Monarch Dynasties, Tragic Rings, Wieners and Mozart

Monarch Dynasties, Tragic Rings, Wieners & Mozart

On this day we decide to sample a few more of Rick Steve’s three star top picks. We spend several hours in the Hofburg Palace’s Imperial Apartments and Hofburg’s Palace’s Treasury.  While I am less amazed by the royal plates, golden centerpieces and sparkling jewels, crowns, and gowns I am fascinated by the story of the beautiful Sisi who married Emperor Franz Josef I when she was 16. Her tragic life mirrors in many aspects Princess Diana’s life.  

Entrance to Imperial Apartments

We walk through what has been the Imperial Apartments of Franz Josef (the last of the Habsburg monarchs) and learn about Sisi who was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. She worked daily on preserving her beauty image with severe dieting, 3 hours of brushing her ankle length hair, excruciating exercise routines, and special potions and massages. She did not want to participate in her official court duties and did not like attention. When her son killed his wife and committed suicide she dressed in black for the rest of her life and traveled extensively, estranged from her husband. At the age of 60 she was murdered by an Italian anarchist who knifed her.  John tells me she may have died from blood surrounding her heart given where the knife entered. Her beauty, difficult life and tragic death turned her into a celebrity and “Sisi-mania” began in the 1950s with a series of movies about her. In markets and stores everywhere we see pictures of her on cups, cards, beer steins, soaps, lotions and on most anything. I wonder whether we would diagnose her now as depressed, narcissistic or personality disorder and whether given proper therapy she might have led a happier life.  Apparently the story goes that Franz Josef I always loved Sisi and treated her well. 

Princess Sisi 

The apartment shows the rooms where both of them lived including their separate bedrooms, studies and salons. On Franz’s desk he has many pictures of his beautiful wife and children. In her room she has pictures of only one child and no husband but rather 4 pictures of a poet she was entranced with. (She also was a poet)  In 1918 when WW I ended, Austria was created as a modern state and the Habsburg dynasty was over. It is interesting to think of the era of monarchies and their value to their respective countries and people.

Marti Theresa

  I think it is too bad there isn’t more press about the powerful empress named Maria Theresa (1717-1780). She was the only woman to officially rule the Habsburg Empire and did this successfully while having given birth to 16 children! (10 survived). She was a great social reformer, avoided wars and married her children into the right families in different countries.  She provided obligatory education to all children and granted free health care to all.  Her son Joseph II built on his mother’s accomplishments and brought about more reform such as secularizing monasteries, establishing religious tolerance and promoting treatment for the mentally ill.  Maria Theresa is certainly a model I would buy a cup of with her picture on it, even though she was overweight and not beautiful.

Weiners in Vienna

We have found the local hot dog stands that I remember from my teenage years. These stands are on city squares throughout the old center and serve a variety of sausages with pickles and mustard. We share our first one to decide if it is as tasty as I remember it. The white sausage is not quite as tasty as I remembered but perhaps because I did not ask for hot mustard or perhaps because my taste buds have aged. However, the bread is very fresh.

 Apparently the man who invented the wiener named it for Vienna. Actually he studied in Frankfurt and therefore named it Frankfurter. Only in Vienna are these sausages called Frankfurters. However, in US we use the word wiener for hot dogs and other similarly shaped things. I think of the poor US Congressman with this name. I tell John I think he must have been shamed and ridiculed as a child by his name and thus overcompensated.

The Third Ring ~ Wagner’s The Ring Cycle ~Part 3 Seigfried

Opera House 

We enter this amazing building with mammoth marble columns. We have seats 4 rows from the front where the Philharmonic Symphony is playing with the famous British conductor Sir Simon Rattle.  While we both thought we would be leaving this opera at the first intermission I had no idea of the treat we were about to receive. We were both entranced for 5 hours and I never thought of leaving. 

This was the 3^rd part of Wagner’s Ring Cycle which is a 15 hour series and it made me want to see the other 3 parts. Too bad we aren’t staying until Sunday when the 4^th part is presented.  The plot has to do with a fight over a golden ring which grants power to rule the world (currently in possession of the giants Fastner and Fasolt).  Siegmund who was raised by a wicked dwarf alone in the woods learns the dwarf (Mime) is not his father. He wants to find out why his father was killed and have the love of a mother. (he has never seen a woman). He doesn’t care about the ring, or jewels or power that comes with the ring. Of course he is the hero who in the end kills the dragon protecting the ring when tormented and walks through fire to awaken the sleeping Brunhilde, who is the God Wotan’s daughter. Wotan is Seigmund's grandfather!  Naturally they fall in love although Burnhilde tried to resist Siegmund who is merely a mortal and not a god.  At the end of part 3 it is decided that the gods no longer rule, however, we are left not being sure whether their marriage will last and if Brunhilde can give up being a Goddess rather than being just a human who is not in charge. How will they rule together with Siegmund wearing the golden ring?  Part 4 will determine the answer. The opera singing is fantastic, dramatic and mesmerizing.  Clearly these opera singers are great actors as well as having amazing voices and the orchestra, composed mostly of musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic, is first. rate.  The Opera House was sold out with many people our age who seem to love the sleeping beauty or House of Thrones fantasy with dreams of beautiful empresses and overcoming evil dragons and dwarfs.  I loved every minute of this Opera so much more than Symphony... shall I become an opera fan?

During the first intermission we run across the street to get another wiener to sustain us. 

At the end of the concert John has picked out a lovely Gastro Pub where I try the other wine that my friend had suggested. It has been a wonderful evening and we try to figure out what the meaning of the ring cycle was ~ are we doomed or will love win out?

Biking  by Danube River.

We have mastered the bikes.. and decide to ride the full Ringstrasse and go down by the Danube river.  This is a lovely ride and pass by People’s Garden with amazing roses, 

the Parliamentary Building, and City Hall. 

Parliament Building 

We stop to talk to another powdered-wig Mozart salesman and John reluctantly succumbs and buys two tickets for the concert ~ even if it is just designed for tourists.  

We get two rows from the front on the aisle. We stop in a lovely garden for lunch and then head back to our room for a nap before the concert.

Wiener Musikverein Goldener Seal Concert Hall

Concert Hall

A Variety of Choices 

Mozart

Because we are late for dinner John grabs a wiener first.  Another tradition is being established. 

Add caption

We enter Wiener Musikverein Goldener Seal, which is considered to be the finest concert hall in the world. 

Concert Hall Ceiling

John thinks of all the great musicians who have played here. Of course, there are masses of tour groups all taking videos and selfie pictures.  I don’t quite understand the selfie-picture idea but many people have these special attachments for their cameras so they can capture themselves together in front of this golden and ornate hall. I imagine they want to put these pictures on their facebook pages. 

Not a Selfie Picture 

The musicians come out dressed in powdered wigs and Mozart attire. The conductor seems to me to have a smirk on his face as if he is playing with the audience. We hear a variety of Mozart’s greatest hits.. and two opera singers sing selections from Puccini.  

The last piece is Strauss's Waltz.. a fitting end although John told me earlier he doesn't like Strauss. 

Strauss in Garden where we had lunch

 I am not sure of the quality of the music but certainly it is enjoyable. The audience is ecstatic with joy.  At the end I am glad we have come here but still feel a bit like it is a Disneyland experience for adults. We bike back in the dark to our hotel after 11 pm and view the amazing buildings and fountains all lit up in radiant beauty. Of course, they didn’t have this electricity for building lighting back in the 1800’s.

We leave Vienna and I ponder whether my love affair with this city is artificial? Will I offer it a ring?  What are the Austrian people who live here really like? How do they feel about their politics now?  Are they really mellow as the travel guide portrays? What do they care about?  Unfortunately we have not met local people only tourists except for one interesting discussion we had with a taxi driver. He told us how upset he was that Vienna in 2004 stopped the monopoly on who gets taxi licenses so that he lost his retirement investment. Now with Uber in town he is resentful of his loss of income and doesn’t appreciate the value of providing more jobs to unemployed new immigrants. I think he is upset with American capitalism.