Sailing into Vienna

NOTE: Please click the title above to see the post with photos.

CHEERS, DADDY!

October 16th was the birthday of our father, so it somehow seemed appropriate that we were sailing into Vienna on this day and would be attending a concert of the greatest hits of Strauss and Mozart this evening. He was a fan! Oh, do we remember those scratchy 78s. I remember attending a concert featuring the Vienna Boys’ Choir when I was a child. He taught us his love for the music we will be enjoying this evening.

Most of the day was spent in scenic cruising, as we enjoyed the sites along the river.

One required activity was the morning safety drill.

We had our safety briefing at 10.

We sailed through Bratislava and saw some beautiful architecture along the river.

We visited the wheel house on the top of the ship in the cool windy afternoon and watched as the captain sailed the ship and gave a commentary.

We had an early dinner after the captain’s welcome toast and watched as the ship docked in Vienna in the dark . We were about a half hour away from the city center, and saw many, many river cruisers stacked up with us. We tied up next to the Viking Thor.

We left the ship at 7:30 and met our bus. We were taken to the Shubert Theater, “where Leonard Bernstein once performed,” and climbed two sets of stairs to get to the event. This was a special concert for the Viking guests.

We were entertained by the Vienna Residence Orchestra, under the baton of Pierre Pichler. From the overture from “The Marriage of Figaro,” to the ending waltz ( with the audience clapping at the appropriate moments), and arias, duets, waltzes and polkas in between, we were delighted and captivated by the orchestra, the singers and the dancers. The concert was certainly a highlight of our trip.

Daddy would have loved it!

Tomorrow is busy with three events: Panoramic Vienna tour, tour of Schönbrunn Palace, and Heurigen harvest dinner in Grinzing. Stay tuned!