Text 33478, 96 rader
Skriven 2015-11-22 11:21:38 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: trip 517
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We wandered around the old town a bit, both on foot and using the
card for random short trips on various forms of public transport.

One of our destinations, recommended by the tourist brochures, was
Mariahilf, a supposedly picturesque district just across the river
from town. As it turns out, there is a rather nice church, which we
spent a little time gawking at, but the rest of it, let's just say
that the writer of the tourist brochures must live there. It's
pretty nondescript, the main attraction being a string of small 
hotels and bars, each painted in a different pastel color. Not my 
thing at all, and I was pleased to head across the river and back 
into the historic center of the city.

We'd heard that the Golden Roof museum was worth five minutes, so
we passed it up, saving five minutes, and instead climbed the Turm,
no mean feat for these four elderly legs - the view was in fact
worth the effort.

Then to the Hofburg, where we spent a couple hours; the Imperial 
apartments are kind of neat but not done up nearly so elaborately
as have some other palace digs we've seen in recent years.

On the two levels below is a substantial morbid musing called 
The End of Life, which expands on the ways we humans deal with 
this distressing subject. We started the wrong way round with 
the displays of pomp and circumstance commemorating deceased 
nobility (focusing on the Habsburgs, of course) through the 
years and finished with the common people's view of things (i.e., 
we started at the top and then went downstairs, losing the
possible uplift toward the end of the exhibition).

There is a Cafe Sacher near the exit, and though we could have
used a pick-me-up, we weren't hungry yet so went down the way
to the Hofkirche (you enter through the museum of popular art),
which features among other things the largest empty tomb in
the world, whose significance was lost on me, though its 
majesty with its honor guard of statues of the Habsburg dukes
and duchesses, did impress. Here we encountered restlessinRNO 
and Dao, whom we invited to lunch, but they had other plans.

Lilli, being somewhat bummed by all the death stuff, told me
she wanted to camp out in a nice warm spot and have a snack
accompanied by jolly if bad musicians such as those who beset
us on our first night in town.

We were looking about to that end when we passed the cafe
Maria v. Burgund, where outside in the barely tolerable
chilliness we saw our friends the Chinese brothers from
California, so we joined them for drinks and snacks. Not having 
my usual good sense with me, I ordered a pork Schnitzel, which 
didn't come and didn't come. 

Lilli had a ham and cheese toast, which was respectable, but
she was well into hers before my plate arrived, a slightly
bitter, slightly burnt, and dry cutlet of slightly inadequate
size, for which I was thankful, as the smallish serving was
about all I could tolerate; this came with a rather good salad.

Later, visiting the restroom, I checked out the place, and it
became clear that the minimal kitchen was suitable for snacks
and sandwiches and Gulaschsuppe such as the boys got, but no
way could they do real cooking, and mine had been produced
elsewhere and then brought in. Live and learn.

We said goodbye to the brothers, who had a train to catch,
and went back to the hotel via the hop-on-hop-off bus, which
was not too crowded, so we got to hear the lecture, and took
about as much time to the hotel as walking.

--
It had been decided by the majority of our group that dinner 
should be at Vapiano, even closer to the hotel than Thierry's 
place had been.

We commandeered a corner by the bar and set up our little dinner 
party. Method: you get a credit card, and every time you go to 
a prep station and order, your card is tagged electronically,
and you pay on the way out.

The food is not to my taste, being rather starchy (it's a pizza
and pasta kind of place) and I think somewhat underseasoned, but 
it's a comfy space and the prices are decent.

I had a slice of Lilli's salami pizza, which was okay, but I
did say that I was there mostly to drink - and had a bottle of 
decent Blauburgunder from Mittelburgenland for E18 (various
privileged souls got a taste of this). The best-tasting thing
though and the best deal as well was a hazelnut macaroon that I
got at the bar for a buck.

Afterward, drinks at the hotel bar. It was suggested that I go 
to the front desk and have more drink coupons issued when ours
ran out; this was successful - something to remember at Hilton
hotels without a club lounge.
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