Our last morning at the Palais Hansen, we packed our cases after another excellent breakfast and headed for the lobby. There we met a few other couples who were also headed to the River Princess. Pick-up is usually in the afternoon as the housekeeping staff has bas to work hard to clean all the staterooms after the last passengers check out at 8:30. Of course there are always stragglers, and not all passengers leave for the airport before 8 AM. Those who have afternoon flights are welcome to stay onboard and even enjoy a light lunch before they leave. The one thing they can’t do is get back into their room!
Cruises usually, tho not always, end on Saturday, and start on Sunday afternoon. One thing I have always wanted to do when staying in a city with many Catholic churches like Vienna, is to attend Sunday mass. However I have never been able to accomplish this feat on any of our cruises. This Sunday, I had located a church fairly close by -the Votiv Kirche was just too far. It had a mass in the morning, and it seemed that this time, I would actually manage to get to church. But there is always a hitch, and in this case, it was a good one.
The church in question was Maria am Gestade, which translates to the church of Mary at the Shore. It is one of the oldest in Vienna, having been consecrated in 1415, and recently has been beautifully restored. Sounds wonderful, right? Well the hitch was that the entrance is at the top of a long flight of stairs – with no railings. Long staircases are not the friend of the Rambler, and my heart sank when I saw the photo. There would be no visit to Maria am Gestade this morning. Instead, the Ramblers relaxed in the Palais Hansen’s huge lobby while waiting for the Uniworld bus.
Onboard the bus on the way to the ship, the Ramblers again passed by St. Francis of Assisi Church, very distinctive with its red tile roof. We had passed it several times when we rode the Big Red Bus. Unfortunately it was not a tour bus stop nor was it a place we would visit with our Uniworld tour groups. However, it was clearly visible from onboard the River Princess, so near and yet so far. More about it later… The Ramblers were very surprised to see the many river cruise ships lined up along the Reichsbrucke dock. At least a dozen companies were represented, including many whose main market is in Europe. Because of the number of ships in port, rafting was necessary.
For those of you new to the blog, rafting means that instead of being tied up to the dock, some ships must tie up or raft to a ship that is already there. Thus to get onboard or disembark, one must walk through the docked ship to get to the rafted ship. Obviously this is not ideal, but it becomes necessary at popular ports at the busiest times of the year. Viking often has their own docks, tho not here, but they also have the most ships, which usually raft up to each other if necessary. This time the River Princess was the rafted ship, so we had to walk through a Scenic ship to board. Fortunately, the cabin stewards took care of our luggage, which they moved to our room.
The Ramblers had visited Vienna twice before, the first time on a Christmas Markets cruise, when there were only a few ships docked. The second time, we ended up at the Ritz Carlton, courtesy of Uniworld, because of low water issues. This time our cruise began during July, the most popular month for river cruising, and also the month when many Europeans take their vacations. Seeing the dozens of ships docked along the Danube was a revelation to the Ramblers. It shows the rampant popularity of river cruising and the difference in numbers between off season and high season cruising. So you ask, why did the Rambler book during the busiest season? It had to do with trying to estimate when the water levels in the Rhine and Danube would be neither too high (spring) or two low ( later in the summer and early fall.) Because we had our August cruise cancelled last summer, it seemed like a good idea to travel a month earlier. We would have no low water issues but would find some of our stops crowded with tourists like us.
The first day of a river cruise is usually a leisurely one, as the passengers arrive during the afternoon. The early arrivals can get a bite to eat, or something to drink and even stroll around the quay. Many like the Ramblers, arrive the day before. Although our ship would stay in Vienna for 3 nights, on this cruise, many cruises leave by 5 or 6 PM on the first day, If you miss your sailing time, it is often very difficult to catch up with your ship, as most stops are in small towns with no direct transportation. Fortunately this has never happened to the Ramblers.
With the rise of terrorist threats, Uniworld security is always visible and photo ID cards are always checked when boarding. Then everyone is photographed for their ship ID which is needed to get off and on the ship. To the Ramblers, this seemed like a great idea. Not only did the staff know who was missing but what they looked like.
By 6 PM, almost everyone was on board, and so the ubiquitous safety drill was held. We got to meet Captain Ronny, a tall, bearded Dutchman who very much looked the part of an experienced mariner. We soon found out he was indeed an excellent Captain. Of course a safety drill is part of any cruise, and many passengers don’t think it is necessary given the relatively shallow depth of most European rivers. However, although there are shallow areas, the Rhine and Danube have powerful currents, and cruise passengers have drowned in the past. Always good to be aware of this drill, tho there are no lifeboats involved, exit points are very important.
Next the staff was introduced; we would get to know many of them in the next two weeks. Finally it was time for the Cruise Manager, Heidicha Smith, to give her overview of our voyage. She was a very personable and attractive host, and seemed to have the ability to be in two places at the same time. At the same time, we got to meet some of our fellow passengers, although most were somewhat jet lagged. For the first time, the Ramblers met a large Chinese family onboard, including a 93 year old grandmother, parents, children, and grandchildren, including a very lively 4 year old. We later learned that they were from Taiwan and would go on from Europe to tour the United States; quite a trip with such a large group. There is a growing Chinese/Asian tourist presence in Europe, although the COVID crisis has no doubt affected it to some degree.
Afterwards, the Ramblers strolled around the quay, tho we didn’t go far. There were stairs to the bridge that led to the area around the dock but we were content to observe the activity around the quay. And there was St. Francis of Assisi church again. I later learned that it was built between 1895-1910 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Franz Joseph’s reign. It is ironic that although his reign was long it was a disaster for the Empire,. Yet Franz Joseph is commemorated everywhere you turn in Vienna. Much like Queen Victoria, he became a beloved icon in his later years despite his failures. Of course Vienna was the heart of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which ended with its defeat in WWI.
The Elizabeth chapel was added during the construction of the church in 1898 to commemorate Empress Sisi (Elizabeth) after her assassination in that year. The chapel in her honor was funded by donations from the Red Cross, as she was its First Protector.
Today it seems that the Red Cross has been around forever, but it was actually founded in 1863, in Switzerland, and took a while to get established. Like her husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi remains a very popular figure throughout the former empire and you will see her image in many places, including boxes of tea.
A little about Franz Joseph and Sisi… Franz Joseph, the last Hapsburg ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire ruled over an empire that was falling apart. He married Elizabeth, Sisi, a strikingly beautiful Bavarian princess and together they had 4 children. Unfortunately their only son died in a suicide pact with his sweetheart because he was not allowed to marry her. She was a commoner. The loss of the heir was traumatic to the couple and drove them apart. Franz Joseph became increasingly rigid in his ideas about ruling the Empire as he aged.
Although Sisi was loved by the people for her many good qualities, she was obsessed with maintaining her good looks. She kept to a s strict diet and exercise routine, unusual for a 19th century woman. Another obsession was her very long hair, which took much time and care. She traveled almost constantly, probably to escape her personal demons, but did not care for the typical social life of royalty. Again, unusual for the time, she had only one companion, a Hungarian lady in waiting. This made it easy for her assassin to approach her.
Thus St. Francis of Assisi is a striking and beautiful church popular with the English-speaking residents of Vienna and it commemorates perhaps the two most famous people in Vienna. The church is situated very close to the Danube on Mexico Square,(Mexicoplatz), however the river in front of the church is actually the Danube canal not the main branch of the river. An island separates the canal from the main river.
Why is there a Mexico Square in Vienna? Because Mexico was the only country (beside the Soviet Union) to protest the Anschluss, Hitler’s takeover of Austria in 1938.
We would have two more days in Vienna to take advantage of its many attractions before the River Princess set sail for our next stop at Rossatz, Austria.