Vienna guided tour
A guided bus tour where the guide attempts to cram info into our brains.
I’m expecting an exam to follow with questions such as:
When was this building built?
Who built it?
What style is it?
I’m expecting to know nothing and hear him say, “I told you that.”
We then become pedestrians in the centre of Vienna.
The centre is full of international tourists. I don’t want to complain about people doing exactly what I am doing but there are a lot of them.
According to what we are told there is one group not complaining. The pickpockets. They are most prevalent around churches. What does that say?
Vienna unguided walk
We head towards a ferris wheel. Surrounding it is a fun fair replete with locals. And some pretty scary rides. It looks like some of the rides would not pass Health and Safety in Aus. This country is the origin and home of Red Bull. Either they are a nation of thrill seekers or we are very cautious.
Vienna concert
In a room with gold leaf, an enormous chandelier and high ceilings we listen to a small orchestra play Strauss and Mozart.
Vienna Schoenbrunn Palace
I wander the palace and hear comments about people who cover their breakfast plate with bacon and hash browns then sit in the pool drinking.
I’d rather talk about some of the residents of this palace.
Maria Theresa: Mother of 16 (including Marie Antoinette) turned a few feudal kingdoms into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Franz Ferdinand: Achieved both fame (smash hit song) and immortality (managed to trigger WW1 by getting himself shot).
A guided bus tour where the guide attempts to cram info into our brains.
I’m expecting an exam to follow with questions such as:
When was this building built?
Who built it?
What style is it?
I’m expecting to know nothing and hear him say, “I told you that.”
We then become pedestrians in the centre of Vienna.
The centre is full of international tourists. I don’t want to complain about people doing exactly what I am doing but there are a lot of them.
According to what we are told there is one group not complaining. The pickpockets. They are most prevalent around churches. What does that say?
Vienna unguided walk
We head towards a ferris wheel. Surrounding it is a fun fair replete with locals. And some pretty scary rides. It looks like some of the rides would not pass Health and Safety in Aus. This country is the origin and home of Red Bull. Either they are a nation of thrill seekers or we are very cautious.
Vienna concert
In a room with gold leaf, an enormous chandelier and high ceilings we listen to a small orchestra play Strauss and Mozart.
Vienna Schoenbrunn Palace
I wander the palace and hear comments about people who cover their breakfast plate with bacon and hash browns then sit in the pool drinking.
I’d rather talk about some of the residents of this palace.
Maria Theresa: Mother of 16 (including Marie Antoinette) turned a few feudal kingdoms into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Franz Ferdinand: Achieved both fame (smash hit song) and immortality (managed to trigger WW1 by getting himself shot).
On the return bus the guide says, “When you eat one of our cakes always have it with whipped cream. Go the full Vienna experience. Don’t count the calories.”
That reminds me of Maria Theresa. Regarded as a good “king” she abolished capital punishment and introduced compulsory education while weighing 20 stone.
Austria is a country where their most loved monarch weighed 20 stone and is a country where “don’t count the calories” is a common mantra. You would conclude that they are a fat country.
But looking around me I would say on average us Aussies are fatter. And I am pretty sure that is what the statistics say. Too much bacon and too many hash browns.
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