August 22, 2014. We were finally setting off on our dream trip. Day one of our family journey through Austria would take us to Café Central, the Hofburg, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Every travelogue starts at the airport
As usual, the story begins with our departure.
Our flight was scheduled for 10:45 p.m. Arriving two hours early would normally have been enough, but we prefer to leave room for unexpected problems, so we reached the airport well ahead of time and had dinner there.
We still had plenty of time afterward, so I turned the airport into my private portrait studio and practiced taking photos. A trip calls for a check-in post, of course, and after shooting dozens of self-portraits, I had to put at least one on the blog for everyone to admire.
I’ll show only the most handsome one. Get ready to scream: Takeshi... Kane... shiro.... I love yoooooou (echo....)
One long nap later, we were in Austria (yaaawn...). Sitting in economy for 16 hours was genuinely exhausting. If I ever win the lottery, the whole family is flying business class (dream)...
Until then, perhaps next time we could buy one premium-economy seat and let my wife and me take turns sleeping properly. But what about the children? Don’t worry... they can curl up almost anywhere and still sleep perfectly well (squint).
Our first stop in Vienna—without a map
Our intended first stop was Café Central. Unfortunately, we had not managed to buy a T-Mobile 3G SIM card at the airport, and we had forgotten to download an offline map. The moment we came out of Herrengasse station, we were completely lost @.@'"
We wandered through the side streets at random. Since we had only just arrived, every building looked distinctive and fascinating. This was also Vienna’s government district: many of those old-fashioned façades housed important state offices, a little like Taipei’s government quarter around Bo’ai Road.
Then, in the middle of our aimless wandering, we accidentally reached what was supposed to be our second stop: the Hofburg!
The Hofburg was a major political center and winter residence of the Habsburg dynasty. At that particular moment, however, history was less urgent than lunch. We skipped the palace for the time being and continued looking for Café Central.
Café Central, fourteen years later
Café Central opened in 1876 and became famous as a gathering place for Vienna’s writers and intellectuals.
I had first brought my wife here in 2000—on December 25, the one day we found it closed. Fourteen years later, we had finally returned (emotional)...
Just inside the entrance sat a remarkably lifelike figure. I looked him up after we returned home and learned that he was the Austrian writer Peter Altenberg (1859–1919), the café regular associated with the line about being either at the coffeehouse or on his way there.
The display case was packed with colorful, tempting pastries. It was lunchtime, and the café was busy with local diners as well as tourists.
We waved to a waiter and sat for a long time before anyone came to take our order. By then we were hungry enough to order lunch, coffee, and cake all at once.
Then we waited some more... and somehow the coffee and cake arrived first ~.~'"
Hmm... it did not look particularly exciting T.T, and the cake turned out to be painfully sweet. A cheap slice from 85°C back home would have tasted better (sob).
The food that followed was merely average. We had waited so long and were so hungry that I stopped taking pictures. When we paid by card, the waiter still reminded us to enter a tip beneath the total. But there had barely been any service...
That was simply our experience on this 2014 visit. Looking back, my strongest memories of Café Central are still its magnificent interior, the long wait, and a cake sweet enough to make me homesick.
Back to the Hofburg—and saving energy for shopping
A few steps after leaving the café, we were back at the Hofburg. The palace had an exhibition devoted to Empress Elisabeth, or Sisi. But after visiting the Palace of Versailles, we had developed a certain “once you have seen the ocean” feeling about other European palaces.
I thought we might as well go inside since we were already there. The three girls had no interest whatsoever. They wanted to conserve their remaining energy for shopping ~.~'"
It was still broad daylight, but after arriving that morning we were all ready to sleep. Fine, then—shopping it was.
Walking from the Hofburg toward the State Opera brought us to Kärntner Strasse. Whether you wanted to window-shop or launch a full-scale shopping campaign, this was the place to do it.
Strangely enough, the three girls stopped feeling tired as soon as we arrived ~.~'"
They went shopping, leaving me on my own to take random street photos in protest!!
St. Stephen’s Cathedral
At the far end of Kärntner Strasse stood one of Vienna’s great landmarks: St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Inside, colored light entered through the windows behind the altar, adding a mysterious glow to the sanctuary. Two rows of soaring Gothic columns divided the nave into three sections.
The stone pulpit on the left was especially intricate. Near its base, a carved figure leaned out through a small stone window, holding a tool as though the craftsman had left his own presence beside the work.
Visitors with enough energy could climb the South Tower for a view over Vienna or visit the North Tower and its great bell. Our three girls, however, did not waste energy on anything except shopping (sigh). Anything involving a queue interested them even less...(sob)
The underground area was... well, like the underground areas of many famous churches... you know... Hmm... perhaps we should step outside for some air.
The concert sellers in Stephansplatz
The square outside the cathedral was full of young people dressed as Mozart and selling concert tickets.
We were considering taking Lisa and Belle to a classical concert in the City of Music, so we asked one seller for advice. He suggested balcony seats. Since children are shorter, their view can easily be blocked unless they sit near the front; and if they become restless and need a break, leaving from the balcony may disturb fewer people. None of those details had occurred to us.
Our schedule was uncertain, though, and we did not know whether we would return to Vienna in time on our final day, so we decided not to buy tickets yet.
Arriving on the first day really was exhausting. We returned to the hotel early, bringing the first day of our Austrian family adventure to a close.
Journeying Toward a Dream—Our Austria Family Trip
Day 1. Café Central, the Hofburg, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Day 2. Cruising through the Wachau Cultural Landscape: Melk Abbey
Day 2. Cruising through the Wachau Cultural Landscape: The Medieval Town of Dürnstein
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