No visit to Vienna is complete without a trip to Wiener Staatsoper, the Vienna Opera House. We toured the building, but did not take in a show.
On the afternoon of our tour we gathered in the main lobby with over a hundred other folks. Tours are offered in German, English, French, and Spanish. Signs are posted indicating which language tour is gathering where. Tours start minutes apart from each other and follow different routes to the same places.
Stephanie and I bought our tickets in advance. As best we could determine, a limited amount of same day tickets may be sold, depending on availability. Tours are limited to groups of 30 and last about 40 minutes.
The tour took us up the main staircase, past the Emperor’s Private Room (now the “Tea Room”), into the ceremonial box, through several large rooms where folks mingle and drink during intermission, and finally down to the main hall seating area.
Wiener Staatsoper’s big event each year is the Opera Ball, a black tie charity event, usually held in February. The cost for a single ticket to the ball is €315. A reserved table for four costs an additional €840. There are a wide range of options and prices for tables, going up to the private boxes at €23,600.
Our tour guide explained that the würstelstand across the street does a killer business on Opera Ball night, as many folks periodically walk across the street to grab a sausage and beer rather than paying opera house food and drink prices.
Stephanie and I decided that we’d pay €315 a ticket, and enjoy fine food and beverages from the würstelstand, if we are ever in Vienna for Opera Ball.
Tickets for shows at the Wiener Staatsoper range from cheap (€10, sold just before showtime, with seating in the rafters) to expensive (€150 and up for a floor seat near the front). If you must attend a performance at the opera house, cost is not an issue.
Walking around Vienna you will be dodging guys dressed up as Mozart (red coat, white wig) selling tickets to shows at other venues across town.
One particularly aggressive seller at Michaelerplatz would not take no for an answer. After a polite but firm “no, thanks” as I walked past, this guy stepped in front me so I had no choice but to stop. He acted like it was my duty to go to a show. Pompous jerk. He just could not believe that someone would be entirely uninterested.
Finally he turns his attention to Stephanie and asserts that she must want tickets to a show. You’re in Vienna. The shows are amazing. I can sell you great seats. Of course you must do this. You will love it. Best thing you will do on your trip. Blah, blah, blah in his best German accented English.
Before Stephanie could say a word I piped in with a no. He about lost his mind, lecturing me to not speak on Stephanie’s behalf, because it is impolite, Americans value free speech, and so on. I threw another no in for good measure as his lecture wound down.
Then Stephanie actually asked about ticket prices. Damn. Are you kidding me? Out comes a book with various floor plans and seat prices. He shows Stephanie two seats, says they are €90 each, but he can let a pair go for €55 each. A 40% discount just for her. Stephanie didn’t fall for it and we escaped, without tickets, after a good five to seven minutes.
A local couple later confirmed our suspicion that these sellers prey on uninformed tourists, selling overpriced tickets to mediocre shows at random venues.
Iron Men, Fashion in Steel, a special exhibit at Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (the “KHM”), Vienna’s fine arts museum, is fantastic. It is a history of the appearance and function of body armor for men and boys, including sporting tournaments, weddings, funerals, political functions, and so on. It is one of my favorite exhibits from all of the various museums we visited.
KHM has several permanent collections. Downstairs are collections covering Egyptian (mummies, sarcophagi, papyrus … really interesting), Greek (marble statues and heads), and Roman (more heads, bronze statues, vases, and jewelry) eras.
Kunstkammer Wien is basically zillions of Habsburg collected objects ranging from the extravagant and gaudy to those that are unique and cool, or completely uninteresting.
The upstairs is dedicated to paintings. Dutch, Flemish, and German painting are in one gallery; Italian, Spanish, and French in the other. Most paintings are from the 1500s and 1600s, basically religious themes, portraits, and some still life. We can appreciate the paintings, but they are not to our taste.
KHM is a large museum. Even walking quickly through areas of little interest, we were still in there for over two and a half hours.
Taking a break from museums, one afternoon we headed to Karlskirche (St. Charles Church). The draw here is an elevator to the top of the dome where you can see, up close, frescoes on the ceiling.
In 2002 the church installed a “temporary” lift to facilitate renovations to the dome. Twenty years later we did not see any ongoing renovations. I suppose the “temporary” lift became such a money maker with tourists that it is now essentially a permanent fixture.
Seeing the frescoes up close was incredible, but honestly the presence of an elevator in the sanctuary is absurd. I suppose the church can overlook this eyesore given that folks are paying €9.50 each (cash only, of course) to visit.
After being in Vienna for a few weeks we noticed that many online reviews of attractions contain the same two refrains. First, this place is wonderful to visit. Second, for what you get this place is overpriced. Agreed. Every place we have visited is nice, but many are 10% to 20% overpriced in our opinion.
St. Marxer Friefhof (St. Marx Cemetery) is definitely not overpriced, as it is free. The cemetery was open for over 100 years, closing to burials in 1874. I’m not sure much has been done to the place since then.
According to signs, a remediation project is underway. There is a ton of work to do. Grave stones and monuments are in a state of disrepair and disarray. The cemetery is massively overgrown. Bring bug spray as it is more a walk through the woods.
Mozart was buried in St. Marx in 1791. As was customary at the time, his grave was unmarked. Over 50 years later a monument was erected in what was believed to be the correct burial location. Later the monument was moved to a different cemetery, Wien Zentralfriedhof (Vienna Central Cemetery, one of the largest in the world), and placed among a collection of monuments to famous musicians. A new monument was then erected at St. Marx.
Notably the area around Mozart’s grave site is by far the most well-maintained area of the cemetery. It is also near about a half dozen active bee hives. Be cautious and aware if you are allergic to bees.
Garrett and Stephanie
The Travel Blog page contains collected links to all of our travel posts. Check it out if you have not already done so. Want to subscribe (or unsubscribe) for email notification of new blog posts? It is only two to three emails a month. Send your name and email address to slowtravelchronicles@gmail.com, and note subscribe (or unsubscribe) in the subject line. All email address will be kept confidential and not sold to any third-party. You won’t get any marketing junk or sales pitches from us.
I don’t think I can control notifications on my end, at least not that I can find. I’d suggest cancelling or opting out of all notifications, wait some time, and then try again if you are so inclined. Thanks.