Museums are not really my thing. Traditional, three-hour classical music concerts are not really my thing either. I do not know why this is, but it is. Even so, I am often embarrassed to admit this when friends ask me after a visit to a place like Vienna – “so, what performances/concerts/museums did you see?”
Ron and I had just finished the bike tour, and were slowly walking back to the hotel when we passed a sign in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral: Concert Today. Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”. Hmmm. I love St. Stephen’s Cathedral. I could spend a few hours just being inside with my camera. And even I know a few of the movements of The Four Seasons. Well, I know “Spring” (doesn’t everyone?!) There wasn’t a line at the ticket window, so I inquired: how long and how much? Only one hour. Only 38 €. SOLD!!!
Tickets in hand, we continued our stroll, and were rewarded with more music. A small ensemble was starting up on the sidewalk near our favorite ice cream parlor, Zanoni & Zanoni. What’s an ensemble? It's like a small band, but more sophisticated!
It is not unusual to see groups of musicians pop up in the streets and just start performing. In fact, it’s not unusual to see famous people just pop up in Vienna. Today we saw what appeared to be Queen Elizabeth and her entourage.
We somehow managed to stay awake until 8:00 when the doors of St. Stephen’s opened for the concert. Lots of time to take lots of pictures
This magnificent cathedral was a perfect setting for a string quintet, and the performance was outstanding. After the concert, we spilled out into the Vienna night life, and found ourselves in the middle of a bachelor party. In this part of Europe, brides and grooms to-be often have a party night (sort of like a bachelor party) where they dress up and sell silly little trinkets to random strangers in order to raise money for drinks. It was early, relatively speaking, so this crowd of merrymakers was still sober, relatively speaking!
Before I end the blog about our last night in Vienna, I have a postscript for those curious about the golden ladder in the first Vienna blog, and the brightly lit ladder in the photos above. According to our bicycle guide Marco, this has been a matter of great discussion here in Vienna. There is a continuous cleaning that takes place on the outside of the cathedral, to remove the grit and grime of twenty-first century pollution. It takes about three years to go all the way around, then the cleaning begins again. During the most recent cleaning, it was discovered that the top of one of the towers needed repairs.
A ladder was built to access the area. This being St. Stephen's Cathedral, the ladder couldn't be just any ladder, and it was customized (painted) to shine like gold. The people immediately perceived the ladder as symbolic, a stairway of sorts to God. A second ladder was commissioned to be built below, in the church itself, so that the ladder to God could be accessible to all the people. There is talk of leaving the ladders in place even after the restorative work is completed on the tower. There you have it - the story of the golden ladders!
PS This is what I love about St. Stephan's - every single square inch of the place has a story.
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