Ein Tag und Zwei Damen

Guten Tag, Meine Freuden!
You want pastry? You’ll have to wade through some history first.
The jet lag will just have to resolve itself. I need to get on with my trip. I planned to visit a lot of imperial treasures today. I made my way to the Hofburg. It was a cool, fresh day, but as I approached the palace, the air took on a distinct whiff of horse. A bit further on other evidence of horses having been present appeared.
The Hofburg is also the home of the famous Spanish Riding School and its Lippizaner Stallions. I got to see a couple although they were just hanging out in their stables. The other source of horse, is the Fiakers, carriages in which tourists with deep pockets can ride.
On the way I detoured to examine some Roman ruins. Like so many other European capitals, Vienna began as a Roman town called the Ford of the Winda tribe or Vindobona, and I always make it a point to visit city's foundations.
The Hofburg complex is overwhelmingly grand and surrounded by gorgeous parks. I went to admire the flower beds and the fountains. But then it was time for the palace itself. There are actually three museums, and they come with a helpful audio guide. The imperial tableware is grand and beautiful, and who knew that the art of napkin folding could be so fascinating? The state apartments were likewise very grand all red velvet and gilt.
The third museum was the most personal and intimate.
She was the Princess Diana of her generation, widely and credibly celebrated as the most beautiful woman in the world, the most glamorous, the most tragic. She was the Kaiserin Elisabeth--affectionately known as Sisi, and she is still everywhere in Vienna.
But the more I learned about Sisi, the less I liked her. She hated the feeling of being stifled and bound by court etiquette, but being empress was her JOB. All those palaces, jewels, gowns, private trains, and attendants went to support the duties. And she refused to do them. She can command our sympathy. Her eldest daughter died as an infant. Her son, the heir to the throne committed suicide, blows which could have destroyed anyone’s happiness. But morbid self-indulgence is no cure for a broken heart.
Elisabeth’s life was tragically cut short by an assassin’s knife. Her life became legend. She is adored in Vienna just as Princess Diana and Michael Jackson were loved around the world.
But after all that IMPERIAL GRANDEUR I just wasn’t in the mood for any more. It was time for a change of pace. The Natural History Museum is full of natural history, but is also the home of an old friend of mine.
This other lady is no less monumental than the empress although she is but a few inches long, made of limestone and is some 25,000 years old. I tell my students, “The slide cannot convey the work adequately. You have to see it in person.” Yes.
Today I met the Lady of Willendorf and got to spend few minutes alone with her. I cannot say I met her face to face. I have one; she doesn’t. Maybe you can picture her. She’s that pudgy, prehistoric “Venus.”
Having had the chance to examine her closely I now realize how exquisitely, and I may say how lovingly, she was carved. No one knows who she is really or why she was made. We know only that she is great art. She makes you look, and she makes you feel the power. I was moved.
I rounded off my wanderings with an authentically Viennese experience--one that did not involve coffee either. I went to a Wurststand. I chose the one I did because of its purity. There was no mucking around with kebab or pizza. Sausage, bread and drinks. That was it. For three euros--the price of a pastry or some ice cream--you get sausage, a large squirt of mustard, and some bread. You can have beer or a soft drink, too, if you want. I didn’t. Yeah, I was hungry from all the walking around, but boy was that sausage good! See this spot? It got hit.
And when I got pastry yesterday I got two pieces. Ha ha! The one I had today was called something like Fruitschnitten. Contrary to popular belief the Vienna’s favorite fruit is not whipped cream. It’s apricot. Layered between sponge cake and streusel, apricot makes mighty fine pastry.
Auf Wiedersehen!