I got up early this morning to stand in line for free tickets to mass at the Burgkapelle to hear the hofkapellemusique group with the Vienna boys' choir perform. It was cold and windy so the line wasn't too bad. I got seats! (There is a paucity of information about how to get these tickets on the day of the mass so here's my 2 cents - There will be a line that forms outside the ticket office before 8:15. Between 8:15-30 someone will come out and rearrange the line - those with reservations get to go in then at the bottom of the stairs they will form 2 lines - one for free standing spots and one for buying leftover tickets. There's about 60 standing spots will a view from the back of the ground floor seats (first rows gets great view) and left over seats will depend.)
I had a great view of the stage. While I wasn't at the first row of standing spots, I was lucky to be in line with a bunch of Japanese girls who were luckily shorter than me :) The concert was good though the mass was long (especially since it was mostly in German though the Latin parts I could partially understand) - 2 hours total. The acoustics were great. I think the musicians were up and to the left of the alter but it really sounded like they were singing from above - like angels.
At the end, the Vienna boys came down for another song which was great. They included some of the same boys from my Friday afternoon concert. It was really nice to have the contrast of the more whimsical music Friday to today's churchy music.
Vienna boys' souvenirs were flying off the shelf!
Confession - when people went up to take sacrament, this one dude with a backpack snuck up to the front of the standing area and wouldn't let this little Japanese girl back into her spot. To retaliate, I clandestinely opened the zippers of his backpack. I hope he loses something.
I walked from the Burgkapelle along the Ringstrasse by the museum quarter, parliment, Raushaus, and Voltivkirche to the Freud museum.
 |
| Maria Teresa statue |
 |
| One of the museums in the museum quarter |
 |
| Parliment |
 |
| Raushaus |
 |
| Raushaus - home of many concernts and apparently a BMW display |
 |
| University of Vienna |
 |
| Arcade within University of Vienna |
 |
| Voltivkirche |
 |
| Art exhibit in Voltivkirche |
 |
| inside Voltivkirche |
 |
| Voltivkirche |
 |
| Freud Museum |
 |
Freud's famous couch
|
After my morning walk and museum going, I was hungry for a Kaserkrainer - baguette stuffed with hot dog stuffed with cheese. Yummilicious!
 |
| What they do for a beach along the canal |
 |
| My feet on the sand while I enjoy my kaserkrainer and a beer :) |
 |
| Danube River |
After a post-lunch nap along the canal and a trip to the Danube River and Danube island, I went back to the center of town and visited the Mozart Museum. Mozart lived here about 2.5 years during his most opulent years. The museum discussed his rise to stardom, his problems with money - mostly illegal gambling, and his so-called rivalries. Unlike the audioguide for Schloss Schonbrunn, this audioguide was very extensive, perhaps too extensive. I guess all I knew about Mozart was from the movie Amadeus which is misleading regarding his rivalry (which probably never existed) and regarding his death in poverty. It seems that he was never really poor. He made about half as much as a prince and many fold more than the best musicians. He was very good at marketing himself. However, he was very extravagant and also gambled a lot. In terms of his death, it's unclear what he died of but apparently poisoning isn't impossible.
 |
| Mozart's death mask |
 |
| Austrian ducks!! |
 |
| A harpist outside a bank? |
 |
| apparently women hold up the world - so much for Atlas |
