Trains and Trams and the Vienna Opera
Vienna, Austria
I just wanted to say a word about public transportation here. It is fantastic. We were able to learn the system in a few hours. There is an underground train sytem called (logically enough) the "U". There is a tram (or what we in the USA would call "trolly") system.
In order to pay, you buy a ticket for the number of rides you think you will need. For example, we bought a pass for a whole week. It entitles you to ride any train, tram or bus in the city, any number of times. The funny thing is, in this entire week, no one has ever check to see that we actually have a pass.
The second interesting thing is, people bring their dogs everywhere, that includes on trains and trams. The dogs are supposed to wear muzzles on public transportation but most do not.
Finally, the doorways on the trains, trams and buses are at a level with the street or the platform so they are easy for people to bring baby carriages along. There is a "parking space" on each train or tram car for baby carriages and it is not unusual to see a carriage sitting by itself with the mother sitting elsewhere. A more trusting society than ours!
Last night we had tickets for "Andre Chenier" at the Vienna State Opera House. We arrived not knowing where our seats were. We asked one of the ushers where we should check our coats. He said, "Leave them in the box." What box? It turned out that we were sitting in one of those boxes like you see in the movies about the opera in the "old days."
The Vienna Opera House is horseshoe shaped. On the main floor, there are only 18 rows of seats. There are three floors of boxes and then two floors of balconies. We were in the first row of boxes, fairly close to the stage. Within each box, there are three rows of seats. Mel and I had tickets for the second row. Guess what? The people in the first row did not show up so we moved forward into their seats. Unbelievable.
We were not familiar with the opera but the Vienna State Opera House has equipped the back of each seat or the arm rest in front of the boxes with small screens that carry translations of the words being sung, including an English version.
An unforgettable evening.
Tonight we are going to dinner with some people we met here and tomorrow we take the train for Budapest. We may try to squeeze in just one more activity on the morning before we leave - watching a rehearsal of the famous Lippizaner horses.
Love,
Janet
I just wanted to say a word about public transportation here. It is fantastic. We were able to learn the system in a few hours. There is an underground train sytem called (logically enough) the "U". There is a tram (or what we in the USA would call "trolly") system.
In order to pay, you buy a ticket for the number of rides you think you will need. For example, we bought a pass for a whole week. It entitles you to ride any train, tram or bus in the city, any number of times. The funny thing is, in this entire week, no one has ever check to see that we actually have a pass.
The second interesting thing is, people bring their dogs everywhere, that includes on trains and trams. The dogs are supposed to wear muzzles on public transportation but most do not.
Finally, the doorways on the trains, trams and buses are at a level with the street or the platform so they are easy for people to bring baby carriages along. There is a "parking space" on each train or tram car for baby carriages and it is not unusual to see a carriage sitting by itself with the mother sitting elsewhere. A more trusting society than ours!
Last night we had tickets for "Andre Chenier" at the Vienna State Opera House. We arrived not knowing where our seats were. We asked one of the ushers where we should check our coats. He said, "Leave them in the box." What box? It turned out that we were sitting in one of those boxes like you see in the movies about the opera in the "old days."
The Vienna Opera House is horseshoe shaped. On the main floor, there are only 18 rows of seats. There are three floors of boxes and then two floors of balconies. We were in the first row of boxes, fairly close to the stage. Within each box, there are three rows of seats. Mel and I had tickets for the second row. Guess what? The people in the first row did not show up so we moved forward into their seats. Unbelievable.
We were not familiar with the opera but the Vienna State Opera House has equipped the back of each seat or the arm rest in front of the boxes with small screens that carry translations of the words being sung, including an English version.
An unforgettable evening.
Tonight we are going to dinner with some people we met here and tomorrow we take the train for Budapest. We may try to squeeze in just one more activity on the morning before we leave - watching a rehearsal of the famous Lippizaner horses.
Love,
Janet
posted by Mel and Janet Muchnik | 8:47 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Guys How did you travel from Prague to Vienna and what is the distance?? Did you schedule the assorted concerts/cultural events before you left home or are you winging it?? Howabout Vienna Hot Dogs?? Enjoying traveling with you. Sally & Shel
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