August 21…..Rod's Birthday

Since this was the last day that we could use our Hop on Hop off pass, Rod, Priscilla, Bill and I decided to visit the Haus der Musik and Mozarthaus Vienna and, then, take the Blue Line to see the sites in that part of the city, and listen to the narrative about what we were seeing . Pam and Miles wanted to go to the Belvedere Museum to see the Klimt collection…one of Pam’s favorite artists  so, after having a little breakfast at the house and hanging out for a bit, we went our separate ways.

The Haus der Musik, or the House of Music is an interactive experience that provides an overview of the history and tradition of Viennese music. There were a variety of interactive areas, one that allowed you to be the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic, that Bill had fun with. The stairs leading into the museum created musical tones as your feet hit the keys that was really fun for kids. One whole floor was filled with very informative exhibits of all the great Viennese composers that was, partially, accessed by high tech devices that Bill and I had a little trouble operating. The Viennese Philharmonic Museum is part of the House of Music and tells the history of one of the world’s most famous orchestras in a little more straight forward fashion. My favorite part was the small screening area where you could watch and listen to the Orchestra playing the Vienese Waltz while showing spectacular scenes from different parts of Austria. It was so vivid that you felt like you were sitting in the front row of a live concert.

Next, we walked over to the apartment at Domgasse 5, the only surviving apartment of Mozart in Vienna. It was here that he lived with his family, in elegant surroundings, from 1784 to 1787 . In the rest of the three floor of the building, the Mozart House Vienna presents a wonderful exhibition of Mozart’s life and work, scenes from his major compositions, a little history about the time in which he lived and some of the important people that were in his life.

Afterwards, we took one final stroll down the wide, main avenue to gaze, once again, at the wonderful window displays, street musicians and grand old buildings and finally arrived at the hop on location for the Blue Line. This was the only line that crossed over the Danube which Rod was anxious to see up close. En route we passed The Danube Tower, Vienna’s tallest attraction and excellent example of modernist architecture. It was constructed in 1964 for the Viennese International Horticultural Show and is a protected monument. With an observation tower 165 meters up, there is a new high-speed elevator that takes you there in just 35 seconds. That would have been fun….next time.

We stopped for a short while at the Wurstelprater, the oldest amusement park in the world…Seems like Vienna sure has a lot of "oldest," “biggest” and “most importants .”  In any event, although we didn’t go in, I was fascinated with some of the rides that you could easily see from outside the park, and took a ton of photos. The amusement park is part of the large Wiener Prater, a park that was first mentioned in a document from 1162. In 1766 Emperor Joseph II donated the whole area to the people of Vienna and from this point on the Prater was accessible for everyone. Today, the Wurstelprater is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the entrance is free of charge.

As we passed over the Danube, we were able to see the multitude of river boats, big and small, and even two floating structures, one that housed what appeared to be a public swimming pool and, the other, a tennis court. As a backdrop to this mighty river, there were towering contemporary buildings standing next to beautiful historic ones, something that always catches my attention.

After we had finished the entire Blue Line, we transferred to the Yellow Line and headed for home. I was able to take a few shots of the long stretch of graffiti that filled the wall of one of the canals of the Danube and some of the old, statuesque apartments that loomed over the canal.

That night, we ventured out, for the first time, in the car that our hosts had left us and, went for dinner at a restaurant that they had recommended that served traditional Viennese food. It was a wonderful way to end another packed full day and to celebrate Rod’s birthday….and Pam was kind enough to share the leftovers of her birthday, Sachertorte, when we got back to the apartment.