Friday, 17 May 2013

Day 39 - Samstag 18 Mai 2013

Rest Day in Vienna.

No cheating! You are not allowed to look at the photos of my evening meal until you have given me your answer.

I've had a bit of a rest this morning. I've done enough dashing about. I need a bit of time out! It's no good calling these days 'rest days' if there is no rest.

At 10am I am a move with my plan to see the Sigmund Freud Museum. It is a little bit outside the city centre but a nice ride on the underground. Like some of the other Museums for composers the outside is nothing particularly special. I had to press a buzzer to get in the front door, climb to the First Floor and then press another buzzer to be allowed entrance. This was a good museum though. It was the place he lived and worked and where he had his family until he evacuated at the time of the Second World War. It had some genuine furnishings of his time but sadly the original psychoanalysts couch was not there. I was also surprised there was no mention of adverts for dog food! Only people of a certain age will understand this joke!

You know what's coming next..... I will give my potted version of Freuds theories. He coined the phrase and methods of 'psychoanalysis' by getting people to lie on a couch and talking freely about themselves, their emotions with emphasis on their childhood sexuality and dreams. He divided human behaviour into the id and the ego.The id is the unconscious and the ego is the conscious behaviour. The id cannot be recalled it is inside each of us from our early formative years and this is also where the emphasis on sexuality comes in too. According to Freud lots of behaviours are closely linked to unconscious early childhood sexual experiences. He spawned the term 'Oedipus Complex' which reflects the sexual bond of a child and its mother. You may be thinking various things at this point. You could think, 'I didn't realise the fact that I can't control my own personal behaviour is because my mother didn't breast feed me!' or more likely you could think 'what a load of old tosh'! More people probably fall into the second category.

On my way back I managed to miss a heavy shower by extending my time in a coffee shop. I belatedly had a Linzertorte, famously from Linz but I missed my chance. It is quite cakey and raspberry centre with a sprinkling of hazelnut crumbs.

I travelled back to the hotel for a lie down but never actually fell asleep.

In the evening I was going to Schonbrunn Palace for another classical performance in the Orangery. However, I wanted to go and see the Palace itself. I checked the opening times and the Palace itself closed at 5.30pm. I managed to get there for 4pm and took one of the cheaper tours at 11.50 euros. I thin you will see how spectacular the Palace is from the photos. I wasn't allowed to take photos inside but I managed to sneak one of the Grand Hall (if they find out and try to catch me I will flee across the border to Slovakia tomorrow to avoid prosecution). I was one of the last people on the tour so there was hardly anyone about and those that went in with me zipped through like amateur tourists but I've been doing this so long I must classify as a professional tourist! The Palace was done in the Rococo style that was popular around 1740-80. It sounds like I know something about it (in contrast to the vast amounts i know about psychoanalysis) but I don't know what it is really. It looks more gold and ornate than other styles and there was an explanation that the word derived from the French word for 'shell' but I'm still not much wiser!

The earlier rain had given way to a beautiful blue sky and warm sun. It was an absolute pleasure. The gardens were open till late so I went for a walk through the very large gardens with a massive building on top of the hill facing down towards the Palace and the city. Wat a grand life the Hapsburg's had. Royal families across Europe were obviously competing with each other to build sumptuous summer palaces.

The concert wasn't the same music, except for the Blue Danube Waltz Nd one rousing Mozart piece. It was full of Japanese people. If you wonder why they are not visiting Beatrice Potters house they are here in Vienna instead. I sat right at the back but the good news was that I could easily see over their heads! The Orangery isn't quite as grand as last nights venue but on the plus side I had a more comfortable seat with better leg room. Whilst at the ticket kiosk I managed to step back onto a woman's foot! Se gave me a mouthful of some language that wasn't English and wasn't German and she certainly wasn't Japanese. She understood my English when I said that I didn't know she was there and I didn't do it on purpose. I did say 'sorry' but in a manner which showed I didn't mean it. She glared at me on the occasions she walked past me later. Stupid woman, she was right behind me I only took one step back. You can tell she annoyed me and I don't often get annoyed.

There were singers and two ballet dancers as well tonight. I wanted to ask them if they were available for Grange Opera later this year. The Orchestra would have been a welcome addition to the Summer Bandstand Concert Programme. They may have other engagements though!

I dashed back to the hotel to see if I could catch a TV channel with the Eurovision Song Contest on, 'what fun'!

Photo 1, Wien Schnitzel.
Photo 2, Apfel Strudel. It's not rocket science!
Photo 3, Volivkirche.
Photo 4, Sigmund Freud's waiting room. Original furniture.
Photo 5, View of Schonbrunn Palace from the front gate.
Photo 6, The Orangery, where the concert takes place.
Photo 7, The Grand Hall.
Photo 8, View in the rear garden of the fountain and monument.
Photo 9, The Orchestra at the Orangery.

















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