Willkommen in Wien! (That means Vienna)

We took the train from Prague to Vienna and it was 4 hr.  and 45 minute train ride. We discovered that although we had purchased our rail passes in advance, we didn't have reserved seats. The ticketing agent in Prague was so very friendly and helpful.   Not only did she confirm our seats; she did the same for our next two rail journeys.

Leaving the Prague train station

Train ticket to Wien

After wandering around slightly helpless, a very nice off duty porter assisted us in to our platform. He was originally from Budapest, he came to Prague as a tourist 10 years ago.  He helped us to get situated at the correct platform and we were set to go.

Upon arrival into Vienna we struggled just a bit to find a can line. We had planned on taking public transportation to the hotel but decided a cab would be fastest.  We arrived at our hotel at 4:00 p.m. and checked in. We spent several hours in the room charging devices, uploading photos, etc. we finally ventured out for dinner around 7:30 p.m.   On our way into the city we passed this abandoned building that caught our eye.  It had all the windows and doorways stuffed with colored cut of foam pieces and cloth.  This is what we saw.

What could it be?

We ate at the Restaurant Gutenberg. Dave had the signature schnitzel and I had  the pork medallions with buttery dumplings; a very tasty local dish.

Johannes Gutenberg monument. Gutenberg was the inventor of the printing press.

After dinner and stroll through town we came upon this fascinating clock.  The clock sat between to buildings high above our heads.  It's not your typical clock.  The clock is called the Ankeruhr, a large gilded clock in Jugendstil style (the local version of Art Nouveau). The clock spans a small alley, the Bauernmarkt.  It was commissioned by the insurance company Der Anker - hence its name - and was constructed in 1917 after a design by Franz Matsch. Our plan is to return tomorrow at noon and watch the show; each of the twelve figures appear one by one.

The Ankeruhr

After watching the clock we wandered back to the hotel and entered upon the conclusion of a outdoor performance called the Wagner Extase and guess where it was?  Right back at the abandoned looking building we saw earlier!

We approached just as the performers were winding down their singing and it was actually performance art.  As we approached the audience was applauding and walking inside.  Dave and I looked at each other and said, "why not?" and jumped in the crowd and walked in.  We walked down three floors down in the basement of this huge palace that is the former imperial telegraph office.  We wandered from room to room accompanied by Wagner's music and it started to get smokier and danker as the candles started dripping and burning.  We saw wait staff so knew there was some type of reception going on but when folks started taking out their tickets we knew it was time to go so we wandered back upstairs and out the door.

Performers at the Wagner Extase

We walked back to our room to call it a night to gear up for tomorrow's tour day.

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