I started Kyudo in Japan and have continued it after moving to France.
It is a two-hour flight from Paris to Vienna. There are many ways to get from the airport to the city, but I used the easy and inexpensive Austrian Federal Railways high-speed train. I had already bought a digital ticket for unlimited travel on Vienna’s public transportation for a week (very reasonable at 19.70 euros), so I bought the missing amount to the airport, which is outside the city, from an automatic ticket machine at the airport, and it cost only 2.1 euros. After taking the train and metro, we arrived at our destination in the city of Vienna about an hour from the airport.
This was my first visit to Vienna. I somehow thought it would be a cool place in summer, but I was wrong! It was about 25 degrees Celsius in Paris at that time, but in Vienna it was about 35 degrees Celsius every day, and it was just so hot. I spent my time in Vienna taking care of myself to avoid heat stroke.
After the Kyudo workshop, the first place I went was the Vienna State Opera. I am not familiar with opera or ballet, but the conductor Seiji Ozawa served as music director there in the past, so I decided to go.
The opera I saw was performed by John Malkovich, an American actor with a strong personality, and although it was subtitled in English, I could not understand a word of it until the end. I took it as enough to understand the atmosphere of the opera. I took a cheap seat on the top floor (13 euros!), thinking it would be enough to understand the atmosphere. I was satisfied because I could see the orchestra from above and the sound was wonderful.
There are several famous palaces in Vienna, but I didn’t have much time to spend there and there are many palaces in France, so I didn’t have much interest in them. We only took a walk in the garden of Schönbrunn Palace, which was open to the public free of charge, and found it to be vast! There is also a zoo in the palace, and it seems to be a place of relaxation for the citizens. The palace from the outside was surprisingly much simpler than I had imagined.
Walking around town, Vienna also has many churches. I took a look at several large and small churches, including Stephansdom, which has become a symbol of Vienna.
One of the things I enjoyed most while touring the city of Vienna related to the Vienna Secession (Secession), a new artists’ association created in 1897 around the painter Gustav Klimt, and the building of the same name, designed by Josef Maria Olbrich, was completed the following year.
The next stop was the Majolica House by Otto Wagner, one of the central figures of the Vienna Secession and one of my favorite architects. The red part of the wall is made of tiles called majolica ware, which is eye-catching. The Medallion Mansion next door was also designed by Wagner. It was a pity that we could not see the inside of the house, which would have been nice, because it is a residential building.
The Karlsplatz train station building with its beautiful golden decoration was also designed by Wagner. It is now a museum dedicated to Wagner (except during the winter season).
The last place I visited was the Vienna Post Savings Office. It was built around the time of Wagner’s last years, but he also worked on the interior, and the whole place looks very functional, modern, and beautiful. You can visit inside for free.
There are many museums in Vienna, but I visited the Upper Belvedere Palace. I visited the Upper Belvedere Palace with a rental Japanese audio guide and mainly viewed the works of Klimt and his student, Egon Schiele. I thought it would be crowded, but there were not so many people in the room where Klimt’s “The Kiss” is located, so I was very happy to see it at a leisurely pace.
For the evening meal, I chose to eat as much Viennese food as possible. Basically, we ate Viennese cutlets and other meat dishes with potatoes. We went to a small bistro in town and also to one of the famous Holliiges (wine taverns).
We visited Holliige, about 40 minutes from the center of Vienna, but it was a very touristy place, and we had a good time with waiters dressed in traditional costumes and street performers who sang songs upon request. The Austrian fast-food-like food we ate when we were short on time was also unexpectedly delicious, with thick meat.
During the three-day Kyudo training course, I stayed in a rented private apartment close to the dojo, which was located a little outside the center of Vienna. During the sightseeing after the course, I stayed in a dormitory in the center of the city. This was the first time in my life that I stayed in a dormitory. A friend of mine who is also a bowler in France found this dormitory and let me take advantage of it, thinking it would be safe for two people. Since the dormitory is a room in a luxury hotel, it is unique in that you can use the rooftop pool and gym.
I stayed here for two nights and had a room with a capacity of 6 people, multiple showers, toilets, sinks, and private lockers. The rooms were never filled to capacity during my stay and were mixed gender, but the guests knew the rules, there was no noise in the middle of the night, the air conditioning was working, the rooms were cleaned daily, and considering the low price of 50 euros per night, I have nothing to complain about. There are no partitioning curtains, so it might be a good idea to bring a blindfold and earplugs. At my age, staying in a dormitory was a rare experience.
Thus my six days in Vienna came to an end in a flash. Of course it depends on how you want to spend your time, but in my case, I was surprised that I could enjoy Vienna on a lower budget than I expected. Also, the people are very kind. This is very important! If it had been a bit cooler, I would have seen a lot more of the city, but I’ll save that for next time, including the Sachertorte, which was too hot to eat.
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