The purpose of my Vienna trip was to attend the Information Resources Management (IRM) European Conference. I work in the IRM bureau of the State Department, which is the technical office that plans, installs and operates the computer systems, telephones and radios at overseas embassies. We have a conference every two years somewhere in Europe and this conference was supposed to be held last November but because of the attack on New York in September it was postponed until now.
But I must confess that while the conference is worthwhile, my main interest was in seeing Vienna once more. We visited Vienna in 1977 when we camped around Europe for three months but only spent a few days there since we had a busy itinerary at that time. Rita went with me on this trip – as if I could leave her behind!
Besides being a charming old city that rivals Paris in beauty, Vienna holds special interest for me since my great-great-grandfather, Ernst August Franke, wrote in his diary that he traveled to Vienna from Regensburg, Germany, on the Danube River in 1824 when he was about 18 or 19 years old. He said “After a short stay I found work in St. Pölten and then again went to Wien to enjoy the sightseeing of this beautiful, ancient city”. I imagined we were following in his footsteps.
The conference started on Tuesday, March 26 with expectations that most people would arrive on Monday. But we departed Brussels on Saturday, March 23, to give us some additional sightseeing time. We walked to the Gare Central near our house and took the train to the airport where we flew Austrian Airlines to Vienna in about an hour and a half. We checked into the Hilton Hotel, where the conference was held, and started our sightseeing right away. We walked with Danny Lockwood, who is my counterpart at NATO headquarters in Brussels, and his wife, Linda.
First we walked to the Stephansdom, the gothic cathedral dedicated to St. Stephan. It is the main cathedral in the center of Vienna. We went inside and briefly took in the highlights of this great cathedral. We walked down the main pedestrian walkway called the Graben where we saw the Haas Haus, a modern structure built in 1990 that is opposite the cathedral. We also saw the Pestsäule, a column built in 1679 by Emperor Leopold I as a promise after the plague subsided. We continued on to the Freyung Square where the Vienna Easter Market was held. There were thousands of decorated eggs and I was surprised that Rita contained herself to buying only ten eggs – I suppose because she bought more in Poland and Czech Republic the week before. We continued back down Herrengasse to Michaelerplatz and Kohl Market back to Graben. We walked down Schulerstrasse and saw the Figarohaus where Mozart lived from 1784 to 1787 and wrote “The Marriage of Figaro”. There was a cold wind blowing with bits of sleet and snow so we walked back to the hotel to put up our feet for a while.
For dinner the four of us braved the cold weather once more and walked a short distance to the world famous Figlmüller restaurant where we had the Wiener schnitzel that is bigger than the plate. It was very good, thin and tender and not a bit greasy. I was the only one at our table who finished the entire schnitzel. Oink, oink! On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Café Prückel, a famous Vienna coffee house, for drinks.
Sunday morning was still cold. Rita and I missed exercise so we took a quick walk in the Stadtpark where our hotel is located. The gym in the hotel is horrible, only two old stationary bicycles and they charge about $7 for the privilege to use it. After our walk we had breakfast at a konditorei near the hotel. We met Danny and Linda at 11:00 am and took a taxi to the Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens. Schönbrunn Palace was the Hapsburgs answer to Versailles in France. It is located about four miles out of town and, since we did not visit it in 1977, we were eager to go there. We took the grand tour, which covers about 40 of the main rooms in the palace. After that we ducked into the local restaurant for a bite since it was beginning to rain. After lunch we all took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage through the gardens. It was good that the carriage was enclosed since it started to sleet so heavily that the ground was soon white. Sleet turned to snow and at the end of our ride we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Sunday evening we walked to a nearby restaurant called the Goulash Museum where we had good Hungarian goulash in various ways.
Monday there was an optional topic covered at the conference that I chose to skip. Rita and I went out on our own and walked a good deal all day. We started out by touring the Dominikanerkirche and Jesuitenkirche churches which are beautiful examples of Baroque architecture. We went back to the Stephansdom and explored it in more detail. Next we went to the Hoher Market, which is the old Jewish Quarter, and we saw the Anker Clock, an example of Jugendstil, which is the city’s turn-of-the-century architecture. Then we walked to the Altes Rathaus (old city hall) and the Maria am Gestade church. We walked to the Freyung Square and saw the Schottenkirche church and walked inside the Kinksy Palace. We walked to Michaelerplatz and to the famous Demels where we sat down for coffee and cake.
After refreshment we went back to Michaelerplatz and saw the Loos Haus and Michaelerkirche church. Then through the beautiful Michaelertor gate into the Hofburg complex that is the city palaces and treasury of the Hapsburgs. We walked to the Heldenplatz and the Spanish Riding School. In 1977 we did attend the Lipizzaner horse show and we saw the Treasury so we skipped them this time. We toured the State Apartments and the Silberkammer, which are the rooms housing all the silver, china and crystal used for state dinners. Next we walked to Josefsplatz and the Prunksaal or National Library. We walked past the Albertina to the Sacher Hotel, home of the famous Sacher torte (or chocolate cake with apricot jam filling). We saw the Opera House and walked up Kärntner Strasse and went into an old store called Lobmeyer, which sold crystal. Finally we walked back past the OPEC headquarters to our hotel.
Monday evening the conference kicked off with a “gala dinner” in the Prinz Eugene restaurant of the hotel. While the setting was nice, it was a standard buffet and the food was only fair. We retired early.
I spent all day Tuesday at the conference. Rita walked around Vienna looking up fabric stores she had copied off the Internet. In the evening, five of us walked to the Zum Schwarzen Kameel or Black Camel restaurant, which has been in Vienna since 1618. Beethoven was a regular customer at this place. It was very good food and I had sole, which was excellent, while Rita had a veal chop that looked better to me than my meal. We had a good Vienna red wine and finished off with fancy desserts all around.
Wednesday was still cold and windy but Rita braved the elements to continue sightseeing and shopping. I spent the day in conference again but in the evening we had dinner with our old friend, Tony Muse, from Canberra days. We walked to the Fleismarkt and ate at Greichenbeisl restaurant where there has been an Inn since 1400. We had excellent food and large portions. I had a starter of garlic and cheese ravioli and salad. My main course was medallions of veal with egg noodles and asparagus. For dessert I had Mohr im Hemd, a chocolate nut cake drenched in chocolate sauce and whipped cream. We had another excellent Austrian red wine called Chorus. I was a piggy again!
By Thursday the weather was improving, a little milder, less wind and more sunshine. While Rita continued onwards I attended the conference which ended early today. By 3:00 pm Rita and I walked to the Belveder palace and through the gardens. We toured the beautiful Karlskirche church and walked to the Opera House. We walked along the Burg garten (gardens) and the Hofburg to the Volksgarten, another pretty garden where we sat a while and enjoyed the sunset. We walked around the beautiful Burgtheater and the Rathouse (city hall). Then we walked down Herrengasse to the Café Central, a Vienna institution. We had a nice meal with an accompanying jazz band. Rita had chicken in paprika sauce while I had another good schnitzel. We had Austrian white wine with the meal and split another Mohr im Hemd for dessert. Café Central is a very beautiful place.
Friday was the last day of my conference. At lunch time three of us walked to Café Prückel for a beer and wurst. In the evening Rita and I walked to Frauenhuber Café, the oldest coffee house in Vienna, for dinner. Mozart once performed in this café. I had goulash soup once more then had a main course of pork tenderloin with potato balls and spinach with gorgonzola cheese. Yummy. Afterwards we walked the small streets in the neighborhood – Himmelpfortgassse, Johannesgasse and Annagasse. We walked some more in the center of town and finally walked back to the hotel, stopping on the way at an ice cream stand for dessert.
Saturday we asked for late checkout, packed our bags in the morning and set out for our last walk in Vienna. We walked to Prater Park in beautiful, warm, springtime sunshine. We went back to Schwarzenbergplatz and Karlskirche to finish off our role of film. We walked to the Imperial Hotel, Vienna’s oldest and grandest hotel. Richard Wagner stayed here and Adolf Hitler made the hotel his headquarters after the Anschluss. We ate outside at the sidewalk café. One last schnitzel and beer for me in this beautiful city where my ancestor once walked. However, I imagine we ate better than he did.
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