Day 15 - Tuesday - Oct. 28 - Walking and eating our way around Vienna

We had read that is fun to have breakfast at the Naschmarkt, so we set out to do just that. I had to stop at the hair salon, as I had forgotten the time for my appointment tomorrow. In front of the salon, Tram #2 stopped - it is NOT scheduled to stop there. But, we got on, and it was good, as it went the other way around the Ring, which took us to our stop much sooner than our usual Tram #1.

Once we got to the Opernring, Ron remembered about the Bus 59A, and we managed to find the stop for that. It took us directly to the Naschmarkt. We walked and loked at all the beautiful foods. Stopped into Cafe Do-An. Funny thing - we ordered ruhreier (scrambled eggs), but the waitress (with a low-cut blouse and stud in pierced lip) said only spiegeleier (fried eggs). We ended up having tea and cappucino and strolling further through the market. We bought some walnuts and black pumpkin seeds, and were tempted by figs and other items, but didn't want to carry things all day.






We stopped in another cafe, Azzurro, and decided Kenny's suggestion was good - start the day with champagne. So, we ordered a glass of Prosecco each. Ron then ordered penne arrabiata (spicy), and I realized we were now having LUNCH rather than breakfast, so I ordered truffle rissotto.

Starting the day with Prosecco at the Naschmarkt

Interior of small Cafe Azzurro

Truffled rissotto

Penne Arrabiatta

After "brunch" we continued walking in the Naschmarkt. Some of the buildings along the street were so pretty. The facades of "ordinary" buildings that we know nothing about are so ornate. Anyone that is particularly interested in the Naschmarkt may want to look at this blogger's site:
Wandering Epicures - Naschmarkt
They have dozens of photos of all the gorgeous food to be found there.

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We walked to the end of the Naschmarkt which brought us to the Kettenbruckensgasse U-Bahn stop. We took the U-2 to Karlsplatz, walked a LONG way in an underground passage, and changed to another U-Bahn, which delivered us to Rathausplatz. We had planned to tour the Rathaus at 1 PM, as the little booklet said this was available every day. Since it was only noon, we stopped at the Cafe Eintsein, which is popular with professors and students, as the university is nearby.

Mary in front of Cafe Einstein at Rathausplatz (with new earmuffs)

Photo of Einstein behind booth opposite ours

After a brief stop there, we went to the Info booth at the Rathaus, where the people told us the tour is only held on Wednesday! We are losing all confidence in the maps and guidebooks here!

We continued walking in the area, enjoying the beauty of the man-made architecture, although not quite as much as we appreciate the beauty of nature in the mountains, rivers, and forests.

I spotted a small cafe I had heard of, and suggested it would be a plan to stop in each and every cafe, bar, hotel, and restaurant. Of course that would take years since there are so many places here! We did choose to stop into this one, Cafe Sluka which has been a conditorei (pastry shop) since 1891.

Ron's lemon meringue pie and cappuccino

Mary's cognac "ball" and chocolate "nougat"

From there we boarded Tram #71, and rode to the end of the line to the Zentralfriedhof (central cemetary) in Simmering. The cemetary is the largest in Europe with over 3.2 million people interred there. They are still averaging 20-25 burials per day. Some history:  it opened in 1874 and at that time was far outside the city limits. Initially, horse-drawn trams transported people there, but in the early 1900's the electric streetcar #71 was introduced (the same one we rode on today). When a person died, the Viennese would say, "He took the #71" ("er hat den 71er genommen").

The Viennese also say the cemetary is half the size of Zurich (Switzerland) and twice the fun. We don't agree with that characterization of Zurich - find it a beautiful, intersting place!

Many of the famous musicians are buried in Zentralfriedhof, incuding Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Salieri, and Johann Strauss II.

Anyway, sorry for the long digression about the cemetary. I guess as a funeral director's daughter I am interested in these things.

When we got back we left the tram at Opern/Kaerntnerring. I saw a stand selling sausages and Turkish stuffed bread, which I had noticed earlier in the Naschmarket, and suggested we should share a piece of it. Ron bought it, but didn't really want any. It was something like a long pita bread, stuffed with goat cheese, an cut into small rectangular slices. Can't remember the name of it. We ended up leaving it for the pigeons as soon as Ron suggested going into the Bristol Hotel just opposite us for a beverage in an oasis of quiet and beauty.

The Bristol Hotel opened in 1892. The Prince of Wales stayed here for some time with Wallis Simpson in 1936, the year he abdicated. The hotel's poshest (and most expensive) suite is named for the Prince. The hotel has hosted many other famous people, including Teddy Roosevelt. Following WWII, the Bristol served as headquarters for the American military for several years. The American Embassy was based in the hotel from 1951-55.

The Bristol underwent a 5 million Euro renovation from 2007-2009, and is now a "Luxury Collection Hotel" under management of Starwoods Properties (Sheraton).

We sat in the Bristol Bar (called an American bar). Small, wood paneled room. The drinks were the most expensive we've had on this trip, but it was a lovely ambiance - and included small snacks and free "USA Today" and "International NY Times" (so, in essence, that was about $6.50 off the drinks).

We were able to catch the handy Tram #1 right in front of the Bristol, and quickly returned to Radetskyplatz. We went into the small SPAR grocery to pick up some good French bread.

Slicing the meat for his gulasch

When we got "home" Ron prepared gulaschsuppe for himself and a kasekrainer (cheese sausage) for me. You can see the tight quarters in the kitchen.

The finished product