Nice breakfast. Including pesto sauce with the meats and cake to follow as well as all the other normal breads, cereals and fruit.
I got a 48 hours underground ticket. Nice and easy from the ticket machine. I headed for St Stephens Platz where the Cathedral is. The photo I took yesterday thinking it was a Cathedral was actually the Rathaus! I had a look at the St Stephens Cathedral briefly, I could get into the back of the church but to go past a certain point I had to pay, so I put up with looking from the back. Of course it was very grand. My plan was to go to Mozart's house first but it didn't open till 10am so I went through a nearby park and returned a bit later. The house isn't particularly grand. It is on 4 floors but he actually only lived on the second floor. The other floors have some other exhibits about the period he lived there and some of his contemporaries and his history. The rooms were not furnished, they had exhibits so I had to use my imagination about him actually being there and composing.
I then headed for Prater, which is a big funfair. Guess what it was like a big funfair with all the normal rides. Fairly quiet I think in the daytime on a weekday. I had an picnic lunch and then went to the Musikverein to see the Golden Hall. The Internet said there were no tickets for tonight's performance of the Vienna Mozart Orchestra. I had missed the only guided tour of the day but they did have a few tickets available. So I booked one on the balcony. I am quite excited.
I found the Opera House and I was in time for the guided tour. It was good. The most interesting thing is that this is the place they have the Vienna State Ball each year where debutants dress in their finery. It is the biggest Ball of the year. I had heard of it before because a certain number of foreign couples can attend.
I had a walk through the centre of the city with grand buildings coming at me around every corner. I stumbled across the Spanish Horse Riding School. No chance of a ticket for their performances.
They seem to make a lot of Mozart but not much about Beethoven. I was determined to balance the situation by visiting Beethoven's house. This was a little bit out of the centre and hidden away. It turned out to be a bit crumby. I had to climb four floors to the apartment and pay my 4 euros, which was fairly cheap. It was cheap because there was very little to see. The rooms were bare with pictures of people I had never heard of but I suppose they must have had a link to Beethoven. The only good bit was being able to put some earphones on and listen to some music by Beethoven.
I made my way back to the hotel to shower before the concert tonight. Hope it's good. Hope I don't fall asleep in the middle of it!
I will go and see a Sigmund Freud museum if my ego allows me!
Photo 1, St Stephen's Cathedral.
Photo 2, Inside the Cathedral.
Photo 3, Johan Strauss.
Photo 4, Big Wheel at the Prater.
Photo 5, Musikverein Building, where I am going tonight!
Photo 6, Couldn't miss this photo opportunity in the Opera House.
Photo 7, Opera House.
Photo 8, Burghaus.
Photo 9, National Library.
Photo 10, Parliament Building.
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