Susan: At 9 am we had an orientation meeting in the hotel conference room. We all introduced ourselves. We have a real cross section of people mostly retirees but a few people that are still working. Then as a group we took the U-Bahn to Karlsplatz. The goal was to orient us to the transportation system and show us where we will be meeting this evening for dinner.
Once there, we were released for free time. Jim, Clay, Jean and I went to NaschtMarkt, where there are multiple vendors. They were quite aggressive in the selling tactics especially those selling cheese and nuts. Clay bought $200 worth of cheese! We had lunch at small restaurant in the NaschtMarkt and ate weiner schneizel and a Greek salad.
James: We got a quick orientation at the Karls Kirche, an ostentatious monument to hubris and one of several in the immediate area. Vienna is a bustling city. In addition to several oversized and over-the-top (in scale and decoration) royal buildings, there are miles and miles of contiguous apartment buildings almost dizzying in their similarity. During WWII, the allies bombed Vienna and took out a lot of buildings. They were rebuilt in almost identical style, each five stories tall with a white exterior. They come up directly from the streets, which creates a canyon effect along the winding roads. There is no space between the buildings and the sidewalk and almost no greenery. There are many parks however which are tidy and well maintained. You see workers everywhere with brooms and garbage cans cleaning and maintaining them.
From Karls Kirche we walked past several of the other venerable landmarks in the area including the opera house, the former royal houses and government centers, many grand sculptures and several high end shops along the pedestrian mall area.
In addition, the Eurovision Talent Finals are in Vienna and going on currently. It is apparently a huge deal- Europe’s answer to “America’s Got Talent”. There was staging and porta-potties at various locations throughout the city. We ended our tour at the pedestrian mall in the center of the historic district.
Susan: After the tour, we stopped at Aida for coffee and a pastry. MJ, from Bellingham, WA, joined us. She’s traveling on her own and has been on several Road Scholar trips before. After this bike tour she’ll head to Salzburg to take a class on how to make apple strudel. She is a widow.
James: Aida is absolutely over the top. The whole interior is pink. The walls in the upstairs eating room are festooned from floor to ceiling with pink roses. The female servers all wear pink. It’s Barbie’s wet dream. The pastry selection was also way over the top, fantastic, beautifully made and a huge selection.
We had our fill and then caught the U back to our hotel. It was rush hour and the U was packed with commuters. We squished in with all of the locals. The trains are very fast which makes the starts and stops quite exciting.
Susan: At 5:30 pm we went as a group via UBahn to the restaurant Dom Schnitzel I was surprised to find out that one lady, had to take elevator down to the UBan instead of the stairs. Franz, one of our leaders, went with her. I am not sure how she will be able to bike if she can’t take stairs. As we were walking down the stairs, Neil fell. People flocked to him to help him but he said he was fine. He scraped his knee and his shoulder was a bit stiff but he soldiered on. Neil is 92 years old.
Everyone eating together seemed a little crazy but the staff there were very efficient. I had Weiner Schneizel and German potato salad with a glass of white wine.
After dinner we walked to MozartHaus for our classical music concert. It was a wonderful trio: violin, pianist, and cellist. It is a wonderful intimate setting.
We took the U Bahn back to hotel and finished packing for tomorrow’s departure. The hotel was very nice—a four-star hotel! The rooms was well insulated, and even though our window looked right out over the train line, we couldn’t hear any noise from outside.