Vienna, Austria.

It was a pleasant train trip to Vienna, and I was able to score a very inexpensive ticket from Ljubljana, just 29 euros for the 6 hour trip. Train transportation costs are different depending on the country of origin. By comparison, I paid 47.50 euros for the 3 hour trip from Vienna to Salzburg. Obviously, it is premium pricing in Austria, and that is pretty much across the board. Austria is a very expensive country to visit, but Vienna really is worth spending some time in.

I arrived at train station late afternoon, and following the hostel web-site instruction I trundled my suitcase over cobblestone sidewalks for about 40 minutes to get to what would be my home for the next nine days. After I got my things stashed away in the dorm, I ventured out to see what I could see before dark. As is my habit, I armed myself with the best map available and started walking, rather than take a bus or subway.

Vienna is a pretty big city, and after about an hour of heading straight up Maria Hilfenstrasse, I found myself on the edge of the huge Ring road that surrounds the heart of Vienna. Since I was in the "vicinity" I figured I might as well find the Wienstaatsoper. It was already almost dark, so navigation didn't make quite as much sense as it should have, but eventually I found it. Lo and Behold there was a performance on that night of La Forza del Destino!

I had done my homework about how to get standing room tickets, so I knew that I had to find a side door where those tickets are sold from. Once I had that reconnoitred, I realized that I needed to eat some dinner before taking my place in line for a ticket. I found a kebab shop nearby and quickly wolfed one down along with a bottle of juice, and hoofed it back to the line-up.

It is a very democratic system that is in place for these standing room tickets. They go on sale 90 minutes before performance time, and the side door opens an hour or so before that, so you needn't stand outside in the cold! The deal is: one ticket per person, and you can't save a spot in line for your buddy. All comers go to the back of the bus. Once tickets go on sale the line moves quickly and the only thing you need to decide is whether you want a 3 euro or 4 euro ticket. Best deal in all of Austria!

From the box-office area, you make your way, with the help of the very polite staff, to the next line-up. Again, the staff really keeps an eye on the goings on, making sure everyone is orderly and there are no attempts to crash the line. Then, at a given time, the hoards are allowed to enter the hallowed hall, where you jockey to get the best available spot along a terraced rail. You must mark your spot by tying a scarf to the bottom rung (NOT the top rung - das ist verboten), and then you await further instructions. When all and sundry have crowded in, there is a little welcoming speech from an usher, and instructions about taking pictures and coats. ALL coats MUST be checked at the guardaroba. No exceptions. It is now about 30 minutes to curtain time. The best strategy at this point is to find somewhere to sit down, because the next three hours will be spent standing in one place, with someone behind you breathing down your neck!

So, how was my first of three Wienstaatoper experiences? Exciting and disappointing, both. The whole drill was pretty neat, despite the long hours of standing. The production of La Forza del Destino, by one of THE foremost opera companies in the world, was absolutely atrocious! Definitely the worst production I have ever been to. The singing was fine and even very good, but the production was chaotic, incongruous, and even smutty. Cowgirl-chicks in hot-pants and Stetsons, waving six shooters and lassos, lewd promiscuity, and really awkward transitions between scenes and acts. Not sure what the director was smoking when he came up with the design for this production, but I’m guessing it was a controlled substance.

The next production I went to was MacBeth, with the very hunky and wonderful baritone, Simon Keenliside. Another difficult production, which also included some very strange staging arrangements, including a fully operational shower (!) in which Mr and Mrs drenched themselves in an effort to wash away the liters of spilled blood from the victims of their assassinations, MacDuff and his toyboy guards with whom he was sharing his bed, naked.... I'm sorry, but it really didn't advance the story or the singing or the theatricality. It was just a big mess to clean up. It seemed to me that Mr Keenliside was not terribly interested in the production, and that he was just going through the paces. But even this was an improvement on La Forza!

Third production was the New Years Eve standard, Die Fleidermaus, which was a much happier and of course more traditional, classical setting. Only the third act dragged somewhat, due to the inclusion of the "special guest" who was an Austrian political satirist or comic actor of obvious repute. Since his lines were improvised, there was no translation, and so unless one understood German and Austrian politics, it was pretty much beyond comprehension.

In all I stood up and watched about 10 hours of grand opera, not much of it being that grand, but I was still happy to have the experience. It is actually kind of interesting to see how even the "best in the bizz" can hit and miss. Like the production of Tosca at the Met - that was definitely a "miss".

What about the rest of my time in Vienna? You could spend every minute of everyday in one museum and another. The place is stuffed full of fabulous palaces and priceless treasures of art, architecture and music. I took in a few museums, including the Schonbrun Palace, the Sisi Museum, half of Belvedere, the Hundertwasser Museum, The Third Man Museum (as in: the Orson Wells movie) among others. There are numerous exceptional buildings and landmarks, from Hapsburger to Art Nouveau to Modern and Post Modern. The Art Nouveau movement started in Vienna with a few renegade artists, and there are some gorgeous examples of their ideas scattered throughout the city, not the least of which is Gustav Klimpt's Beethoven Frieze. Another member of that movement was the architect Otto Wagner, who designed numerous public buildings and private homes, beautifully stylish design and lovely facade decoration. I'm particularily fond of this style so I was happy to go the extra mile in search of some of his buildings, including subway stations and apartment buildings. All a nice contrast and compliment to the opulent and majestic palaces of the once mighty Hapsburgs. Vienna is really a feast for the eyes.

It is also a feast of culinary delights, and a feast on the wallet. Of course, I mostly cooked my own food in the hostel self-cater kitchen. But I decided to treat myself on Christmas day, to a mid-day restaurant meal. I found a place that seemed like it was a bit of a Viennese landmark, and shared a table with a woman who was from just outside Vienna, and was having a coffee and cake, before catching her train back home. We had a lovely visit, talking about music and church organs, and we compared notes on upcoming concerts over Christmas Week in the many cathedrals in the centre of Vienna. My meal was good and the company was lovely, and the staff was full on Viennese - not quite rude/not quite polite. I think I'm right in remembering the restaurant being Cafe Diglas, established in 1875. The reason I'm mentioning it, is to invite you to go there when you are in Vienna - not only for the good food, but for the WC. The MOST high tech biffy I have ever been in. The stalls have glass doors through which you can see both in and out, UNTIL you lock the door, when it magically, completely clouds over. In that way, it is obvious whether or not the stall is occupied! And Dyson hand dryers (like those high tech vacuum cleaners), which almost peel your skin off. Uber Cool!

I covered both Christmas and New Years Eve in Vienna. A long stay, but still so much to see there (like for instance a really really GOOD opera!). One of the reasons I was there for that many days was because I could not find any other available accommodation in other nearby destinations, like Bratislava. In fact, I was very lucky to get 8 nights at the hostel I booked, because at that busy time of the year they have a policy of a maximum 4 nights stay. I pleaded my case with them and suggested that I could think of no better place in Europe to spend my birthday, and it was enough to sway them in my favour.

New Years Eve in Vienna was quite weird actually. I came out of the opera at abound 11:00, into the very busy streets nearby. There was a tangible sense of agitation amongst the revellers, many of whom were quite drunk. I decided not to find out what was planned for the ringing in of 2010, because it just felt too dicey. I headed underground to the subway station and found an even stronger element of weirdness in the crush of celebrators. Drinking openly on the streets and on the subway is common and obviously legal. Beer is readily available at kiosks and shops just about everywhere, as common a Coke. But there were some seriously drunk and disorderly people on the trains and in the stations and streets, and Austrian Angst was in your face. I was a little alarmed when the train that I was on blew right through the station that I needed to transfer at, presumably because it was complete chaos at that station. It took me three extra transfers to get back to the hostel. On the walk from Westbahnhof to the hostel, I noticed the full moon, which I realized was a Blue Moon. A Blue Moon birthday on New Years Eve, in Vienna - I don't think I will repeat that!

Next morning I was on a train headed to Salzburg.