Vienna-Where elegance is an understatement

Where other cities strive to carve a name, she sits back and lets fame seek her. From her name to her history, character and culture, everything reeks of class and grandeur. She has given the world some of the finest emperors, musicians, psychologists, scientists, poets, artists, architects and writers which civilization has seen. Her beauty is charming and regal. Ladies and gents, welcome to Vienna - the city where elegance is cemented in every stone on her streets.

Sunil and I take our first steps in Vienna ('Wien' as it is known in the area) with much less grace however. The night train from Cologne took long and our co-passengers were so interesting that we barely got any sleep. Stepping out of Wien Westbahnhof Station on the morning of New Year's Eve, we trudge down Maria Hilferstrasse, lugging our fat suitcases. 

A short walk gets us to Hostel Ruthensteiner, our home for the next 3 days. To any traveler who wants to get an unique, no-frills European experience during their visit, I highly recommend staying in a hostel. Of course, make sure you do your research to find out about the hostel's ratings, reviews, location and safety features. A hostel stay may not compare to booking a romantic suite at the Ritz but it can be a wonderful experience in enjoying camaraderie, making new connections and getting the most out of your visit, especially if you are on a frugal budget. You can book a bed in a common area or private suite (slightly more expensive). Most private suites come with a bathroom and shower attached. Book in advance and you may be able to get a bed for just $15-$25/night. Breakfast is typically a large buffet with plenty of fresh options and usually at a surprisingly cheap price (~$3-$5). Small and large lockers are available for your valuables and luggage alike. At the front desk, borrow any guidebook you may need or get tips, suggestions and advice from people who really know the area. Often, hostels also arrange walking tours where you can meet other hostelers, cover several tourist attractions and have a guide you can trust. 

Interiors at the Ruthensteiner

Ruthensteiner does not disappoint us in any way. The interiors are cozy and painted bright yellow while the beds are clean and comfortable. There's a common area filled with couches, stuffed chairs and writing tables.  A piano waits for residents to tinkle ivories while board games stacked on shelves provide another distraction. There's a kitchen area where you can cook your own meals and a dining space leading out to a garden.

 

 

Eager to explore the city, we check in at the front desk for some sightseeing tips. The friendly Brazilian girl at the registration desk is happy to help us plan our day and make sure we get to the New Year festivities happening in the city that night.  Our first stop is to continue down on Maria Hilferstrasse to the Schonbrunn Palace.

There are palaces all over the world and then there's the Schloss Schonbrunn ('Beautiful Spring Palace'), the mother of them all. How else do you describe a magnificent Rococco structure housing 1441 rooms and set on sprawling grounds of 1.2 sq.kilometers? Did I mention that this was the summer palace of the Hapsburg emperors? Yep, not their permanent residence, just summer home. As Sunil and I take in this magnificent sight, I remark to myself that the Hapsburg royalty could have slept in a different room each night for 10 summers in a row and still have more rooms waiting to be used. Life must have been tough for a Hapsburg king.

The palace was completed in the 17 century and its gardens opened to the public in 1779. The splendidly manicured lawns boast a magnificent fountain, maze of hedges and a small zoo.  Inside the palace, a tour takes you through the private chambers of 

• Empress Maria Theresa, the only female Hapsburg ruler in the entire dynasty
• Some of the 16 children she bore for her husband Emperor Francis II including Queen Marie Antoinette of France. The children also included Franz Karl, whose grandson Franz Ferdinand's assasination triggered World War I. 
• Franz Karl's son, Franz Josef' whose wife, Elisabeth ('Sisi'), has drawn the fascination of every visitor who steps into these royal chambers. 

 While pictures are not allowed on the tour, the images that remain best imprinted in my memory are from the life and times of Sisi, wife of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress of Austria, Croatia, Bohemia and Hungary. A woman of exceptional beauty (known in particular for her long tresses), Sisi's life is the tragic tale of a free-spirited young girl, married off at an early age into royalty and subsequently enchained by the shackles of court life. She withdrew from Vienna's royal life as much as she could. Her poetry was as impressive as her skills in horseback riding, fencing and other extreme outdoor sports. Subjected to the confines of orthodox royalty, Sisi's mother-in-law and aunt, Empress Sophie, dominated every aspect of Sisi's married life, almost entirely destroying her spirit. Her first 2 children (both girls) were taken away at birth by Sophie who felt that young Sisi made for a silly mother. Sisi's only involvement in courtly affairs was when she accompanied the Emperor on his travels. The trips got her out of Austria's stifling society and on one of these trips to Hungary, she struck a chord with the Hungarian people, championing for their liberation and winning their admiration instantly. Naturally, Sophie scorned such efforts from her daughter-in-law, making her feel even more unwanted.  A terrible tragedy occurred with Sisi's son, Prince Rudolf, getting killed at the age of 32. This drove her into severe depression and she never fully recovered. 

Sisi's beauty has been the subject of admiration and criticism for decades. While she chose to not cover her flawless features with cosmetics, she certainly had elaborate rituals using natural products to help preserve her beauty. Here are some facts we find out when we visit her Salon in the palace:

• Her slender figure was unnaturally too slender and always at 50kg.
• It took over 3 hours to care for her hair every day-so long that it could envelope her entire body. Every other week, her hair was washed with crushed eggs and cognac. All activities were cancelled on those days.
• She slept with raw veal and crushed strawberries on her face as a natural mask.
• Her bed had no soft pillows. She slept on a metal bed frame to retain her posture.
• While her morning bath was in cold water, her evening bath was in olive oil.
• After she turned 32, she refused to sit for portraits so that her beauty could be preserved for posterity.

I wonder whose head rolled on the day she noticed her first wrinkle.

Her later years were filled with pain, distance from society, poetry and long voyages around the world. During one such trip to Geneva, she was stabbed by a young Italian anarchist who had originally plotted to kill a Duke who had been visiting. The incident turned fatal and the empress who spent her life supporting the cause of liberation of the masses was ironically killed by a commoner. While the tour takes us through room after room filled with glittering treasures, exquisite jewels, gowns and crowns, you cannot help but feel Sisi's ghost following you everywhere as melancholy hangs in the air.

Sachertorte

A tour of the palace quarters is a must for any visitor but make sure you have enough time to explore the grounds as well. Stopping at the cafe in house for some well deserved lunch, Sunil and I are tempted to try the Sachertorte - Vienna's most famous pastry first prepared for royalty. This is a dense chocolate cake in 2 layers with a filling of apricot jam. The recipe is so special that outside of Austria, only 1 location in the world (in Italy) can offer you this royal dessert.

As we savour this delectable treat, a group of kids dressed as the Magi enter the cafe to sing carols. I have heard legendary stories about the magical voices of the Vienna Boys Choir and I can only imagine that every child in this musically rich city is gifted with an angelic voice. But when the kids begin with their first carol, I have to dig my finger nails into the table. In all fairness, I have heard cats moan in synch better while Sunil begs that they all pick one key together. However, the peach that he is, he digs into his wallet for a few euros as they move from table to table ringing their bell while I claw at him, hissing in Tamil that our euros are precious.

The afternoon sun warms our cheeks when we step out into the cold and explore the gardens. It takes us over 20 minutes to walk towards the Gloriette, a building constructed atop a hill in the form of a pavilion. There you find an inscription stating that the gloriette was dedicated to the Just War, a war which lead to peace.

Schloss Schonbrunn

Sunil at the Gloriette with the palace in the distance

The Gloriette

 

We rest our weary feet at the top of the hill and take in the impressive sight in front of us. Dusk is settling in quickly as the sun goes down and the year itself fades away. The city of Vienna starts sparkling with bright lights in preparation for New Year's Eve. In the distance, Schloss Schunbrunn's yellow walls are arresting. On our way back, we spend some time at the Christmas Market on the palace grounds and enjoy hot chocolate. In Vienna, hot beverages are served in mugs, not disposable cups. You stand and enjoy your drink, giving it the dignity it deserves instead of sipping it on the go. For this, you pay a deposit for each mug returned when you bring the mug back. I really wasn't kidding about the elegance part.

After we return to our hostel, we try to plan out our activities for the night. Ringing in the new year in a city like Vienna has us totally excited and we quickly map out the locations in the heart of the city where festivities are going to be held. We decide to head to Volksgarten to watch fireworks but as we walk down Ringstrasse to get there, we stop to take in a dazzling sight.

The Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera)

The Wiener Staatsoper is Vienna's famous opera house. Members of the Vienna Philharmonic are picked from its orchestra. The opera house is one of the best and busiest in the world, producing over 60 operas every year.  On this festive night, the Opera House is magnificently decorated with lights. Limos pull up at all of its entrances and Vienna's elite arrive decked in their finest tuxedos, gowns and diamonds. On one side, a large screen has been set up on the side of the street to telecast the night's special performance for New Year's Eve - Johann Strauss' famous opera, Die Fledermaus. Over 60 chairs are arranged for the general public but the crowd outside is much larger. 

It is here that our ultimate European experience happens. As the opera opens with its first act, I flip through the pages of my Rick Steves' guide book to find out that frequently, concerts offer standing room tickets which are discounted. Considering that this is a special performance, there is every chance that the house has been sold out months in advance. Moreover, dressed in GAP sweaters and casual jeans,  Sunil and I are hardly eligible to rub elbows with Vienna's elite. Still, how often are we going to find ourselves in Vienna on a night like this? Deciding that no one in Austria is really going to give a damn if we embarrass ourselves, we step into the Opera House to check for standing room tickets.

The usher is dressed better than we are but she is friendly and polite. To out utter shock and amazement, we find that tickets for the standing room will be sold after the first act. What's more? They are priced at 4 euros (~ $5)! To get to watch the finest opera performance in the world in the finest opera house in the world for $5 on New Year's Eve is the sort of experience you can never ever forget! We dash out to grab some gyros at a food cart and then pop in several mints to hide the smell of onions. After all, we are going to the opera now!

Inside the Staatsoper

The interiors of the Staatsoper are just as magnificent as its exteriors. The atrium alone reeks of elegance while the main performance hall seats over 2000 people. The performance stretches for nearly 3 hours which isn't fun if you are standing the entire time. However, for the price we paid, we aren't going to complain!

The main atrium

Sumptuous ceiling of the Staatsoper

 Shortly before midnight, we file out of the Opera House tired but exhilarated. By this time, Ringstrasse, the city's arterial loop, has swollen with revelers. We quickly join the crowds stepping from the world of the elite into Party Central. The crowds drift towards Volksgarten where thousands gather with party hats, champagne and horns to ring in the new year as fireworks set the night sky ablaze with brilliant colors. 

 

When we stumble back to our hostel, the clock strikes 3am. Our first day in Vienna has been fantastic to say the very least. And there is still so much more to discover...

New Orleans - Little glimpses of the Big Easy

In a martini mixer, take equal parts of wealthy Southern families and impoverished African-American people. Add one part each of French architecture, live jazz, blues musicians and street performers.  Fill it to the brim with bourbon. Shake well and serve in a cocktail glass with a plate of oysters and alligator appetizers. Voila! Say hello to New Orleans, Louisiana -also affectionately called Nola, the Crescent City and the Big Easy.

From prostitution to slave trade, booze to drugs, this Sin City of the South has seen it all.  Named after the French monarch, Louis XIV, the colony of Louisiana once covered present day Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and other states stretching all the way to Nebraska and Michigan in the north and the french colonies in Canada. The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718 and named after the city of Orleans in France. The ruling family in France at that time, the Royal House of Bourbon, is the root behind the name of the city's iconic street. Spanish architecture began to shape the landscape of the city's streets after it was sold to Spain in 1763.

Although New Orleans was a major center for slave trade, the treatment meted out to these slaves was markedly different and in every way better than what slaves received in other parts of the country. There were several 'free persons of colour' and you could also purchase your own freedom.

In 1803, the Spanish sold Louisiana to the United States of America. French and Spanish Creole people who had settled down here did not appreciate mixing with Americans. Canal Street was constructed on one side of the French Quarter to basically keep Americans away from the French Quarter. You'll notice this when you see street names change from "Rue de X" to "X Street".  Later in the 18th century, a mass of refugees arrived from Haiti. Many of these people were skilled craftsman and educated in a variety of subjects. One of them became the first mayor of New Orleans. 

The city enjoyed its "golden period" when it became a major port and finance center for cotton and sugar cane. After the Depression hit this area as well, it sparked a resurgence and redevelopment of the French Quarter. Today, its economy is relatively more stable due to oil trade.  The city is also the birthplace of jazz which quickly became its biggest tourist attraction along after Mardi Gras.

Returning to present day NOLA, the air is so humid I can cut it with a knife. The streets are narrow and filled with two-story houses complete with large French windows, patios and hanging ferns and tropical plants. Occasionally, antique stores and art galleries sprout between these rows of houses. Their signs are in English and French as are the names of streets in this area. Traffic is a riot on these narrow streets and if it weren’t for giant SUVs lining next to horse-drawn carriages, you could assume that you’ve landed in some French colony in the South Pacific. Not quite. This is the French Quarter.

Most every tourist tries to get a room in one of the many hotels in this district. With its architecture, antique shops, distinctive French influence and numerous bars on legendary Bourbon Street, the French Quarter is an explosive amalgam of tradition, modernity, decadence and debauchery.Our stroll around the Quarter begins after a well-deserved brunch at Café Amelie.  Recommended by tourists and residents alike, the café’s menu includes a healthy mix of French food, Cajun seafood and traditional Southern delights swimming in syrup and butter. Have a seat in the lush courtyard and let the sound of the water fountain drown out the raucous on the streets. As we leave, a friend points out to Lenny Kravitz sitting a few tables away and sipping iced tea.
   

On Chartres Street, the sight is dominated by gothic spires soaring to the skies. This is the St.Louis Cathedral, built over the foundations of a colonial 1727 church. The church remains the oldest place of worship in the Mississippi valley. The interior provides a cool and welcome respite from the heavy air outside.

The church faces Jackson Square (formerly Place d'Armes), filled with street musicians, artists and lazy pedestrians. In the far corner, a long line of people waits impatiently under a large green awning with dozens joining every few minutes. No visitor worth his whiskey can leave the historic Café Du Monde from his itinerary, known internationally for its hot beignets (fried French doughnuts) and strong chicory coffee. At $2.30 for 3 doughnuts, they are surprisingly cheap. With more powdered sugar on a serving than you can consume in a week, just leave your conscience at the door!  

  
By late afternoon, Bourbon Street begins to teem with revelers. There’s never a bad time to have a drink in this city, nor is there a shortage of drinks! Almost the entire street is blocked off from traffic and people are free to carry drinks on the street. Before we lose ourselves in the madness of the scene on a Saturday night, we decide to uncover secrets of the city's dark past on a haunted walking tour.Our tour guide is an interesting man himself. Dressed in a breezy tunic with lots of chains, colored glasses and a unique hat, I can practically see him practicing wizardry or voodoo when he isn’t offering tours. “There are more dead people in this city than living people”, he announces. This explains the many cemeteries you find all over town where coffins are not buried but entombed several feet above the ground (since the city is below sea level).

Among the many stories he revels and chills us with, one talks about a merchant who owned a palatial home in the heart of the Quarter. One drunken afternoon, after gambling away everything he owned including the house, the merchant had just a few hours to deliver the bad news to his wife at home and vacate the premises with his family and in-laws. Instead, he chose to hang himself in the living room and to this day, locals believe his spirit wanders around the house (now a restaurant called Muriel’s). The restaurant has set aside his favorite table where he ‘dines’ on occasion.  Our cameras click away and after a little while, one person in the group notices an apparition near the table in her pictures. What you make of it is left to you.

The tour ends at a church featuring ‘Touchdown Jesus’- so named not just for the image but also because the Church officially requested permission from the Pope to hang the insignia of the New Orleans Saints after their victory at the Superbowl in 2010.

 The walk has given me an appetite and it is time to sample another New Orleans staple-gumbo. For an authentic gumbo experience, head to the Gumbo Shop where the menu includes vegetarian gumbo for people like me. Of course, our waitress, Kim, looks at me like I’m an alien when the others order ‘hurricanes’ to drink and I ask for something ‘virgin’.  A hurricane is a classic New Orleans drink made with rum, fruit juice, syrup and grenadine. The Irish pub of Pat O’Brien’s (the first bar in the country with dueling pianos) boasts of the best hurricanes in town but my friends agree the Gumbo Shop’s drinks are actually better. 

 
Culture, history, gumbo and hurricanes checked off our list, the only sane thing to do next on a Saturday night is to lose ourselves in the insanity of Bourbon Street. New Orleans is one of the few places in USA where you can consume alcohol on the streets. Its residents and visitors are certainly thankful for that. There are more bars on Bourbon Street than I have ever seen on any street in the country (and I have traveled a lot!). Stumble from bar to bar, catch beads thrown from balconies and drown yourself in cups of hurricanes. Virtually nothing is taboo here and I get the feeling people come to this place specifically to get sloshed, realize their fantasies and relive the madness of their youth. 

 Sunday morning begins with yet another buffet of syrupy, buttery goodness - eggs, french toast, ham, hash browns, crab cakes and biscuits exclusively prepared to knock our cholesterol levels off the charts. Even though the heat is stifling well before noon, Sai and I venture out with the friends(a couple) we made the previous night. We rent a car and drive out to Oak Alley Plantation, probably the most famous and impressive of all the plantation homes that were built in Louisiana since the 18th century.

 The drive to the plantation home takes a little over an hour from the city. Stepping outside the French Quarter, you get to see the other side of New Orleans. Even though Hurricane Katrina hit over 7 years ago, some of these parts are yet to fully recover from the blow. Buildings are run down and trash-filled streets are deserted in the afternoon sun. Graffiti is every where and I'm sure crime is too.  We leave these streets and drive through miles of farms before we get to the 173-year old sprawling plantation home built on 25 acres.

Originally built as a sugar cane plantation, the Oak Alley plantation home has passed through several hands over the last 2 centuries. Its architecture is French Creole with high ceilings, large windows and a balcony to view the grounds. The original marble flooring was replaced with wooden floors when a subsequent owner decided to let his sons race horses across the grounds...and literally through the house.

The plantation gets its name from the stunning canopy of 28 oak trees which line up to cover the skies and create one of the most beautiful sights you can find in this part of the country. The canopy stretches till the end of the grounds near the banks of the Mississippi.

Several other plantation homes are within minutes from Oak Alley and on the same road. However, the afternoon sun has zapped us out of energy and  we aren't prepared to explore more acres of cotton or sugar cane plantations for all the mint juleps in the state. 

We head back to our hotel and soak our sweaty selves in the pool on the roof top. The water is warm and frankly, quite gross. Practically everything around us smells of warm beer! After the sun goes down, we venture out to the edge of the Quarter to Frenchmen Street in the Marigny area. If you want a break from the drinking and debauchery of Bourbon Street, visit one of the many cafes, restaurants and bars on Frenchmen Street which feature live jazz and blues performances.  The Maison is one of the more popular venues with good reason.

Our night ends with another stop at Cafe du Monde. It is nearly midnight but the cafe is open 24 hours a day and throughout the year. This is definitely a better time to enjoy beignets with fewer people around. Perhaps it is the sugar but I am almost tempted to call the experience 'relaxing'.

Day 3 in NOLA is our final day in this fantastic city. I get off to an early start so I can visit some of the many antique stores on Royal Street. The start also allows me to wander through the streets of the Quarter and capture some more shots of the French and Spanish architecture here. You can spend hours, if not days, exploring the Quarter's many stores, boutiques, galleries and mansions. 

 

 Later in the afternoon, Sai and I head to the Garden District which is an affluent neighborhood of New Orleans.  Before we take in some of the splendid homes in this area, we visit the Lafayette Cemetery-one of the oldest among the many cemeteries in town. The air is heavy and there isn't a sound to be heard besides the buzzing of crickets. Even though it is in the middle of the day, there's a certain melancholy which every tomb's fading paint exudes. One of these tombs belongs to a family where the parents died at 50 and no child lived to see the age of 21.

 

Getting back on St.Charles Avenue, our final experience in New Orleans is a ride on the St.Charles Street Car line. The car is vintage and charming with shiny wooden seats and bells that clang along the way. The ride takes us down St.Charles Avenue lined with some of the wealthiest houses you can ever find in the South. The sheer size of every house, its impressive drive way and opulent gardens will leave you awestruck as you begin to wonder about the collective wealth of the families that occupy these houses.  

 

New Orleans is undoubtedly a city of extremes. Bar-hoppers are happy to drown in alcohol while fans of live jazz wouldn’t budge if the building caught fire. The wealthy Southern families on St.Charles Avenue in the Garden District have jaw-dropping homes while less affluent people find their paradise living right on the sidewalk. Hurricanes may come and go, leaving the city in shambles, but they cannot wash away the many colors of this city. Those remain truly indelible.

As I settle into my flight back home, I slip into conversation with the lady next to me. She was here to visit family outside New Orleans. She was glad to avoid the fervor of Bourbon Street. “I could never stand the madness of this place. I tell my daughter this is the closest you are going to get to hell”. New Orleans may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But a splash of bourbon can fix that quite easily. In the Big Easy, you don’t have to go too far for that.