June 13 – Vienna Austria. It was a low key morning of getting things finalized for the bus trip and making sure we hadn't overlooked anything. We did take some time after breakfast to wonder out to the hotel's patio on the banks of the Danube River. They have some very comfortable lounges out there that look like a sultan's harem couch. They're wicker construction with a clamshell type top and a large seating area that's so long I don't know why anyone would ever need the accompanying hassock.
Both of us did some sink laundry to catch up with our clothing situation. Nothing is at critical levels and I want it to stay that way. This evening we're going to the opera at the Vienna State Opera House. Reputed to be one of the best venues in the world for opera we feel duty bound to check it out.
The Underground, known as U trains here in Vienna as they are in Germany, is very easy to use here. The layout is intuitive and the signage is great. It's especially simple from the Hilton Danube as the U2 ends at Karlsplatz which is exactly where we want to go. The Stadion Station is a short walk from the hotel, up to the platform and onto the train. The subways here are very nice. The car layout is the best I've ever seen. It's a 10 stop ride but the distance is much shorter than the 9 stop ride we had on the Moscow Metro. Vienna's subway stops way more often so, on average, the distance between stations is less than half of that in Moscow.
The trick at the Karlsplatz station is knowing where to go to head to the surface. It's the largest station in the system, serving thee of the six lines on the subway. It's under the park of the same name and if you go to the surface at the wrong place you can add almost a half mile to the walk to your destination. The various halls and passages between the platforms of the three subway lines are very diverse. Some are just narrow passages, others are very wide and lined with stores. There are several cafes, clothing stores, tobacco shops, a McDonalds and last, but not least, the opera bathroom. This unique WC has opera music playing and is very nicely decorated.
There is an exit right in front of the Opera House but they're conducting a renovation program in the subway and some of the signs are down. We did find it despite their efforts to misdirect us. We're going to have a bite to eat before the start of the opera at 7PM. We're seeing the premier of Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner. I've never seen this opera but I've been to a few and I know that Wagner creates a lot of controversy. There are those who love his operas and those who hate them. They have been called "too long, too loud and well, just too much." You can tell how long an opera is by when the Opera House sets the start time. Because the subway goes to an every half hour schedule just after 10:30PM the perfromances are timed to end at about 10PM to allow for easy and quick access to your ride home. Since Tristan is starting at 7PM I'm assuming it's about 5 hours long.
We stopped at the Café Mozart for dinner. Diana went old school with Weiner Schnitzel and I had Viennese goulash. Both were excellent but Diana got the schnitzel that ate Vienna, it was huge. The goulash was made with some hot paprika, not overwhelming, just a nice moderate warmth.
We picked up our tickets at the box office; I'd ordered them online about 6 months ago. The Opera House runs at about 95% capacity so sometimes you just can't get tickets. The doors opened at about 6:20PM and we all went in.
The facility is beautiful inside. It's set up with a large main floor and 3 tiers of stacked horseshoe shaped balconies with boxes and a 4 & 5th balconies that are open. Each seat in the balcony has a small LCD screen that you can lift up to see the lyrics in English or French. On the main floor you are on your own.
The orchestra is wonderful. It was a pleasure to listen to the music. The singing was also excellent but the Wagner got in the way. It was enjoyable but I'm more in the 'I don't like Wagner operas' club. This was the only night we had free here and we wanted to experience the house. I liked it well enough but I kept wishing for two things, that it was Mozart or that it was shorter. Three hours would have been about right, but it was the full 5 I expected.
After a short walk to the subway and a comfortable ride home it's time to prepare for the Trafalgar "Highlights of Eastern Europe" tour we join up with tomorrow.
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