Austria Tour—2004—a Retrospective

Tuesday, July 27th
On July 27, 2004, a group of 27 began an odyssey at Dulles Airport in the Washington D.C. area. Twenty of the tourists were from western Pennsylvania, three from Utah, two from Delaware and two from the Philadelphia area. Departure on Austrian Airlines was on schedule.

Wednesday, July 28th
The tour group arrived in Vienna on schedule, and began a wonderful experience, planned by Dr. Joseph Novak. The group boarded a tour bus, and traveled with an expert driver, Gerald, and a wonderful tour guide, Ulli, who stayed with the group for the entire trip. Until check in time at the Sofitel Hotel, the sleepy but excited tourists had the opportunity to see the beautiful city of Vienna. First stop was at the Belvedere Palace, where, in May of 1955, the peace treaty recognizing Austria as a sovereign state was signed by France, Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. (For the “Ausländers”, that meant that the mail from Austria would no longer be censored. Prior to the treaty, letters were stamped to indicate that they were censored before they were sent.) The bus ride continued, including the central area of Vienna, State Opera, Parliament, Burg Theater, City Hall from the bus. Another stop was at the Hundertwasser Haus, a unique municipal apartment block created by Friedrich Hundertwasser.

Vienna, the most beautiful city in all of Europe, has been the inspiration for many beautiful musical works. (The Danube, however, is green and not blue!) After check in, tourists did as they pleased. A walk around the Kärntner Strasse to shop a little, eat a little, see a little, and visit to a MAC machine filled the rest of the afternoon. Some even visited the Stefansdom and the Karlskirche. Dinner at the hotel was elegant, and the night came quickly to the travel weary pilgrims.

Thursday, July 29th
It rained. This was the only day of the tour it rained during the day. The tourists visited Schönbrunn (“beautiful spring”) Palace, the summer palace of the Kaiserin Maria Theresia. The visit included a tour of the palace and gardens, more Austrian/Hapsburg history, and a stop at the coffee house for apfelstrudel.

Maria Theresia’s father, the Kaiser, had no sons, so he changed the law in Austria to allow a woman to inherit the throne. She was quite a woman. She legislated that all children must go to school to learn to read and write. She freed serfs. She made freedom of religion the law of the land. She patronized the arts, and provided opportunity to the composer-musician Maria Theresia von Paradis, her very talented namesake.

Lunch was in the vicinity of the Wienerwald, the Vienna Woods.

In the evening, a group of adventurous tourists visited the Prater, to ride the Riesenrad, the tallest ferris wheel in Europe. One car can hold about 30 people. A scene of the 1949 movie, THE THIRD MAN, was filmed in a car of the Riesenrad.

Friday, July 30th
This day offered many more sights, sounds and experiences, including the Spanish riding school (the place where the Lipizzaner Stallions are trained and where they perform), as well as a tour of the Kunsthistoriches (art history) Museum. The museum is considered one of the most significant of the world. It includes the largest collection of Brueghel's works as well as an Egyptian-Oriental collection. Contemporary works are also housed there. During WWII, the art of the Museum was stored in a salt mine in Altausee, saving it from destruction.

There was also a boat ride on the Danube Canal, through a lock, into the beautiful GREEN Danube. From the canal, a major sight was the trash incinerator where the city trash is burnt, providing much of the heat energy that the city needs. The incinerator is so well constructed, and the smoke so well filtered that it is not an environmental problem. The incinerator was designed by Hundertwasser.

Dinner guest that evening was Stephen Bonko, winner of the 2004 Austrian Room scholarship, who studied German in Vienna during the summer.

The travelers spent the last evening in Vienna at the Musikverein, for a concert by the Vienna Mozart Orchestra, musicians complete with ruffles and wigs. The concert lasted about an hour, with, true to form, many encores to follow. When the orchestra played the Radetsky March, the conductor faced the audience and directed the handclapping.

Saturday, July 31st
Rise up early, and begin the bus trip over the Semmering Pass to the Austria National Park - Gesäuse. This area touches the northern border of Styria and is considered to be the gem of the Eastern Alps. It is called a symphony of "Rock and Waters." Lunch was at the Benedictine Abbey in Admont. This abbey was founded in 1074 by the Archbishop of Salzburg. It is the oldest Abbey in the province of Styria. Today it is a center of religion, culture and economy. The Bibliotek (library) is renowned not only for its valuable books, but also for its architectural style and murals and sculptures. The trip continued on the highways of the Salzkammergut (Salzburg Region), through mountains which were a feast for the eyes, and food for cameras. Next stop, the Roter Ochs (Red Bull Hotel) in Abtenau, a winter resort town approximately 30 miles south of Salzburg.

Sunday, August 1st
The day began with a trip to Bad Ischl, the hunting lodge of the Kaiser Franz Josef I. He and his wife, Elisabeth, spent sixty summers in this Biedermeier Mansion. Elisabeth, (Sissy) was a very independent woman, loved by Franz Josef, but not accepted by the Austrian people until after her very tragic death.

Coffee and Kuchen in Bad Ischl, and then on to St. Wolfgang. In this town, interestingly, the stores were open on Sunday, most unusual for Austria. A boat ride on Wolfgangsee, with the beautiful sailboats, to St. Gielgun completed the afternoon. The return to Abtenau was by way of the Postalm Mountain Road. Along the way was a stream with cold, cold water, for very healthy wading. The way also went through cow grazing land, where the cows produce wonderful milk and butter. From an altitude of 3000 feet, the view was spectacular.

Dinner at 6:00 and Mass at 7:00 were followed by dancing in the square. The churchyard was the typical Austrian cemetery—beautiful markers, flowers and candles. It was especially beautiful after dark.

Monday, August 2nd
The highlight of the day was a visit to the salt mines of Altausee. Mines in the mountain are still working salt mines. However, the tour was of a mine no longer in operation except as a tour museum. The enormous underground rooms of the mine had been used to preserve a large part of the European cultural heritage during the turbulence of WW II. The wooden shelving, on which famous art works were stored, is still perfectly preserved, after more than 60 years. A wonderful reflective film was shown in the underground lake theater. The tour guide pointed out the fact that St. Barbara is the patroness of miners, and once a year, Mass is celebrated in the Barbara Chapel with its red salt block altar.

To return the tourists to entry level of the mine, the miners' slides provided a quick—very quick—return.

Trip to Hallstatt for lunch and a walk through the village completed the day. Hallstatt is considered the nicest lake village of Austria.

Tuesday, August 3rd
Salzburg day. Sights included the Mirabell Gardens, where a scene of “Do, Re, Mi,” from THE SOUND OF MUSIC was filmed, the downtown, area, the fortress, the Getreidegasse, the Salzburg Festival theaters, including the outdoor theater, where the Salzburg Festival scene of THE SOUND OF MUSIC was filmed, Mozart's birth house, and the cemetery where the escape scene of THE SOUND OF MUSIC was filmed.

The tourists returned to Abtenau for the last night of stay there. But first, the supermarket across the street sold quite a few Mozartkugeln before closing that day.

Wednesday, August 4th
The bus ride to Kaprun was through mountains that truly were a feast for the eyes. The trip was first by tour bus, then by company bus speeding through tunnels in the mountains, by funicular large enough to hold 100 people, then by yet another bus, to an altitude of about 8000 feet. Visible then were the high mountain artificial lakes. A tour guide led the tourists through one of the dams, and explained that the dams trap water from melting snow and glaciers. The water is piped down through the mountain, to the power plant below, in the town of Kaprun. There it ultimately generates three fourths of the electrical needs of Austria. At night, when the demand for electricity is low, the water is pumped back up the mountain to be recycled. Austria has no oil and very little coal. All of the country’s electrical needs are provided by water, wind and sun. The Kaprun project was begun in the late 1930’s, the engineering idea of the Austrian people. It was completed in 1951 with Marshall Plan money, all of which was paid back. When the project was completed, worker conveyances were converted to means to transport tourists. The Austrians are very proud of this project.

Thursday, August 5th
A ride on the Zillertal train, with a steam locomotive, and the Kristallwagon with designs of Swarovski crystals on the windows, was the highlight of this day. The neighbors along the way were quite friendly, and greeted the tourist with smiles and waves. The area was a haven for hang-gliders, and many were out, dancing in the breeze, at very high altitudes.

Friday, August 6th
This day the tourists visited the town of Bad-Gastein in the Gastein valley. The spa is located at an altitude of 4000 feet. It is famous for its views, mountain air and absence of fog.

Saturday, August 7th
A leisurely trip to Kitzbühel with wonderful views of mountains, valleys and lakes was the order of the day, on the last day in Kaprun. That night, the tourists had abschied in the town of Zell am See, where the highlight of the evening was the fireworks on the lake. Most of the tourists were from western Pennsylvania, home of the Zambelli Brothers, fireworks experts, and had seen wonderful fireworks displays. All agreed, however, that the fireworks that night were the best they had ever seen.

Sunday, August 8^th

The tour group left Kaprun at 8 am, and rode for about 2 hours to see the highest point in Austria, the Grossglockner (big bell). Riding the mountain roads, with no guardrails, was a thrilling experience. The elevation was about 8000 feet above sea level, and it was hard to breathe. But it was so beautiful. There was snow everywhere, as well as a great glacier on the top of the mountain..

Then more riding, and more beautiful sights from the bus, including the church of Heiligen Blut. Lunch was at a roadside diner. The bus continued on a scenic route to Vienna, for dinner and rest, and the final packing for the return home trip.

Monday, August 9th
Departure from Vienna Airport at 11:20 am for Washington, DC. for sixteen of the tourists, since eleven remained in Austria to visit family.