Day 7: Vienna

Up early for the morning excursion to Vienna. The boat is docked by the town of Nussdorf which is actually a suburb of Vienna. As I opened the curtains, I could see the opposite bank of the Danube, only trees. It seems incredible that we can be so close to a large city and the view is pastoral.

Did I mention that the honeydew melon is the best I think I’ve ever tasted? I don’t think I’ve had a really good one in years and I’ll be eating it as long as the kitchen sends it out. It’s served on a tray with watermelon with seeds. I guess seedless hasn’t arrived here yet, neither have seedless grapes.

I found out this afternoon that all of the breads and cakes are baked on board. At breakfast they have out two huge loaves of bread, one seeded and one plain. You hack off a slice and send it through the toaster. Terrific toast.

On my way out, I bumped into my room cleaner, Edita. She is tall and she gave me a huge hello with a pat on the back. She gives me extra water, towels and conditioner. The staff I have met on board are so friendly and helpful.

The bus ride into the city took about 15 minutes. We drove around the Ringstrasse which is known (here) as the most beautiful boulevard in the world. Beautiful buildings one after another, palaces, museums, opera house, and lots of parks. We were told that Vienna is 50% green spaces. We were dropped off in front of one, the Volksgarten where there were lots and lots of rose bushes. You can honor or memorialize someone with a donation and get the rose bush tagged with your name.

We walked to the Hofburg Palace then through a driveway into the courtyard. The place is HUGE. The offices of the President, ministries and museums are all here.

We walked and walked, finally ending up in the square in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

We were left to our own devices for 45 minutes. I walked into the cathedral which was jammed with people, took a look then left. I was thinking about our guide telling us that almost 20% of the city population was Jewish before WWII and none were left afterwards. Some were able to emigrate before the war, but many were deported and killed. So I didn’t feel like looking at a church.

I had time before meeting up with the group so I stopped and had a cafe latte in a cafe in the middle of one of the pedestrianized streets downtown. It was fun watching the people walk by. The stores are international, who doesn’t need a pair of Jimmy Choo’s in Vienna, but it’s sad that we only saw one, a linen store, that has been locally owned for generations.

Back on the bus and back to the boat. I decided against having lunch in the dining room and went up to the lounge where they have “light lunch buffet” available. They had the salad bar I like, then cream of carrot soup with ginger chips. Pasta was being prepared by Vlad, one of my favorites who seems to know almost every job on the boat. He made me the specialty of the day, krautfeckerl, which is Austrian pasta with white cabbage, onions, cumin and caraway seeds. I asked him to add grated Parmesan. Sounds “interesting” but it was very good.

It was quiet and I was sitting near Vlad so we started to talk. He’s Romanian and can speak 4 languages. Next week the whole boat is chartered for an LGBTQ cruise for 2 weeks. I said I thought that would be fun.

There was an excursion this afternoon to the Schonbrunn Palace which I skipped. I think one tour a day is enough for me.

Tonight there is an excursion to a musical performance of Viennese music plus dancers in traditional costume waltzing along. It sounds painful. My travel agent didn’t recommend it, the audience is all cruisers and the hall is not air conditioned.
There has been a guy (I think, it’s hard to tell) sunbathing on the opposite shore. I mentioned the sandy beaches along the river and he has found himself a spot. He keeps standing up, walking a few steps, then sitting down. Now there are 5-6 boats parked here, if one has binoculars or even a good camera, all will be on display. I wish I had his self-esteem!

I read on the sun deck for a bit. There were 2 pairs of men in head to toe yellow protective gear. There were masks covering their eyes. Each pair had a man telling them what to do. They were walking around holding on to each other and going up and downstairs. I’ll have to ask Vlad what they were practicing.

I met Laura and Stu in the dining room. They had a great day together in Vienna. They took the tram into town, then stayed on it as they listened to a Rick Steve’s podcast talking about what they were seeing. They said it was great. They also found a mural Laura had read about. Right up her alley.

Laura started dinner with a goat cheese panna cotta with apricot chutney. Stu and I had the mache salad. They both had forest mushrooms a la creme topped with puff pastry. I abstained. The main course was…..Weiner Schnitzel!!!! It was served with a potato salad unlike any other.

If you ever have the opportunity to have Kaiserschmarrn, please take it! The description is “Austrian shredded pancake with plum stew and vanilla ice cream”. Unbelievable.

We went up to the sun deck and watched the sunset. Then Laura and Stu had a game of chess on the giant chess board. They said it was a draw.

Good night.

Love,
Lynn