Danke, Mama, dass du mich gezwungen hast, eine Jacke einzupacken

Day 2 Recap

After going to bed at 8 PM (the sun sets at 4 which really messed with our internal clocks), we awoke well-rested. We assembled a quick breakfast consisting of grapes, yogurt, and granola, then left to continue our exploration of the city. We took a tram downtown and walked past the Rathaus der Stadt Wien (City Hall) and the Burgtheater. Passing two different Christmas markets, the three of us settled on going into the Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum to provide a broad overview of what the city’s art has to offer. 

While the facade of the building was impressive in its own right (with its own Christkindlmarkt in front), the opulent interior decorations were beyond stunning. Finished in 1891, the building was part of a large construction effort along the Ringstraße and is “the largest art museum in the country and one of the most important museums worldwide,” to quote Wikipedia. Most of the objects and paintings featured in the museum were from areas which the Hapsburgs once ruled, ranging from Northern Germany to Southern Italy. After making our way through the galleries of portraits, a collection of Bruegel works (a new favorite of Jens) and an assembly Kunstkammers from various Habsburg monarchs, we stopped in the museum cafe for a brief pause. Fittingly, the cafe was designed to impress.

The moment we stepped outside the museum, we were greeted with snow raining from the sky. Unfortunately, one of the two umbrellas that we found in our AirBnB wasn’t cooperating with us, so we tried to share one (Thanks Daanyal, you selfless saint). We’ve gotten accustomed to walking around without any need for directions; if one of us sees something interesting, we go and check it out. We passed by the MuseumsQuartier which houses the Architekturzentrum (Architecture museum), MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art), and the Leopold Museum. We’ll go back to explore some of those places in the future.

After wandering through the neighborhood of Neubau and looking through vintage stores, we learned how important having a dinner reservation is on a Friday night. Every restaurant that caught our eyes, whether on the street or on our phones, was fully booked for the night. We were forced to settle with an Italian restaurant that had no available seating. We ordered food to-go and ate in a dive bar. Rounding out dinner, the three of us agreed that the incessant peppering of sleet had annoyed us to the point where we wanted to go back to our AirBnB (which we have started to call home) to rest and recuperate.

At 10:50 PM, Daanyal had managed to twist Jens’ arm hard enough to accompany him on a stroll throughout the city to round out the day. Throughout the day’s adventures, it was fascinating to hear the music being played. In contrast to the Strauss that began playing as soon as landing, the music played in stores, Christmas markets, and even Stephansplatz around 1am was heavily influenced by American artists, if not exclusively so. If Frank Sinatra (as sung by an impressive karaoke-ist in a Biergarten) is the artist of choice for the holidays, what room is there left for Strauss and other more modern Austrian artists?

Food for thought for these next few days…