In Vienna Now

Resting my tired feet and taking advantage of the %26quot;free%26quot; Internet access at Le Meridian. Two days down, 5 days left. Even heavy snow can%26#39;t detract from the beauty of Vienna. Thank you to one and all who gave of their time to help us. Had lunch at Cafe Weimar yesterday. It was excellent, and we were thrilled to find that the entire %26quot;upper section%26quot; is nonsmoking. Today we lunched at Plachutta where the Tafelspitz was not only delicious, but a charming set of rituals and table service. Heard Zauberflöte at VO and were disappointed. We heard this in Munich two years ago, and were expecting the same level of set design and memorable portrayals. (Shhsh. It may be operetta to you, but to me it is still opera.) We like the Sarastro voice and agree with Roley about the acting, Sadly first night jitters can%26#39;t explain away such a ho-hum performance. Oh well. It was still fun. Dress code info for anyone wondering. I was one of only three women in the audience in a gown. There were more torn blue jeans than suits for the men. Really one of my pet peeves, since it obviously requires a significant effort to look that grungy. Not to mention how much blue jeans weigh vs. the severe weight impositions on luggage nowadays. Even if it is the %26quot;folks%26quot; opera it still deserves a certain respect in terms of dress, but that%26#39;s just my middle-aged morals I guess.

If you are coming soon, bring boots. As a Californian, I hesitated to buy some just for this trip. However; it appears that most places don%26#39;t bother to shovel. Which means during the day you are slogging through heavy slush and at night icy ruts.

Our bad German has sustained us primarily due to the gracious nature of the Viennese. So don%26#39;t be intimidated by language barriers.

We trekked to the top of Stephansdom today (343 steps up and then down). Not really worth it since it is covered by scaffolding and views are tainted. Plus you don%26#39;t get to go outside as you do for example at St. Peter%26#39;s in London. Save your breath, buy a postcard.

Finally. You know Starbucks is a cult for many Americans. Well, that is Kinder Coffee compared to Vienna. The choices for caffeine are almost as limitless as those for desserts. Amazing, amazing, amazing. Purposely redundant to make the point. The quality of both food and drink here is without peer in our travel experiences.

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The new Magic Flute production is not very popular in Vienna.

Your impression is the same as most who have seen it. Poor reviews too!

The Director of the Volksoper ix to be replaced for such productions like this.

But meanwhile some %26quot; new %26quot; productions will remain for the season schedule.

But, happy that you like the food - it seems that you spend some time in cafes too --

Enjoy the New Years activities,

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Hey, good to hear that you%26#39;re enjoying yourself, despite the snow! Thanks for the tip about climbing Steffl - I%26#39;ve been psyching myself up to do that for ages but now I think I%26#39;ll wait till they take the scaffolding down (probably never, which suits lazy Rol!)

Shame that the Magic Flute did not improve after the first night. I%26#39;m sorry to hear the director is liable to get the boot (he made a v. affecting speech the night I was at Fledermaus, for Heinz Holecek%26#39;s 2000th performance - that was great!) But however tired the VO Magic Flute may be, it can%26#39;t be as great a turkey as the modern-dress production of Manon Lescaut at the Staatsoper - that was a stinkeroo! Though at least the audience had a good laugh when Des Grieux was wandering thru a shopping mall (%26quot;wilderness%26quot;) claiming he couldn%26#39;t find any water. That still makes me chortle.

Enjoy the rest of your stay in Vienna, TM - are you going to Beethoven%26#39;s 9th at the Konzerthaus on Saturday? I look forward to your review of that, since I am pea-green with envy!

r

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am curious what you did for new years eve? are there parties in the hotels? what kind of dancing, music? how people dress? is it hard to get a ticket to a good one? i am scared of formal balls... did you go to one? or talked to anybody who did? is it expensive? does anybody waltz? what kind of food to they serve? and how late does it last?

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Re New Years

Look to

www.palaisevents.at

and their information about a New Years Ball. Hopefully it will still be there for some days.

Price 165 euro inclusive with drinks.

A very nice evening 150-200 people.

Two bands- one more modern dance music- another more traditional Vienna waltz.

This is a nice evening.

You will find all types of dress for formal to business suit cocktail dress.

Many hotels and restaurants have New Years parties ranging from expensive dinner and dancing at the Imperial Hotel 150 euro plus to Bars with buffet and drinks at 25 euro.

No problem to buy tickets shortly before New Years. You will find many advertisements in the city for them.

Of course, the city hosts a free New Years Eve party in the streets with all types of music and food, drinks.

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to travelingmother

have fun in Vienna. Now most of the snow in the inner city is already gone. So which other culinary highlights are on your schedule?