in Vienna's Natural History Museum. We wound our way through the museum to get to this "living fossil" of a fish, a coelacanth caught in the 1970s. While it isn't much of a looker, this particular type of fish hasn't evolved for about 400 million years and was presumed extinct. The mighty coelacanth was also surrounded by real fossils. The museum was filled with all kinds of dinosaur fossils, including ancient lizards, pterodactyls and re-creations of what dinosaurs would have looked like if they had feathers as one theory suggests. The size of the collection would have been overwhelming even if it hadn't been set against the backdrop of an impressive neoclassical building. One of our favorite finds was a narwhal tusk hidden among many other items. Our trips to the Wittelsbach and Habsburg royal treasuries had taught us that these tusks were frequently passed off as unicorn horns to increase their value.
|
Rockin' Out with Sir Elton JohnTrying to make our vacation last as long as possible, we attended the Vienna Film Festival's jumbo screen rebroadcast of Elton John's live concert from Caesar's Palace. The bespectacled Brit pounded out tunes on his fish-filled Million Dollar Piano. We sang out our favorite tunes with the British rock star, including B-B-Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer and Your Song. We mused as to why Crocodile Rock was so popular and loved it as we wondered. All too soon, we were reminded that we were Levon in the morning. We drowned our sorrows in dumplings filled with chocolate or raspberry and raisin-filled pancakes smothered with melted Nutella then sprinkled with nuts. It was the perfect ending of a perfect trip.
|