The Trip That Keeps Growing: Danube River Christmas Market River Cruise

Note: As it is very time consuming to try and add pictures in the body of the blog, I will add them at the end with captions.

4-7 December Vienna

We left Denver on 4 December to fly to Chicago where we spent the night visiting Doug and Duffy. We enjoyed a great Mexican dinner Saturday night with several of Doug and Duffy's friends. On Sunday, we left in the early afternoon to catch our 4:30 Austrian Air flight to Vienna to begin our Danube River Cruise.

We arrived in Vienna about 8:30 am on Monday 5 December. The flight was uneventful, and I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep. Getting through Vienna Airport was super easy – it took about 5 minutes to get through passport control and find baggage claim. There we were greeted by St. Nicholas (St. Nicholas Day is celebrated here on 6 December) who with his two helpers was handing out chocolate. What a nice greeting. After retrieving our luggage, we bought our tickets for the trip into the Vienna Main train station and in 20 minutes we were in the center of Vienna. It was a short walk to transfer to the underground (U) train which took us to our hotel – the Renaissance Wien Hotel – just across the street from the U station – how convenient!

After checking in we walked back to the U station and took the U one stop to the Schoenbrunn Palace where we hoped to buy tickets for a tour on Wednesday. It was not particularly crowded as the weather was cold and overcast, and we were lucky to get tickets for a tour this afternoon. In the courtyard of the Palace, they had a Christmas Market, so we walked around that for a while and had our first glühwein of the year. We then had lunch in the Palace’s restaurant. The best part was the large piece of apple strudel topped with whipped cream and ice cream. They do make outstanding strudel here.

Schoenbrunn Palace is beautiful and one of Austria’s major cultural assets – it is the most popular site in Vienna. The former summer residence of many of the Hapsburgs rulers, including Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph, and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), it is renowned for its Baroque architecture, ceremonial rooms and magnificent gardens. Of course, it being December, there was not much to see of the gardens, although there was a lot of green grass.

In 1569, the Hapsburg Empire acquired the former Katterburg estate and in 1642 a palace was built for the wife of Emperor Ferdinand II. This was the first time the property was called “Schoenborn,” which means “beautiful spring.” It was named for an artesian well where the residents obtained their water. At the time it was used as a hunting and recreation area.

In 1696, Emperor Leopold I had the old pleasure palace torn down and replaced with a hunting lodge for his son Crown Prince Joseph who would later become Emperor Joseph I. However, the grandiose plans for the new palace never achieved their full goal. Emperor Leopold had to halt the construction work as his money had to be diverted to the War of the Spanish Succession.

It wasn’t until about 50 years late (1740), under the reign of Empress Maria Theresa, that the building began its transformation into the palace we saw today. While in the past it had only been a hunting lodge and sometime summer retreat, Maria Theresa wanted it to become her full-time summer residence, complete with the beautiful gardens that exist today. Although they used the original plans of the first architect (who died in 1723), these plans were greatly modified by Maria Theresa. Most of the work was completed in the late 1700s and the only major change to the palace since then was in 1820, when the façade was painted its distinctive yellow color. The structure is massive, covering three sides of the front courtyard. Altogether, there are 1441 rooms, but only 45 are available for public viewing. It was in one of the halls that a six-year-old named Mozart made music.

On the grounds of the palace is the Tiergarten Schoenbrunn (Schoenbrunn Animal Garden), founded in 1752 and is, today, the oldest continuously operating zoo in the world. It was started by Maria Theresa’s husband, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, as an imperial menagerie. Originally there were 13 animal enclosures, built in the form of cut cake pieces that were placed around a pavilion where members of the court would eat their breakfast. Francis’ son took safaris to Africa to bring back animals for the zoo. In 1828, the arrival of the first giraffe created quite a stir in Vienna – clothes, accessories, and even musical compositions were all influenced by the giraffe.

Sadly, both world wars brought damage to the zoo. With food supplies in short supply during WWI, the 3500 specimens that inhabited the zoo were reduced to 900. And the bombing raids in February 1945, not only destroyed many buildings, but killed over 500 specimens. Today the zoo has rebounded and has over 700 species. As we were limited in our time, we did not visit the zoo, although I had seen it in 2005 when visiting Vienna with Doug. At that time the only two species from America were the American bison and the prairie dog.

We took a tour of the private rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi. To say they are beautiful is an understatement – they are opulent with much gold gild decorating most of the rooms. We visited about 25 rooms from the grand ballroom to the Emperor’s toilette. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the building. But google has some great pictures of these rooms.

Returning to the hotel, we spent the better part of the evening in the bar having a wonderful conversation with an American defense contractor (former Army but we won’t hold that against him) and downing way too much wine.

The next day was spent walking around the city. Vienna is an absolutely beautiful and a very friendly, walkable city. We can’t wait to visit some of the Christmas markets, especially the largest and grandest in Austria – the Rathaus Kindlmarket.

Vienna is the capital of Austria and its most populous city. It is also perhaps the most culturally vibrant city, steeped in grandeur, in Europe if not the world. The city is home to beautiful Imperial Palaces, built during the Hapsburg Dynasty, museums and old churches, as well as lively modern coffee shops and let us not forget, the Sacher Torte, a heavenly delight of chocolate and apricot jam. Vienna is famous for their Lipizzaner horses who perform their elegant equine ballet at the Spanish Riding School. It is also known as the City of Music and is renowned for its State Opera House and the Vienna Boys Choir and a musical heritage that features famous composers such as Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. Who can forget the beautiful Viennese waltz danced to the Blue Danube composition – I think I have watched too many Hallmark Christmas movies! And everywhere there are vendors trying to sell you tickets to a Mozart concert. As Mozart is not one of my favorite composers, we decline. We had also been to a quartet concert in Vienna during our Viking Danube River Cruise many years ago.

Vienna’s past has been a succession of former empires and dynasties, beginning with a Celtic settlement in 500 BC. In 15 BC, the small city was fortified by the Romans to guard against Germanic tribes from the north. The Babenberg dynasty, then located in Bavaria (Germany), began expanding its territory in 976 AD. In 1145, Vienna became the family residence and remained the center of the Babenberg dynasty until 1440.

Vienna then became the imperial city of one of the most powerful and influential dynasties – the Hapsburg Dynasty, who ruled Vienna and Austria from 1558-1918. Under the Hapsburg rule, Vienna became the seat of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806) and a cultural center for arts, science, music and fine cuisine. During the early part of their rule, they twice stopped the Ottoman army from entering the city and survived the Great Plague of Vienna in 1679 that killed one third of Vienna’s population. Following WWI, the Hapsburg Empire was divided up among many European nations, leaving only Austria and Hungary under the rule of the last Hapsburg ruler, King Charles. On 11 November 1918, Charles issued a decree recognizing Austria’s right to become a republic and renouncing his right to any share in the affairs of state (he made a similar proclamation for Hungary on 13 November 1918). The reign of the Hapsburg Dynasty had come to an end.

Unfortunately, from 1938 to 1945, Austria (and Vienna) became part of Hitler’s Greater Germany and much like Berlin, the city was divided into five zones (British, French, American, Soviet Union, and one international zone in the historic center of Vienna) following the war. It wasn’t until the State Treaty of 1955 that Austria regained its independence with Vienna as its capital. As with most of the other cities under Hitler’s rule, Vienna suffered heavy damage during the last months of WWII, but the damage has since been rebuilt and Vienna looks as it did before the world wars.

After yesterday, we felt as if we had mastered the U subway system so off we went on our walking tour. The only problem we encountered was trying to determine which of 8 exits we needed to take as we exited the subway station. Unfortunately, we still haven’t mastered that and as a result we probably did more walking than needed. But we did see some beautiful buildings and several small Christmas markets (that had not yet opened for the day). We passed by the massive Opera House that takes up a complete block and finally made our way to the Neumarkt area, a pedestrian area with many high-end stores.

There we saw the Donner Fountain. Located in the center of Neumarkt, this elegant fountain was commissioned by Vienna’s City Council in 1737. Created by George-Raphael Doner, it shows the gracefully undraped Goddess of Providence, holding a snake and attended by four laughing cherubs who are struggling with a fish. On the edge of the waters that flow into the fountain’s basin are four allegorical figures that represent the rivers of Austria. After it was erected, it was judged to be too obscene and immoral – an afront to public decency. The Council ordered that it be removed and melted down and destroyed. However, it was not destroyed and today the original lies in the Belvedere Museum. The one in the square is a copy.

There we finally found St. Stephens Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. Throughout its long tenure as the most important church in Austria, it has been witness to many important events in the history of both Austria and the Habsburg Empire.

The church sits on the site of the first Romanesque St. Stephens that was consecrated in 1147. Between 1200-1225, a second Romanesque church replaced the original one. In 1304 a Gothic Choir was added and in 1433 the South Tower was completed. Construction of the North Tower began in 1450 but was abandoned in 1511 due to the Reformation and the growing threat of a Turkish invasion. It was finally finished in 1578 with the construction of a domed cap, where the Pummerin, the cathedral’s 21-ton bell resides. In 1722 the Archdiocese of Vienna was established. In 1732, the catacombs beneath the church square were set up as underground burial places. During the waning days of WWII, while most of the church was saved from destruction by the fleeing German forces, civilian looters lit fires in the nearby homes and shops, and sparks from those fires set fire to the roof of the Cathedral. Much of the artwork, the pulpit, and the tome of Frederick III were saved by brick shells that were built around these areas, but the organ, bells, and other artwork were destroyed. After only 7 years of rebuilding, St. Stephen’s Cathedral reopened in 1952. In 1960, a new giant organ replaced the one destroyed in the fire. Today, St. Stephen’s, with its four beautiful towers and tiled rooftops, dominates the skyline of Vienna. The South Tower, at 446 feet and the highest point in the city, offers fantastic views of Vienna for anyone willing to climb its 300 steps – we were not!

The last time we were in Vienna, the church had been undergoing a massive renovation and was covered in scaffolding. Today most of the scaffolding is gone and the outside is spectacular. There was also a small Christmas market located in front of the church. We walked inside, where the inside was just as majestic as the outside.

Not far from the church in the center of a pedestrian walkway, is the Plaque Column or Trinity Column. This baroque sculpture has a complex composition of visual images and symbols, freely mixing religious icons with motifs from the Habsburg Empire. The Trinity seems to play an important role. Its basic message is that the Black Plague of 1679 was a punishment for sins. but it was defeated by the piety and intercession of Emperor Leopold 1. The sculpture is designed as a tower of clouds, saints, angels, and the Habsburgs (or Leopold 1), thanking God for his intercession, with references to the Trinity throughout the sculpture. The bottom of the sculpture has figures representing the triumph of faith over disease, with Leopold 1 praying to God. Next are the angels who act as a mediator between God and the man below. And finally, the highest level of the sculpture is reserved for the Holy Trinity and is topped by cherubs. In addition, there is a three-part division which establishes a connection between the Trinity and the three parts of the Habsburg monarchy. The western face of the sculpture is dedicated to God the Father, with a double-headed eagle (the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire), the coats of arms of the Inner Austrian lands – the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola – and the coats of arms of the core countries of the monarchy. The eastern face, associated with the Son of God, has the coats of arms of the kingdoms of Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia, and Bosnia. And finally, the northern face, belonging to the Holy Trinity, has the coats of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia and Lower Silesia, and the Duchy of Silesia. This column eventually inspired the erection of many similar monuments throughout Austria. It should be noted that Leopold 1 did his praying from quite a distance away from Vienna, as he fled the city as the plague started!

We then walked to St. Peter’s Church, a beautiful church with a green dome. Built on the site of a 14^th century church that could be the oldest church in Vienna, St. Peter’s Church is Vienna’s is one of the oldest, but the most lavish baroque church in Vienna. Built in the early 18^th century, its exterior is dominated by a massive dome, mimicking its namesake in Rome, reliefs and statues. But it is the interior that really captures your interest. It is like opening a psychedelic Easter egg with its dazzling display of gold, silver, and marble statues and icons. It is stunningly baroque! Its magnificent golden pulpit sits opposite a gold and silver sculpture representing the Martyrdom of St. John of Nepomuk. And the painting on the ceiling of the dome – the Coronation of Our Lady – is said to be one of the prettiest in Vienna. Another feature of this church not to be missed is its large organ that was built in 1751. Today the church belongs to the priests of the Opus Dei.

Our last church was St. Michael’s Church, another of Vienna’s old churches, and one of the few remaining churches built in the Romanesque style, St. Michael’s Church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, sits across the square from the Hofburg Palace. Built during the 1200s, it was the parish church of the Hapsburgs. Winged angels, carved in 1792, fly above the church’s entrance. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the church is the catacombs located beneath it. During the period 1631-1784, about 4,000 people were buried there. Because of its unusual environment, these bodies did not decompose, and today, in addition to the coffins adorned with flowers or skulls, you can also see mummified corpses, some still in their baroque frockcoats and wigs. Unfortunately, the catacombs are only open on Friday and Saturday, so we were unable to visit. Mozart’s “Requiem” piece was first performed in St. Michael’s shortly after Mozart’s death.

From St. Michael’s, we walked around the small circle to the Hofburg Palace. This was the Imperial Palace and seat of government for the Habsburg dynasty during their reign which lasted until 1918. It is one of the largest palace complexes in the world and is today the official residence of the President of Austria. Built during the 13^th century it has continually been expanded with construction up into the 20^th century. In addition to the Spanish Riding School there are several museums, a church and chapel, the Austrian National Library, and the Presidential offices. Three of the most popular attractions are the Imperial Silver Collection, the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments. The Silver Collection, which now belongs to the Austrian Republic, includes crystal glasses, silverware, and porcelain used during the lavish dinners of the Habsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum recounts the life of the beloved Empress Sisi, her rebellion against court ceremony, her obsession with beauty and the deep sadness that affected her. Married at 16 to the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, feeling isolated and trapped inside the palace, she suffered a mental illness, caused in large part by the suicide of her son. Escaping from the tragedies in her life, she traveled the world until she was assassinated in 1898 in Geneva. The Imperial Apartments were the living areas of the Habsburgs for over 600 years. They have been preserved in all their splendor with the original décor and furnishings. As we had already visited the Imperial Apartments at Schoenbunn and jet lag and a lot of walking on cobblestones were beginning to take their toll, we just walked through the complex (a road runs right through the center of the Palace) to the Heldenplatz or Hero’s Square.

In front of the Hofburg is Heldenplatz, a large square built during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph. Its carefully constructed symmetry seems to dictate that each of the stately buildings bordering it, as well as each of its equestrian statues and ornate lampposts, has a well-balanced mate. Gardens stretch out in well-maintained splendor. It was here, in 1938, that Nazi Germany announced the annexation of Austria. In the square are two equestrian stations commemorating two of Austria’s most important military leaders – Archduke Karl who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809 and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the hero of the wars against the Turks.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel for a little rest before traveling to the one place Bill wanted to see in Austria – the Rathous Wiener Christkindlmarket.

We left the hotel about 5 PM to take the U to the Rathaus. The Rathaus, built between 1872-1883, is the seat of the local government of Vienna. Here you will find the offices of the mayor and the chambers of the city council. It is one of the Vienna’s tallest and most impressive buildings with its towers looking down majestically on a central square and park. But most importantly, here is the location of Vienna’s largest Christmas market, with vendors’ booths both in the square in front of the Rathaus and in the park behind the Rathaus. There was a large Christmas tree adorned with white lights in front of the Rathaus. The scene was lively, noisy, crowded, and festive. In addition to the vendor’s booths, there was a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and plenty of food and drink booths selling glühwein and other hot drinks in the little mugs that were designed specifically for each different Christmas market. On our Rhine River Christmas Market tour we brought home 18 mugs. So far, we have 3 from this trip and the river cruise has yet to start! We had a wonderful time wandering through the booths and enjoying our glühwein.

Our visit to Vienna has been wonderful. Everywhere you look, people and stores have outdone themselves with Christmas decorations. There are about 20 Christmas markets, the majority located in the old part of town. But it is now time to move to our new home for the next 7 days – the river boat Aria. Tomorrow the next part of our adventure begins.