Hallo-Wien

Yes, the pun is stupid. But apropos, as today is Halloween! Boo.

pumpkins

Last year at this time, I was in Prague. We get a number of days off at the end of October in Austria, because not only is the Austrian national holiday on October 26, but because Austria is also a historically Catholic nation, All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day are also holidays - and because this year they land on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, we get Halloween off as well! 

Recently, I was asked to do a PowerPoint presentation on Halloween for the 2nd Form (roughly American 6th grade) and I found many interesting facts about Halloween in America as well as the historical significance of the holiday, among which include that Halloween is the #2 commercial holiday in the United States, the higher prevalence of "trunk-or-treating" (where overprotective parents can control where their kids get Halloween candy) and that no one really knows where Halloween comes from, but the top guesses historians have are 1) the Celtic festival of Samhain and 2) the Roman festival of Parentalia. My favorite part of Halloween used to be the candy. But, well, now being more mature and adult, I'd have to say I prefer the historical aspects. But my absolute favorite part is the idea that the earthly realm and the spirit world are closest between October 31 and November 1. And it's easier to tell the future with things like tarot cards and other types of fortune telling.

And here is my favorite animated piece set to music, which always reminds me of Halloween, and a little bit of Austria, too:

Night on Bald Mountain, Fantasia (1940)


Being in Vienna this year, I wonder what will be different. Of course, I'm not expecting too many trick-or-treaters, nor will I be going to the Geisterschloss  but I will be attending a costume party, and that will be in the spirit of things, so to speak.

Back to Austria

...and fianlly, we got to Austria! We stayed the weekend in Vienna before Callie had to go home. In which time, we saw Don Giovanni, ate way too much "typical Austiran cuisine" i.e. delicious yet fattening cakes and delicious yet fattening fried foods...and Knödel, which are OK (depending on my mood, delicious even) when my mom makes them every once in a while, but overkill when they are one of two vegetarian options at not one but several restaurants...

For those Austrians in the audience, YES, MY AMERICAN MOM MAKES KNÖDEL!! We have German heritage, which is incredibly common in Wisconsin. 

Me and Callie in the Staatsoper Wien 

One of the things I had been waiting to do with Callie is what she called the "palace tour" : all the remnants of Austria-Hungary we could puzzle together in a weekend. Our itinerary was:

1. Don Giovanni at the Staatsoper - set in Venice, written by Mozart, you can't get a much better finish to our trip than this! The very idea of seeing the opera basically incorporates everything we did for two weeks...

2. Schönbrunn palace and gardens: this was my 3rd time seeing Schönbrunn, but it just gets better with familiarity. Every trip I discover another portrait of Sisi I hadn't remarked upon before. Sure, she was Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary, etc., but that woman had a bit of a complex. Vain much? Also, many a story* and portrait of a young Marie Antoinette - I have yet to visit Versailles, but that, too, is on my list of places (and palaces) to see. 

3. Hofburg: the Royal apartments, extensive royal kitchen wares/place settings/silverware collection, and even more pictures of Sisi! I had never been to Hofburg, so it's yet another thing to check off my list. In hindsight, perhaps Schönbrunn would have been good enough.

The inspiration for "Franzi"

4. The Spanish Riding School (and the Lippizaner horses)...we didn't take a tour, just loitered in front of the stables (like 90% of the other tourists) and came up with a fabulous idea to sell to Disney. About a gay Lippizaner named Franzi. It will be the next Bambi, I guarantee! I'm sure at least GLAD will be smitten with the idea.

5. Sachertorte and coffee at the Sacher Hotel although expensive - put it on our list of splurges made throughout the trip ;) - one simply must eat Sachertorte at the Sacher Hotel. Anything less just will not do in Vienna!

Enjoying a Melange in the Sacher hotel

Other, less important cakes

Sachertorte

6.  Wandering around Vienna, partly getting lost and partly killing time.

*Oh, about that story. While we were in Schönbrunn, we ran into SIX guided tour groups, each in a different language: German, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Italian. We couldn't escape them! And When you have to share a palace with 400+ people snapping photos of the ballroom with their wide angle zoom lenses, suddenly it doesn't seem like much of a palace...BUT! The story, which I overheard from the German guide in the music room was, that as a young boy (I think he was 10 or 11), Mozart came to Schönbrunn with his sister to play for the royal family. Marie Antoinette, just a few months older than Mozart, developed sort of a crush on him. Mozart (the little brat) later told his father that Marie cornered him in the ballroom and gave him a peck on the cheek - this has not been substantiated...Mozart probably made it up. Daddy Mozart then told the Empress, who was less than thrilled. Years later, as the queen consort to Versailles, Marie (now 16 and married to Louis XVI) wrote to her mother to ask if she could contact the Mozarts and engage them to play a concert at Versailles. Maria Theresia wrote back to her daughter (as always, heavy handed), saying ABSOLUTELY NOT! Marie Antoinette dropped the idea. Five years later in 1777, when Mozart did eventually make it to Paris, he did not stop over in Versailles to pay the Queen of France a visit. Perhaps he still had a guilty conscience...