1000 YEARS OF HISTORY

VIENNA

During ther trip to preview some of the special '96 happenings and we also visited historic sites, listened to music, dined in popular restaurants and enjoyed the hospitality of the city's premier hotel.

Attractions

The purchase of a Vienna card (available at hotels along with a coupon book and relevant details) is recommended. The $18 tab covers free transportation for 72 hours and discounts on entrance fees, shopping and dining. A brochure called "Museums" lists residences, palaces, theaters, churches and so forth and includes addresses and hours.

For an overall view of Vienna, board a trolley (numbers 1 or 2) that waltzes around the Ring, the wide two and one-half miles-long boulevard enclosing the old city. More horseshoe-shaped than circular, it is the concourse of majestic old buildings, monuments and parks. All touring streets within the Ring lead to St. Stephen's, a Gothic cathedral whose filigreed towers are visible from every part of town. Its address, Stephans Platz, is at the intersection of Graben and Kärntner, pedestrian malls that are the scene of the city's heartbeat and a stage for spontaneous performances.

Nearby at Michaelerplatz is the vast and sprawling complex of the Hofburg, the Imperial (winter) Palace. One of Austria's two most lavish edifices, it chronicles the Hapsburg rule. Of the 2,500 rooms only a few wings are open to the public–the state rooms, the Imperial apartments and the court silver and tableware depot. The latter is worth a visit if only to see what appears to be the world's most elaborately folded napkins.

Schönbrun Palace, Vienna (credit: Edwin Fancher)

Some other important central city destinations are the National Library; the Spanish Riding School; the Museum of Fine Arts (Kunsthistorisches); and Schönbrun Palace, the Hapsburg summer dwelling where six-year old Mozart played, the Congress of Vienna danced and Emperor Franz Joseph lived. This most popular destination in Austria is not in the middle of the city, but is easily accessible by metro number 4. To learn more about palace intrigue and about history, take the arranged tour of the Bergl rooms rather than strolling about on your own.

A pamphlet, "Walks in Vienna," covering 41 different subjects and led by licensed guides, gives information on content, dates, times, telephone numbers and places at which the groups assemble. Call ahead to make certain that the tour is on. We engaged Irene Koller (tel. and fax 43-1-804-19-61) to conduct a private tour for us. Although her area of expertise is music, we found her to be knowledgeable in hosting "Turn-of-the-Century Vienna Around Sigmund Freud" and we liked her non-pedantic manner.

Dr. Freud's office at the famous 19 Bergasse can, of course, be visited on one's own. Ask for the English directory explaining the exhibits.

Where To Stay

Imperial Hotel

James Weisman, a Philadelphia native, international entrepreneur and real estate investor, has in the last 10 years during 50 visits to Vienna spent a total of 13 months at the Imperial Hotel. "It is," he said, "the best hotel in the world." The reason he feels this way is because of the staff, which he added is "exceedingly friendly." Mr. Weisman is recognized on sight by everyone at the front desk and by many others who work there, too.

The Imperial, the only royal hotel in Austria, was built by the Emperor Franz Joseph as a wedding gift for his nephew, the Duke of Würtemberg, in the mid-19th century. When the Duke vacated Palais Würtemberg, the premises became the private guesthouse of the Hapsburgs. In 1874, the year that it officially opened as a hotel, the Emperor housed royal visitors and other notables who attended the World Exposition.

Imperial Hotel, Vienna (credit:Edwin Fancher)

Today guests are still treated like nobility, although befitting present day customs in a less formal manner. The surroundings are as palatial as in the days of the monarchy. A recent $40 million dollar renovation included rebuilding the stucco ceiling, dating from 1863, in the lobby . Moiré and damask wallpapers in varying hues decorate every suite and room. Ceilings reach at least 12 feet and in some rooms soar as high as 15. Even the bathrooms retain the original gilded moldings. The Duke's own furniture stands in the grandest and largest of all apartments. The originals of the most famous portraits of Elizabeth and Franz Joseph hang in the corridors. A wide and tall staircase in the center of the building–horses could tread its shallow steps– is the building's most dramatic feature.

Hotel Bristol

It all began in 1894 when a successful businessman founded the Bristol on a corner of the great boulevard called the Ring, shortly after the Emperor decided to tear down Vienna's medieval walls and replace them with a grand concourse. The hotel's name and coat of arms were bestowed by the 5th Earl of Bristol, a distinction reserved only for those establishments meeting his discriminating standards of taste and comfort. Constructed like a townhouse, the building very much typifies the way upper-class Viennese lived in the late 1880s and the 90s. Rooms on two of the floors have balconies, hallways are lined with stained-glass windows and antique prints and every room has a fireplace.

Although the old-fashioned ambiance has been preserved through the fourth story, floors five and six offer another experience. The club floor and business center on five cater to high-end leisure travelers and businesspeople, particularly women whose satisfaction and safety are assured by special amenities. Unusual penthouse suites– one has an octagonal bedroom–with terraces and sloping ceilings occupy floor six.

Hotel Imperial, Kärntner Ring 16, tel. 43-1-501-23-425, is part of the Luxury Collection ITT Sheraton. 800-325-3589. Rates start at $465 as part of A Taste of Europe and Welcome to Europe programs. www.starwood.com/luxury/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=97

Hotel Bristol, Kärntner Ring 1, tel. 43-1-515-16-0, is part of the Luxury Collection ITT Sheraton. 800-325-3589. Rates start at $419 as part of A Taste of Europe and Welcome to Europe programs. www.starwood.com/westin/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=89

Where To Dine

Wiener Küche '96 was a promotion of restaurants by the Tourist Bureau offering unique dining opportunities. The municipality is the only one on earth with a cuisine named after it. Indeed the famous Time-Life series "Foods of the World" focuses on national cooking with the one exception being a book entitled "The Cooking of Vienna's Empire." Each month the Tourist Board sent a three-course menu to the more than 70 participating restaurants ranging from the four-star Drei Hussaren and Steinereck to the modest Griensteidl and Landtmann cafés.

All offered the same prix fixe menu translated into four languages with complete descriptions of each dish, delicacies that have their roots all over Europe—Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Italy, France and even Turkey, whose invaders introduced coffee to the Austrians. A complete sample menu was herring salad; veal knuckle with mushrooms, Viennese rice, lettuce with vinegar, oil and bacon; and nut soufflé with sabayon or potato soup, leg of venison with semolina butter noodles and grape strudel.

Prices for these set menus varied. At Anna Sacher in the fashionable Sacher Hotel the tab was $100. But at the Café Imperial in the Imperial Hotel dinner was only $28. The k & k guide (pick one up at the Tourist Bureau) is invaluable for its photos, brief descriptions and locations. It includes other culinary information like facts about food, the names of 40 participating cafés and pastry shops, as well as a few notes on art, culture and music. For an updated copy of "Wiener Küche & Cafés" contact the Austrian National Tourist Office.

Donnerbrunnen

To sample the February Wiener Küche, we picked this second floor eatery upstairs from the renowned Café Europa because it overlooks the action on Kärntner Strasse. The price of the month's special prix fixe menu was probably about the lowest in town, $24, and the herring was great. Can anyone spoil that delectable dish? However, the service was sullen and slow, despite the fact that only one other table was occupied.

Imperial Restaurant

We had a meal fit for a king in glamorous surroundings at the eponymous Imperial restaurant. The beau mondes of Vienna, some of whom dress in black tie for the occasion, sip cocktails in the Maria Theresia piano bar before moving on to dinner. The belle époque-style dining room is a series of dimly lighted small salons separated by etched glass partitions and decorated with turn-of-the-century furnishings.

Piano Bar, Vienna (Credit: Edwiin Fancher)

Service was perfect and every morsel of our four-course dinner was delicious. How's this for dining like royalty? Carpaccio with truffle sauce and Parmesan, oxtail soup sealed in puff pastry, fillet of salmon trout gratinated with potatoes (they looked like fish scales) and filled with trout caviar, baby vegetables and curd cheese mousse gnocchi with fruit sauce and fresh fruits.

Mayer Beethovenhaus

Every guide book suggests a visit to Grinzing, the village at the foothills of the Vienna Woods that is known for the quaintness and density of its taverns called heuringen–meaning "this year's" wine. The new wine is especially tart and acidic and a pine bough hanging over the doors indicates that it is being served. In nearby Heilgenstadt the Beethoven House, so named because the composer lived there in 1817, is owned by the wine-producing Mayer clan. Viennese families gather to eat, drink and sing in the large, spare, but pleasant dining hall. Guests choose from a cold and hot buffet and serve themselves. The food, consisting of broiled and roasted meats, grilled chicken, sausages, croquettes, cheeses, vegetables, salads and fruit, was surprisingly good. In summer many heuringen set up tables outdoors. Transportation is available from the city by trolley and bus.

Figmuller

A beisel is a tavern that serves typical Viennese food at prices reasonable enough so that you can move on to a ubiquitous konditerei with enough leftover schillings for kaffe and a torte. Figmuller, reputed to be the best beisel in town for wiener schnitzel ($13), turned out to be disappointing. If this was the best, what could some of the other schnitzels taste like? The portion was huge, one order could have easily fed three, but the overly-pounded veal was sinewy and the breading was greasy. There are no menus, only a blackboard, and no credit cards are accepted. Insisting that it came from a bottle rather than the tap, our waiter added $3.00 to the bill for a glass of water we did not request. Nevertheless, the locals seemed to be enjoying themselves here.

Restaurant Sirk

Restaurant Sirk, a second-floor dining room in the Hotel Bristol overlooking the Vienna State Opera, is the perfect spot for weekend brunch. The room is well dressed in an understated way. It is the food, both a buffet and cooked-to-order-dishes, that made the statement. A beautifully presented and copious assortment of platters from which to help yourself were irresistible. The variety seemed more Scandinavian than Viennese with poached fish, gossamer salmon, cured ham, patés, imaginative salads combining many varieties of vegetables and greens and cheeses. Among the entrees was a proper Wiener Schnitzel made of top-quality veal and deftly prepared. Many of the specialties that make the city famous for its pastries were on the dessert cart.

Griechen Beisel

Capped by a tower roof that is the only remnant of the city wall dating from 1200 and initially mentioned in civil documents in 1447, Griechen Beisel is the oldest and most historic public house in Vienna. Bay windows, a cobbled courtyard and alleyway near the entrance and a warren of tiny, cozy rooms that do not appear to have changed over the centuries give this restaurant a medieval feel. Most intriguing of the small interior spaces is the Mark Twain room where Wagner, Mozart, Schubert, Strauss and other notables autographed the walls and ceilings when they came here to dine and drink, particularly Pilsner beer for which the tavern is famous. A large menu offered all of the traditional dishes such as goulash and filet of beef and pork. The soups were delicious.

Greichen Beisel, Vienna (Credit: Edwin Fancher)

Café Central

At the beginning of the 20th century Viennese cafés became the center of intellectual life, places where artists, the literati and politicians gathered to passionately debate ideas and to linger over a newspaper and a cup of kleiner schwarzer. Café Central can list as its esteemed habitués the likes of Trotsky, Schnitzler, Mahler and Freud. The building itself is as distinguished as those who made it their gathering place. The café, furnished with Thonet bistro chairs, is on the street level of the Palais Ferstel. Built in Renaissance style at the time when the Ring was going up, its vaulted rooms, marble staircases, glass ceiling and labyrinthine of corridors were once slated for the wrecker's ball. Now the former stock exchange and bank is the setting for special events (with Café Central catering, of course). We had a lovely lunch of carpaccio, creamed herb soup and veal medallions, along with samples of some of the signature desserts on display at a pastry counter.

Korso

Korso, across from the Opera House, stands out among Vienna's top restaurants and justifiably so. With a celebrity chef and a sommelier who applied for the job because he wanted to develop a wine list to match the masterful cooking of Reinhard Gerer, dinner here is an event. Although many people select Korso as the venue for an after the opera supper, the swanky atmosphere and the food merit an evening's undivided attention. This is the place to try well-known main courses such as tafelspitz, hearty boiled beef and its accompaniments or venison ragout and dumplings. Chef Gerer also does classics with unusual twists like roast pike-perch with saffron beer-sabayon and his own rendition of beuschel. Said Gerer, "It tastes like a traditional beuschel (calves' innards or 'lights', wine, cream, egg and vegetables), but it's fresher and subtler." Donnerbrunnen, Hotel Europa, Kärntner Strasse 18. Tel. 513-12-23. Inexpensive.

Imperial Restaurant, Hotel Imperial, Kärntner Ring 16. Tel. 43-1-5010-0. Very expensive. Mayer Beethovenhaus, Am Pfarrplatz, Heiligenstadt. Tel. 0222-371287. Inexpensive Figlmüller's, Wollzeille 5. Tel. 512-61-77. Inexpensive. Restaurant Sirk, Hotel Bristol, Kärntner Ring 1. Tel. 43-1-515-16-0. Moderate. Greichen Beisel, Fleischmarkt 11. Tel. 533-19-17. Inexpensive. Café Central, Palais Ferstel, Strauchgasse 5. Tel. 0222-533-37-58. Moderately expensive. Korso, Mahlerstrasse 2. Tel. 0222-533-37-63. Very expensive. .

Music

Vienna Boys' Choir

Some of the best concerts are held in the city's churches, the most singular musical experience being the performances by the Vienna Boys' Choir. Most Sunday mornings at 9:15 a soprano chorus of two dozen lads, dressed in sailor suits, sing a Mass in the Chapel of the Hofburg. Entrance is by ticket and a few are usually available at the last minute at the chapel. Not all seats afford views of the altar or even of the choir. Latecomers can sometimes listen from the standing room section. No ticket is necessary for the 11 a.m. Mass at Augustinerkiche, which also has a celebrated choir.

Vienna State Opera

The most sought after ticket is the one to the Vienna State Opera House, open every night of the year except in July and August. Three or four nights each month are devoted to ballet and on the remaining evenings, classical operas are sung. A booklet, Events in Vienna, is available from ANTO and gives the various options for securing tickets. You can telephone from the States and charge them by calling 011-43-1-513513 from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saurday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Sunday and holidays, 9 a.m. to noon. Ask the overseas operator for the time in Austria. A not-to-be-missed experience.

Elizabeth

Now in its fifth year, this hit musical was scheduled to close, but is so popular that the run has been exteneded. Vienna is saturated with the history and myth of the Empress Elizabeth (Sisi) and her Emperor Franz Joseph. Visits to the Imperial Palaces provide some of the background for the action. Part legend, part imagination, the scenes alternate between modern times; Elizabeth as a feminist and one who flirts with death, and her life in another century. Pop, rock, jazz, waltz tunes, synmphonic and classical elements and chorus numbers are integrated into the well-sung production. But it is the staging that really makes this show a brilliantly conceived spectacle: a moving brothel, characters in picture frames, dancers at a ball as a chess game and cafe tables fashioned like amusement park electric cars. A detailed English synopsis is provided in the program, making it possible to follow the story line. Performances take place at the Theater An Der Wien, an opera house dating from the early 1880s and an architectural gem.

SALZBURG

Old Salzburg (Credit: Edwin Fancher)

For your escort in Salzburg we recommend Count Walderdorff, general manager of the Hotel Goldener Hirsch. The Count doesn't actually conduct tour groups, but he recently published a delightfully penned and beautifully illustrated brochure, Mein Salzburg, a Stroll with Count Johannes Walderdorff. He suggests a lovely walk that covers the high spots of town and leads you through courtyards, passageways and arcades, which are so much a part of the area's architecture. But he also writes charmingly about the background of the hotel and of his family's history, tracing his lineage back to 1211.

Attractions

With the purchase of a Salzburg card the visitor's fees for the salt mine and cable car are reduced and the use of the public transport system and the admission to most of the town's attractions are free.

Mozarteum

The house where Mozart lived from 1773 until 1780 and where he composed most of the music written during his Salzburg period was restored and opened in January 1966. The Mozarteum, like other interactive museums, is imaginatively conceived. Family memorabilia– paintings, furniture, musical instruments, letters and original compositions–are on display. An automatic audio cassette, spoken in many languages and playing Mozart's music in the background, describes the objects and discusses family history. The narration changes as the visitor moves from room to room. A fetching biographical video, produced from a collage of paintings, makes use of the same tape to describe the chronology of his life. But what music lovers will praise the most is the extensive sound and film library of the composer's work. You can listen to every recorded interpretation of his music on a tape recorder or listen to and watch performances on video monitors.

Salzburger Residenz

The most singularly impressive edifice in Salzburg is the Residenz, the magnificent Renaissance Palace of the Prince-Archbishops who once ruled the region. The complex of which the palace is part also includes the Franciscan church and the Cathedral. With the use of the leaflet available at the front desk, you can take a self-guided tour through the rooms, learning about their functions and the furnishings in them. The Salzburg Residenz is often used for festive events. During the time we were in the city Archduchess Maria-Christine came to Salzburg to marry Clemens von Guggenberg in St. Peter's Church. The wedding celebration took place at the Residenz with catering by the Goldener Hirsch.

Where To Stay

The Goldener Hirsch

"It's so typically Austrian," said an American wedding guest as she checked in at The Goldener Hirsch. Much like a hunting lodge or country estate, the hotel has a peculiar charm, rustic and snug, with winding stairs, arched windows and old treasures. Count Walderdorff likes to point out that most fine traditional hotels were built in the last century or transformed from palaces. The Goldener Hirsch, however, was first mentioned as an inn on the 1407 tax roles in a written record of the Benedictine Abbey of Nonnberg. Reopened in 1948 by the Count's parents, the hotel has become the center of the city's social life and a haven for international guests.

The Walderdorffs' passion for collecting shaped the character of the public spaces and 70 guest rooms. Beautiful local red marble floors and old stone walls are still intact at the five-floor hostelry, which stretches over both sides of quaint Getreidesgasse. The restaurant was a former stable and the original forge graces the dining room.

The Count's favorite dessert is a Hungarian chocolate pastry, Rigo Jancsi, and he often joins guests in the late afternoon in the atrium-like bar, hung with old prints and stags' heads, to chat, to drink coffee and to indulge in his favorite confection.

Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Getreidegasse 37, tel. (0662) 84 85 11, is part of the Luxury Collection ITT Sheraton, 800-325-3589.Rates start at $305 for A Taste of Europe or Welcome to Europe programs. www.goldenerhirsch.com/index1-e.htm

Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Salzburg

Where To Dine

Hotel Goldener Hirsch Restaurant

The hotel's restaurant is as colorful as the rest of the premises. Serving local specialties that are prepared and presented as though they are haute cuisine, the dining room strikes a nice balance. Informality and excellence. Waiters wear regional costumes– Steirer-rock jackets in grey and loden green made of wool in winter and linen in summer. The prix fixe dinner menu might include hors d'oeuvres of local fish, cream of pumpkin soup with curd dumplings, filet of beef with foie gras, potato cakes and vegetables, Austrian cheeses and dessert. Every dish that we sampled was quite tasty, but we especially liked the fluffy, sweet soufflé called Salzburger Nockerl, which is the city's indigenous dessert. Expensive. www.goldenerhirsch.com/restaurantes-e.htm

Spring 1996