So what else? Vienna continued! After a good show and a few too many drinks, I spent one day recovering with a hangover. I think Hangovers should be a part of any vacation, to tell the truth. Letting go can be difficult for me, and drinking is a quick fix, but one that shouldn’t be abused.
I don’t know for certain if this was the same day that Jim and I went up to the top of St. Stephan’s cathedral together, but perhaps it was. St. Stephens dominates the skyline of Vienna, and once at the top I realized I've developed a fear of heights. Or at least of exposed heights with huge slanted rooftops and hanging cage-walks.
Jim and I also tagged along on a German-language tour of the crypts under the church. This was a real Indiana Jones style adventure. Human bones were tossed into huge chambers like garbage. It was truly, vibrantly shocking. Skulls were packed into Lincoln-Log Femur Houses, and the air was cold and moist. We couldn’t take pictures, but maybe I’ll go back with a camera phone sometime …
Tim, Jim and I went out to the summer home of the Hofburg Dynasty. The highlight for me was the room where six-year-old Mozart played with his sister. For much of my adult life, I’ve been quite obsessed with W.A.M., and this room was the location where his father reported that after Mozart was finished playing, he leapt into the lap of the empress and showered her with kisses. There, no more than 3 feet away from me, was the very same velvet chair that she had sat on, while little Mozart was embarrassing his father. I was standing in the nearly-unchanged chamber where he had clicked around in loud heels. I’m not spiritual by nature, but this room, that sofa - it was a benediction.
There was of course, much more. Afternoon naps, long walks in the dark to the greatest hot-dogs, and yesterday I went back to the Hofburg Palace to eat a Buchet(?) filled with Spinach and Feta Cheese. The food, I can not emphasize enough: It was Staggering. And the Library! It was the most beautiful place I think I’ve ever been. And I got plenty of pictures of it.
The final night, Boom reunited in an underground restaurant (with bricks in the walls from the Holy Roman Empire, and perhaps Rome itself!). This hidden, basement location had no advertising – it was word of mouth passed on to us mid-level celebrities. The ribs were served on wooden plates. Potatoes were stacked like hash-brown towers in the center, and it was romantic in such a real, wonderful way. Candle light and an over-friendly waiter who took genuine pride in his work; a refreshing change from the cool Dutch service I’ve become accustomed to.
Right now, this entire job was worth it for this one corporate. I was happier then than I’d been in a long time.