We were up early trying to organize our luggage and get the apartment ready for our depature. We both had hair appointments at 10:30/11:00 AM. The gal cut Ron's hair slightly. She does a great job with everything. From there we took the tram to the post office, as had some things that needed to be mailed. Then tram in the opposite direction to Steubenring, where we went to the MAK (Museum for Applied Arts). The building was magnificent in itself -purposely built in 1871 as a museum. I'm not sure when the current displays were installed, but it is somewhat unique in that seven different designers each designed a certain area. It is considered innovative and somewhat controversial. There was one room totally reconstructed in the center of a room, and the artist responsible for that installation wasn't happy, and said it should be in the basement.
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| Marble Hall |
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| Small space design |
There were displays of glass, furniture, china silver and gold, lace and textiles ranging from Baroque to Biedermeier to Modern, basically showing how things had evolved from use by only the aristocracy to the "common man" having access to "tasteful" design.
One room was created by the first woman architect of Austria (Margaret Schutte-Lihotsky) for a woman who needed a nice environment in a small space. I think this is the pecursor of the IKEA small spaces designs! She created this living/bedroom in an extremely narrow space. She was known as the creator of the "Frankfurt" kitchen, which was a dramatic change from having the living and cooking area in one room. She created a small kitchen with a sliding door so it would be separate from the living area. She was involved in time and motion studies, ergonomics, etc. (all before her time) to insure the kitchen was efficient and less work-intensive for women who were also working outside the home. Interesting to me is that we have come somewhat ful-circle, and that kitchens are again the hub of the home.
Another highlight of interest to us was an enormous Gustav Klimt frieze that he prepared for a villa in Brussels.
Many things of interest in the museum, but we had to move on.....
From there we took the tram all of one stop and got off when we saw the Marriott Hotel. It is a steel and glass cubicle with glass roof over lobby/restaurant area. It is not offensive to the surrounding architecture. We had stayed ther a few years ago, and Ron recalled some nice shops behind. We stopped to get newspapers and have a beverage. We then went out the back entrance of the hotel and wandered in the small streets (another thing we love in Europe). We walked in many beautiful streets. We especially enjoy going into little arcades where you don't know what to expect.
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| Looking up in narrow arcade |
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| Strange statude in arcade - Bird coming out of abdomen |
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| Doorway inside a little arcade |
We eventually stopped into Zu Den Drei Hacken (3 Hachets), one of the oldest gasthauses in Vienna. Ron had Alt Wienersuppen and I had cream of chicken soup - both good. We sat in a cute wood nook in a window. It was one of those lucky stops, a place not many tourists find. I later read on a blog by a woman who has lived in Vienna 30-years, that the place is amazing in that they have outdoor seating with the traditional green wood tables - what you expect in the countryside, only 5-minutes from the main shopping street of Vienna. She also said their meat for gulash, roast, Wienerschnitzel or tafelspitz was the BEST.
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| Very creamy chicken soup |
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| Ron's soup - ingredients were in and then they poured the broth into the bowl |
We then walked several more blocks. We passed the Franziskanerkirche (Fransican Church) built in 1603. The exterior is renaissance, but for some reason I haven't researched the interior is Baroque. It contains the oldest organ in Vienna - carved in Baroque-style in 1642.
We had another minor problem on the Tram, and never did see one of the cafes I had wanted to visit. The Ring trams go clock-wise and counter-clockwise, but sometimes they veer off onto other streets. It might take us 3-months to figure it all out! We decided that it was getting late and we were getting tired, so when we reach Schwedenplatz, we walked across the bridge over the Donaukanal to the Sofitel Hotel, where I had been wanting to see Le Loft, the 18th floor bar/restaurant. The hotel is ultra-modern, and the elevator was like a black shiny cube and very dark. The room has floor to ceiling windows and the most spectacular view of Vienna to be found anywhere. But the area nearest the windows are only for dining, and the bar is more in the center. Ron had a capuccino, which he said was the WORST he's ever had (and probably the most expensive due to the view). The only time he's ever had to pour his own milk into capuccino - it's NOT the way it's done! It was early and the dining area was mostly empty, so I walked around to take photos. Glad we didn't dine there, as it gets mostly poor reviews. It is something about places that float, revolve, or have a view - the restaurants just don't seem to have good service or cuisine. But, it is popular with locals, not just tourists.
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Part of ceiling painting by Pipilotti Rist (this part swirls and moves constantly)
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| Riesenrad in Prater from a distance - don't realize you are up so high when you are in it |
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| Looking at Schwednplatz, our frequent transit stop |
This is a long Blog, but that was not the end of our day. We returned to our apartment for a brief respite. Then the U-Bahn out to Heiligenstadt once again (for the last time), picked up the car, and drove to Neustift. We went to the Zimmerman Weinhaus, which the owners of our apartment say is their favorite. It was another adventure, as the parking lot was at the bottom of a hill, and we had to walk up a narrow, dark passage to the restaurant. It wasn't as "gemutlich" as the one we had seen in the area earlier in our visit, but once we were there, we stayed. It was in a vineyard with great views back to the city - would be fantastic on a nice day to sit outside. Ron went to order our food. He brought me stuffed peppers and spreads for bread (as everyone knows I'm not fond of German food), and he had a big piece of pork and kraut. Nearing the end of his German/Austrian food "fix", we will be moving on to Italian and French very soon.
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| Interior upstairs - Heuriger Zimmerman |
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| Mary's meal |
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| Ron's meal - who has gained more weight? I'm afraid it's a race |
We then drove back into the city, and luckily found a spot right in front of our apartment. Even though we were earlier than 10 PM, Ron said he would be willing to pay a 36 EU fine for that spot, as it would be much easier to load the car in the morning. (Luckily - no ticket the next morning!)
So, a long day and our final evening in Vienna. Ready to go, but enjoyed our time here. There are still things we didn't do that we would have enjoyed, but slow travels with Ron and Mary.
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