On Wednesday I boarded a bus at the Vienna International Center to visit the Zentral Friedhof (Central Cemetery.) It wasn't the most pleasant day to tour a cemetery as it was steadily raining, windy, and very cool. Due to the weather we were not able to see as much as was planned. We were able to visit the Ehrengräber (special) section where composers, writers, artists, and politicians are buried. The cemetery opened in 1874 and three million have been buried there in the last 133 years
Here are a few of those buried there:
Johan Straus (1825-1899) was the son of that other Johan Strauss who composed the Radetzky March. He was born and died in Vienna.
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) was the author of nine symphonies and one opera. He began to change directions from pianist to composer in 1800 when he gradually began losing his hearing. He became totally deaf in 1815.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was famous for his piano concerts and of course, his compostions. Inspite of being in love two times in his life, he died a bachelor. He also hated cats.
Franz Schubert 1791-1828) was composer of "Die Winterreise" and many other works, including twelve operas, nine symphonies, and over 7000 songs. He died at a young age and his death was attributed to syphilis.
Beethoven
Brahms
Straus
The next day found us near the Karlplatz area for the Third Man Tour. We donned helmets with lights and walked down narrow concrete steps through a man hole to tour the same sewer area that is in the movie, The Third Man. The smell was not pleasant, but I was amazed by how long and massive it was. We actually were able to tour three areas. There is a river down there that flows extremely fast.
The movie was set in post WWII Vienna, with emphasis on black market profiteering occurring at that time. The film's villain, Harry Lime played by Orson Welles, was becoming rich from his involvement in racketeering in watered down penicillin. There is a great final chase scene that takes place shot on location in Vienna, mostly at night . Well, actually, there is one little bit of behind the scenes information like the fact that Orson Welles was so put off by working in the actual sewers that he refused to return and the crew had to build a sewer set at Shepperton Studios.
The boots that the sewer workers used to wear, but they were discontinued because of the spikes that damaged the concrete. They weren't too happy since these boots lasted ten years and the ones they have now wear out in a year.
Down the narrow concrete stairs after entering the manhole
I have so much to blog about and can't seem to stay on top of it. I've been so anxious to share with you my pictures from the Italy trip.
I absolutely loved the houses and buildings in Italy.
No cars allowed in Venice as all transportation is by water. The buildings on the waterways are built directly into the water.
Observing the daily living of people of Italy-I love it!
Rosanna is from Italy and is in my UN Women's Guild Yoga class. When she offered to organize a trip and be our tour guide, ten women (representing U.S., Canada, Austria, Lithuania, Indonesia (Bali), Holland, the UK, and Iraq) in our class jumped at it.
Since Rosanna is from Trieste, that is where we spent our nights. Our hostel was right on the Mediterranean Sea. So, for 22 euro each a night we had a very adequate place to rest our weary bodies.
Oh, I forgot to mention we had a sleeper car on the train going and coming. My friend, Barbara, and I bunked with Irina and Danute from Lithuania. We were able to communicate fairly well with only a few hitches. We taught them to say "ya'll", which was hilarious with their Lithuanian accent. The first day we traipsed across Trieste, a city in the upper northwestern part of Italy, along the coast, that once was part of Austria. Warmer than Vienna, we observed that the flowers and gardens were much further along. Their vineyards displayed more leaves and the fields teaming with poppies were a sight not to miss.
Our first stop in Trieste was the Castello and Parco di Miramare (an amazing castle right on the coast), the home of Archduke Maximilian of the Hapsburg family and his wife, Charlotte.
The Castle-
every room looked out over the sea.
Next was a self-guided audio walking tour. Barbara, Irina, and I were a team. We forged up and down cobblestone streets, into ancient churches, and past Roman ruins. The directions were not so clear at times and we missed a few turns. With the help of two locals we got back into town in one piece.
Looking down on the city of Trieste from the
church in Trieste.
Reservations for dinner at Vecchia alla Lira proved to be an excellent choice. The seafood (straight from the sea that day) pasta was the best I've ever had. We even had sardines that were amazing.
Next day found us boarding a train for a day in Venice. After arriving, toilette stop was first on the agenda. We gladly gave up 80 cents in order to use "real" toilets instead of the holes in the floor we had already encountered.
With a day of a lot of walking ahead of us we began our sight-seeing in the Rialto Bridge area where we visited the fish market. Wow! I've never seen so many strange looking fish. The fish that were so scrumptious the previous night just didn't look quite as appealing in the raw.
Pizza in San Marco Square was the choice for lunch. After all, can't go to Italy and not have pizza at least once!
Next stop was the Cathedral. The beauty of these old cathedrals is incredible and unbelievable. We are glad to have these places to be in awe of, but at the same time wondered how they could justify spending so much when many people were in need.
After this we headed for a beautiful park for a much needed "gelato break." I think I actually like the gelato in Vienna a little more. We then boarded the vaparetto (taxi boat) for a 40 minute ride back to the train station to head back to Trieste. After a bit we realized that we had taken the wrong train and we ended up having to fork over 12.75 euro more for going to Trieste the "long" way.
This conductor probably wished he'd called in sick on this day. There was a lot of yammering about having to pay more money for an extra hour by women who he could not even understand.
Our last morning in Trieste found us doing yoga along the sea. It was so relaxing and refreshing and there a few of us who just couldn't resist getting our feet wet. Irina had put her swimsuit on under her exercise clothes so she wins the prize for getting the wettest!
Our last day we rode on a mini bus to Aquileia and Grado, which in my opinion, was the best day. As Rosanna explained it, Aquileia was the grandmother of Venice. When Attila the Hun came through and drove everyone away, they went to Grado. Then when he came through Grado, the people went to Venice.
The mosaic flooring from the 4th century in the Basilica was incredible. It must be extremely resilient to have endured through the centuries.
Roman ruins are the predominant sight in Grado and Aquileia It would not at all surprise me to hear that discovering Roman artifacts in people's personal gardens is not a common occurrence. Meandering through the streets of Grado was lovely. There were older people leisurely riding bikes to do their errands. We had lunch at a nice little outdoor Italian cafe in Grado then headed to the Trieste train station for last minute shopping before boarding the train home.
Hats off to Rosanna for a very well planned trip. She worked hard to ensure that we had a great time.
Amazingly enough, with ten women 49 yrs. and older, there was no illness or mishaps. We all enjoyed each other's company and grew to respect each other even though we were from so many different walks of life.
Arriving Hallstatt, Austria after a 4 hour train ride, we walked up a steep walkway to board a boat that would ferry us across the lake to the town. Hallstatt claims to be the oldest mining town in the world. We were struck by the beauty of the glistening lake and towering mountains.
We rolled our luggage along the road through town to reach our hotel, the Grüner Anger. It has been owned by a couple about our age for ten years. It was immaculate and we very much enjoyed our stay there. We loved the awesome view of mountains from our balcony and the great evening meals they prepared for us. One evening we dined on fresh trout from the lake. The entire hotel was smoke-free which was such a relief after having to inhale so much in most of the restaurants in Vienna.
One day we rode the steep funicular railway up the mountain to the the salt mine. Once we arrived we were asked to slip into special pants and jacket and led by our guide into the mountain. A highlight of the tour was getting to ride miner-style down very long wooden slides from one floor to the next.
We loved just meandering down the streets, witnessing everyday life and sitting by the lake watching the swans patrol the lake as though they owned it.
A little history: The Catholic church overlooks the town from above. Its 500 year old altars and frescoes feature Hallstatt's two favorite saints: St. Barbara (patron of miners) and St. Catherine (patron of foresters.)
Space in Hallstatt's graveyard was so limited that the bones were dug up after 12 years to make room for new bodies. Many of the dug-up bones and skulls ended up in the bone chapel. Each of the several hundred painted skulls has been lovingly named, dated, and decorated. The skulls resting on Bibles are those of the town's priests.
