In these coming entries it will be difficult to explain how I lose instead of gain weight on this trip (but I do walk A LOT when I’m roaming) because just looking at windows in these patisseries around Europe is enough to pile on the pounds. I know, it’s easy for you to say stop looking inside the windows then, but how can I resist any place with a canopy just begging to provide shade from the sun and treat for the eyes?
All I know is that a whiff of the sweet scent triggers a Pavlovian behavior in me…the salivation begins and before I know it, I’m inside the store–in today’s case I’m at Demel, the famed chocolatier and pastry shop–induced into some sugar frenzy where my mind can justify paying an arm and a leg for a tiny box of chocolates meant for people with elfish appetites…
but judging from the crowd of other zombies…er, tourists…it seems I’m not the only one on a candy high. Honestly though, who can resist these types of pretty displays:
I should say the candy boutique is to the right of the entrance, which I suppose most people may miss because when you first come inside the store, you are mesmerized by the pastry display that immediately catches your eye. I tell you, the choices are so varied you just want to weep because there are not enough hours in a day to eat everything…though I’d like to give it a shot!
If you can pry yourself away from the pastry counter, you will see a beautiful mahogany bar ahead, where you can order any kind of coffee (I prefer the strongest expresso possible) to go with your sweets:
You can also grab a quick lunch here…
but who am I kidding…let’s get back to the sweet stuff, shall we?
Geez, I’m drooling now just looking at the pictures again. But I digress. Walk past the bar toward the back of the joint and magic will find you. For it is here that you get a glimpse of the bakers in their white uniforms working on the sweets:
Is it wrong to want to live in this kitchen? Do you see all those chocolate cakes on the counter in the last photo? More about that tomorrow.
By the way, here’s a cake rendition of me falling into a pastry coma, courtesy of Demel (like my shoes?)…
Please don’t wake me up.
Vienna is a very cosmopolitan, multi-cultural town. It has its own sense of fashion vibe like any city secure in its identity:
So on one of my days here, I thought I’d chase down the shopping scene while touring the historic center. I get to the Kohlmarkt area first, where all the fancy stores are…
and my first pit stop is Hermes. Wouldn’t it be fun to buy this bicycle and see the rest of Vienna Hermes style?
Where there’s Hermes there’s usually Chanel…
In fact, I spot quite a few Chanel bags on the arms and shoulders of many ladies including this one:
By the way, the sorbet I’m enjoying is from this tourist favorite:
Did I say how warm it’s been here in Vienna? What better way to fight the heat with a nice cold glass of Austrian beer?
If you love pretty sweet treats and gorgeous architecture as much as I do, I’ll have a very special entry for you soon. I’m heading across the border again today so if there’s no wifi where I’m going, I’ll see you in a few days and I’ll pick up the story from Vienna then.
So I really should give Vienna a better introduction than the last two blog entries. My schedule is just so jumbled up in my thoughts and sensory overload this trip that my writing has been just as out of sequence. But anyway, I arrive in Vienna by train from Bratislava,
which I will blog about later. It’s been extremely warm so I’m nodding off and on (you know, the head rolling thing that’s just both unattractive and irresistible when other passengers are also doing it) during the hour-long ride. When I snap back to consciousness, these are some sights I catch from outside my window:
Look at that last photo again. I’ll tell you what it is later when I discover what it really is.
I’m pretty muddled on this particular train ride and am kicking myself for not taking at least a couple semesters of German when I had the chance. I’m not 100% sure which station in Vienna I should take actually, so I do what I usually do when in doubt: I wait to see where all the Japanese tourists get off and follow them like a sheep:
Turns out they are right on the money and I go to get my 72-hour public transportation pass from the machine. This pass, which costs around 13euros, should be required for anyone visiting this city during that amount of time (there’s also one for 24- or 48-hours). I’d get this over the Vienna Card since the card gives you the 72-hr transit but only slight discounts to the main sights. The museums and main attractions are quite expensive in Vienna so one is better off choosing specific ones instead of trying to hit all of them just to make use out of the Vienna Card.
As I leave the train station, I see this museum out of the corner of my eye…
and tons of construction. I’m actually not sure how I feel about this city yet at this point, but I rush to find the bus to my hotel. As it makes it way into the city center, I relax and pull out my camera. The first shots taken on the way into any new town are always my favorite because first impressions are rarely recorded, and after a trip, when I’m home and reminiscing, I love to look at these first photos and reassess whether my initial thoughts were right or wrong.
So these are just 3 of about a zillion incredible buildings I spot and shoot from the bus. Just when I tell myself it’s not possible to see so many works of great architecture at every turn, I am surprised by more. My bus drops me off about 100 meters from my hotel and I cannot wait to dump my bags and run back outside. I have a feeling my first impression of Vienna can’t possibly be as good as my last impression. It already looks like a heck of a town in my first 30 minutes here.
Let’s get some fashion into the mix tomorrow, shall we?
Tags: Vienna, Vienna Card
One of my favorite places in Vienna is the Belvedere, a Baroque palace complex so large it is divided into the Upper and Lower Belvedere, the orangery, and the palace stables. When I first walk through its gates
I am struck first by its symmetry and second by its grandeur. While I’m here, the water basin leading to the palace of the Upper half is undergoing some major work
but the great hole in the ground does not distract me from the sheer grandeur of the building which now serves as a museum where you will find a fantastic and large Klimt collection, including the iconic The Kiss…
There are multiple fountains
and numerous gardens
that separate the Upper from the Lower Belvedere:
And it is only from one end of the compound to the other that it is possible to take a panoramic view of the ornate buildings and its surroundings:
I don’t know if you can tell from my photos how huge the grounds are–it is a long, romantic walk from start to finish–and it simply like walking in a postcard. Vienna is full of incredible, enormous buildings, as I will reveal to you in days to come, but the Belvedere is where dreams and reality meet. If it is possible to fall in love with a building, then let the Belvedere be my one and only.
I adore Paris, but I think I have finally found a city that rivals Paris for my heart. I’ve arrived in Vienna this afternoon from Slovakia and this town truly has me at the get go. I cannot wait to tell you, or better yet, show you what a gorgeous place this is, but it is now midnight here for me and I’ve just come back to my hotel (God bless wifi when it works!) from a free outdoors concert at the Vienna Film Festival on the Rathausplatz. My throat is killing me and I’m crossing my fingers I’ve not caught a cold or something, so I’ll just post a few pics for now from this event and reveal the beauty of Vienna over the next few entries.
The film festival is running from now till September 12, and each night there is something fun (movies, opera, music, dance) shown on the big screen plastered against the magnificent City Hall. There are tons of vendors around the square selling any kind of food you can imagine.
Grab anything from the typical Austrian fare of wiener to pretzel to apple strudel…
Sidebar: if there’s only one thing to eat in Vienna it would be this for me. I can feel the calories going straight to my butt with every bite, but I suspect I will have it again a few more times before I leave here!
Anyway, there’s also Asian fusion food and tons others. For tonight’s event, it is all about the Russian Ballet (can life get any better for me!) performing to Debussy and Tchaikovsky.
As I hum to L’ Apres Midi d’une Faune, watching the ballet under a star filled night sky, nibbling on the aforementioned apple strudel with a thousand other lucky tourists and locals alike, all I can think is Ich liebe Wien.
Tags: Austria, Rathausplatz, Vienna, Vienna Film Festival, Wien
