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Austria, Capuchin Church, Changing currency, Kaisergruft, Pestsäule, Refugees at the border

# From Vienna to Budapest, and Refugees at the Border

June 1, 2016 1954 1 Comment

On our way back to the bus after our city tour, I glimpsed what looked like an amazing group of statuary around a column visible at the end of a narrow street. As we drew closer, its details became more distinct. The figures surrounding the column were amazing; angels and saints near the top where dwelled the Trinity while at the bottom, piteous figures held out their hands. The Ramblers learned that this was the famous Pestsäule, or Plague Column that was built in the 17th century to commemorate both the end of the Great Plague, and the impact it had on Vienna.

Amazing sculpture around column and of course, gilding at the top.

The plague came late to Vienna. The Black Death, as it was called, had already resulted in the deaths of millions of Europeans, depopulating whole areas of Europe, beginning in the 14th century. This feared “Black Death” was carried by migrant black rats who lived in the filthy conditions of cities without sewers and garbage collection Vienna, in 1679, was just as filthy as any other city of the time, perhaps more so. Although the plague was still deadly, 200 years later, religious men and women who ran most of the hospitals at the time, had learned a little about the disease. The Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity, a Catholic religious order, created special hospitals to care for plague victims. The simple nursing care they provided was far better than any other Viennese medical facilities of the time, Thus the Viennese plague was not as deadly as it could have been. The 69 ft. high Pestsäule was built to commemorate those who died and those who worked to save plague victims.

We saw yet another uniquely Viennese building on the way back to the bus.

Was not sure just what this building was at first, a church bu also a burial place.

This was the Kaisergruft or the Imperial Crypt. In this modest Capuchin Church dedicated in 1633, lie the bones of 145 members of Hapsburg royalty along with a few urns containing ashes and hearts of others.

The Austrian flags tell you this is not just an ordinary church.

The Capuchin friars still care for the crypt which is open to the public. FYI The Capuchin’s got their name from the hood which is part of their brown Franciscan habit. The latest Hapsburg family member was entombed in 2011. Needless to say, this is just the kind of weird exhibit that would intrigue the Rambler, but it was not to be. The Kaisergruft was not on our schedule. It became just one of the many fascinating spots in Vienna we had no time to explore.

Dinner that night would be on our own, and we decided to go back to the Cafe Schwarzenberg. We had enjoyed the atmosphere, it was close and the food was tasty. However, before eating, the Ramblers wanted to change some of their Euros into Forints. We would be traveling to Budapest by bus tomorrow, and our schedule seemed a busy one. Might as well take advantage of some free time to visit a bank. First we checked with the Ritz concierge, but we learned they did not exchange currency in the hotel. She suggested visiting the Bank of Austria which had a branch nearby. So we did, only to find that the Bank of Austria had no Forints to exchange. To complicate matters, it was Friday afternoon and many banks had closed early. Fortunately, we found another bank that was open, don’t remember its name, but they had lots of Forints and were happy to make the exchange.

Walking back to the Ritz after finding our Forints.

Mission accomplished, we enjoyed an early dinner in the delightful wood-paneled cafe which first opened in 1861. It is considered a concert cafe, as a musician plays the grand piano prominently displayed in the middle of the cafe in the evenings. We were too early for the music, but I would be going to another kind of concert later that evening. The senior Rambler took a pass, as he is not a fan of concerts of any kind.

Several river cruise lines including Uniworld offer a chamber music concert for their passengers on the evening their boats are docked in Vienna. On the Christmas Markets cruise, the concert was one of the included tours, however on European Jewels, it was an option. I had decided not to attend, since I had gone to the Christmas one, and it was fairly expensive, 75 Euros. Uniworld changed my mind for me. Because we had to leave the Maria Theresa due to low water, they made the concert to an included event. I was only too happy to take advantage of this special option. It is really a treat to hear a chamber orchestra of talented musicians play in a small hall with excellent acoustics. The program was, as before composed of Mozart and Strauss music performed with much skill and enthusiasm by less than a dozen fine musicians. Uniworld has a contract with Waltz in Vienna which provides these programs which include musicians and dancers for a number of occasions.

This place is a photographer’s nightmare. The lights reflect off the beautiful paneling But you get the idea. The photos in their brochure are not much better.

. The concerts are held in the beautiful 19th century hall of the Austrian Engineers and Architects which was recently renovated and has wonderful acoustics in an intimate setting. It isn’t often that one gets to attend a private concert and it was a fitting end to our stay in Vienna. Of course, the final encore was a stirring rendition of the Radetsky March, which is traditionally played at the end of classical music concerts in Vienna and involves much clapping to the stirring march.

Back at the Ritz, the Ramblers packed their bags, since we would be leaving early the next morning for Budapest. Unfortunately we would be able to spend only a long Saturday in Budapest as we had to be at the Budapest Airport at 4 AM Sunday morning. All along we had been hearing news stories about the Syrian refugees who were trying to get into Austria but didn’t realize that we would tangentially get caught up in this unfortunate situation.

After breakfast, we boarded our busses and headed out for Budapest. We had little time to hang out with our friends from the cruise as we were going to be staying at different hotels once we got to Budapest. Although the Hungarian capital has many excellent hotels, none was able to take in so many people at such short notice. The Ramblers were staying at the Sofitel Chain Bridge, which seemed to be an excellent location. However we wouldn’t get there until much later in the day.

Since Austria and Hungary are both members of the European Union, there would be no check when we reached the border. However, when we got there, we were startled by what we saw on the highway going towards Austria.

There was a lot going on, but I was on the wrong side of the bus this time. You can see the traffic backed up tho and the truck driver staring wistfully at us.

There was a gigantic back-up of cars, trucks and busses, and dozens of people milling about. We learned that the police were checking the credentials of everyone trying to cross the border on the interstate-like highway. They had brought in extra personnel, but they were not having much success in keeping the traffic moving. The Ramblers could see busses from other cruise and tour lines caught up in the mess on the other side of the road, along with other busses which seemed to be filled with refugees. Our bus did not stop and we were able to move along quickly. I would have liked to take some photos of this historic event but unfortunately I was sitting on the curb side, not the street side.

After trying a shot or two, I decided to give up the attempt and just observe history in the making. We later saw a number of groups of refugees, mostly young men, marching along towards the border for miles after we crossed it. The traffic jam extended for miles as well.

There were several people who probably got good photos but none I knew well enough to ask if they would send them to me. I did, however, get a picture of the Hungarian rest area where we stopped briefly.

The McDonald’s, Neat and nicely landscaped and not very crowded.

It featured a McDonald’s’ and you can be sure some of our bunch stopped for a snack.

On to Budapest!

Changing currency, Getriedgasse, Mozart Kugel, Salzburg, Salzburg Cathedral and creche, The Sound of Music

# Salzburg’s Alstadt

July 29, 2015 1954 Leave a comment

Crossing the bridge of locks, the Ramblers followed their guide into the Alstadt, crowded with both locals and tourists. Inside are an array of historic buildings; the magnificent baroque Cathedral, Dom, the Abbey of St. Peter and of course, Mozart’s birthplace. The old town is also home to a marvelous selection of shops selling both international and local brands, just about anything you might want.

McDonald’s sign above Getreidgasse.

There are also restaurants and coffee shops and you will even find a McDonald’s and a Starbucks. By law, each shop along the Getreidgasse has to have a signboard, even McDonald’s, although there are many alleyways that are sign-less.

On the Getreidgasse, the main shopping street, at #9, is the Mozart Birthplace museum It is painted a bright yellow ocher, called Schoenbrunn yellow by the Austrians because it was a color favored by the Hapsburg’s. (You can buy it in their paint stores.)

Austrian seniors with matching outfits and walkers heading to the Christmas market

The narrow pedestrian only street was crowded this Friday with folks doing some Christmas shopping the second week-end in Advent. Our guide herded us fairly briskly past these attractions; luckily, there would be time to shop later.

Fiaker kiosk near Cathedral.

On the way to the Cathedral, we noticed a stand offering horse and carriage rides. The carriages are called fiaker. You can take a carriage ride that might cost from 40 to 80 Euros. Just too chilly, and our time was limited so we easily decided against a fiaker ride.

Our final destination was the magnificent baroque Salzburg Cathedral or Salzburger Dom

Cathedral interior

Its patron saints are St. Rupert and Saint Vergilius. This was a surprise to me because when our youngest grandson, little Virgil was christened, the priest told us that he had had a hard time finding a saint with that name, but finally located one. I managed to find St. Vergilius by accident on a river cruise!

Oldest item in cathedral, may be Roman, used as Baptismal font.

The cathedral is truly beautiful with many interesting side altars, a frescoed ceiling, and a wonderful creche under construction.

Ornate ceiling of cathedral

Since I was little, I have always enjoyed the nativity scenes that are assembled in Catholic Churches before Christmas. In Catholic Austria, they are set up during Advent, and more figures are added as Christmas draws near. Unfortunately t was really difficult to photograph the one in the cathedral because it was protected by an extensive Plexiglas shield,

Wish they didn’t have that Plexiglas shield but you get the idea.

The cathedral kneelers, like all the others I saw in the old churches in Hungary, Austria and Germany are made of sturdy, rough boards, and you really know you are kneeling on them. No easy on the knees, padded surfaces like we have at home. On the way out, we were asked for a small donation to help with the upkeep of the cathedral. The young woman who accepted my coins sat in a small, unheated enclosure by the door, and she looked very chilly. When I remarked on this, she smiled and said, “Oh no, I have volunteered for this job.” I hope she was rewarded with hot chocolate or Gluhwein when her shift was over.

The Alstadt Christmas Market was held on the plaza directly in front of the Dom. Our guide pointed it out and hustled off;, he really was a disappointment. We wouldn’t stay at the market either, as we wanted to see more of Salzburg.

Christmas Market at the Dom

Since we now had several hours to spend on our own, the Ramblers had to make some choices. We decided not to take the funicular up to the spectacular Hohensalzburg Castle, because it looked to be both chilly and time consuming.

This meant that we wouldn’t be able to seek out Nonnburg, the Benedictine Nunnery that played an important role in the ubiquitous Sound of Music.

View of Hohensalzburg Castle and funicular to get up up the hill

Although Maria was never a novice there, she did spend some time at Nonnberg, the oldest European nunnery in continuous operation. first established in the 8th century. It too was on top of the hill, with an excellent view of the mountains. Instead we headed towards St. Peter’s Abbey which was much closer and left us time for lunch and some sight-seeing on the way back to our bus stop.

A block away from the Cathedral, the crowds thinned out. Soon we found ourselves in the Abbey grounds where we were almost alone.

Cemetery near Abbey, a peaceful spot.

We enjoyed the peace of the cemetery and the old Abbey church which had been established about the same time as Nonnburg. Our goal was to eat at St. Peter’s Stiftskeller which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Europe in continuous operation (for 1200 years according to their brochure). Of course there is no way to dispute this claim and they may be right, because the monks who lived at the Abbey began serving meals in the 8th century.

St. Peter’s Stiftskeller

We finally found the entrance to the Stiftskeller after wandering completely around the abbey building complex which was extensive. Fortunately it wasn’t crowded and we were seated in the lower level which once served as the cellar of the Abbey in medieval times. This was an extra treat for the historian Rambler. The food and service lived up to our expectations and we enjoyed our meal; the only one we didn’t eat on the Beatrice.

After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the Getriedgasse, tracking backward towards the river and our meeting place. On the way we had more time to do some window shopping . Our guide had talked a lot about the Mozart candies or Mozart Kugel and I wanted to get some.

The Furst Mozart Kugel

His key points were that you had to try them, and they could be found in two different colors wrappers, red and blue. Although the composition of the candy was the same, the blue ones were made by hand and commanded a much higher price while the more pedestrian red ones were machine made and much cheaper. When he said much more expensive, he wasn’t kidding. The aristocratic blue Mozart candies were over 1 Euro each (actually about $1.50 US), while I was later able to buy a bag of the red ones

Red Mozart Kugel, the value price leader

for about 3 Euros (under $5.00). Well, I had to compare the two, so I went into the the exclusive blue shop and bought one, but only one. I found i really like Mozart Kugel; they have a nougat and marzipan interior with a chocolate coating. The senior Rambler only likes milk chocolate butter creams, so I didn’t have to buy any for him. That was a good thing, because to me, the expensive blue wrapped candy tasted pretty much like the red ones I bought later. We probably should have done a blind taste test when we got back to the Beatrice.! I later learned that the blue ones were the original, invented by a gentleman named Furst in the 19th century. Because of their popularity, they were soon copied by many other Austrian candy makers. These lowly candies have been the subject of many disputes because they became big business.

What do you suppose they sell here???

They are everywhere in Salzburg, but only the ones made by Furst are allowed to have blue wrappers. The Furst blue ones are only sold in three shops in the Alstadt, while the best place to buy the red ones is a supermarket.

Along with candy shops and designer clothing we did see a plebeian store in this high-rent district, that sold tourist souvenirs.

Austrian bobble-heads including a Mozart one

Another shop had a very weird display; the Ramblers had no idea what they sold and didn’t really want to go in to find out. We took time out to stop at the local Starbucks, one of the few places, as it turned out, where you could actually sit down . Always a plus was the Starbucks rest room, not to mention the availability of familiar coffee.

Starbucks with sign board

Fortunately we were able to find our pick up spot with no trouble. A few members of our group were already there. Right across the street, there was a supermarket, and I jumped at the chance to check it out. For some reason, I enjoy visiting grocery stores where ever we travel. To me, they have a lot to say about the local culture. It was a neat little place, with an excellent selection and good prices. Behold, they had bags of the red Mozart kugel on sale along with several other kinds of Christmas candies which I bought for our family at home.

Just a little bit about European currency. Both Austria and Germany use the Euro(they are part of the Eurozone), but the Hungarians still use their national currency, the forint. During our brief stop in Budapest, I exchanged some dollars for forints on the Beatrice and paid for my purchases in Hungarian cash. When we got to Vienna, I exchanged my leftover forints and some dollars for euros. Be warned that most European stores will not take dollars, as the euro is worth more. You can use a credit card, but be sure that it has a chip, which is used in Europe and that your credit card doesn’t add a fee to each purchase you make in Europe. The fee is usually about 3% and most but not all, cards charge one. You can also use a currency exchange although again you will pay a fee, and the rate of exchange may not be so good. ATM’s may be the most convenient way to get cash, but you must find one that has the same system, like Cirrus, for example, as your home bank. However, the ATM fees can be quite high, and you will be billed on both ends.

Uniworld provides a currency exchange for its passengers, for small amounts of cash. If you have never traveled in Europe,it is a good idea to learn about exchanging money and using credit cards before you leave. Also, be sure to let your bank know when and where you will be traveling or you may find that your credit card is frozen, not a good thing.

My final act in Salzburg was to buy some roasted chestnuts from a vendor near our bus stop, They were a welcome treat. Then we climbed on board for the long ride back to our ship.

Back at last

That night we would have the gala Captain’s Farewell Dinner, and later the Beatrice would sail to our last stop, Passau, Bavaria.

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