Vienna Boys Choir

We had ourselves booked into a concert of the Vienna Boys Choir on the morning we were due to leave Salzburg. The concert was at 9am, requiring us to leave Salzburg with enough time to travel to Vienna, check our luggage in at our hotel, and make our way to the Hofburgkapelle where the boys were to sing.

So. We set our alarms for 3:30am, got in a taxi at 3:50am (ordinarily we would have been idiots and walked, but Tom was having issues with his broken suitcase, so we opted for the easier option), and boarded a train at 4:06am. We used our few minutes sitting at the train station to consume the little take-away breakfast the hotel had kindly prepared for us.

The train arrived. We boarded. And then we collapsed. This is my silhouette lying down in the train. Tom was trying to be arty taking photos of his snoring wife. Just kidding. I NEVER snore.

We arrived in Vienna, Tom won the battle with his suitcase (at least for the moment) and we made our way successfully to our hotel, and then we began the walk to the Hofburgkapelle with plenty of time to spare.

I did prolong our journey somewhat by needing to take photos of every attractive building we passed on our way, and there were quite a few.

And then we arrived at the Hofburgkapelle to see the boys choir.

It was a pretty spectacular venue.

The boys and the orchestra were perched on a balcony at the very back of the chapel. I took these photos during the rehearsal we caught before the church service began, not during. Just so you know I'm not one of those people.

We were perched in one of these little balconies.

After the church service that included many performances by the boys choir and the orchestra (which was lovely by the way), we were both very keen to get some fresh air. Our virtually sleepless night meant we both spent most of the service fighting our urge to fall asleep (no reflection on the boys, they did wonderfully - the priests probably could have been more brief), we went in search of breakfast. Immediately!

 

 

I had what is apparently a typical Viennese breakfast. Do I look as tired as I felt?

We then wandered around the centre of the historical areas for a little while, trying to imagine how we would cope for the rest of the day feeling as tired as we were.

Admired more fantastic buildings…

Tom certainly perked up when he found free drinking water…

We went back to admiring fancy buildings…

and tree-ey avenues…

Oh and buildings (did I mention that already?)…

 

Until we eventually accepted the inevitable and decided to make our way back to our hotel to see if we could beg them to let us into our room so we could have a nap. We were not coping. Actually I should just speak for myself. I was definitely not coping.

 

So we wended our way up this street (always wanted to say that since I read Anne of Green Gables)...

And astoundingly I still had the capacity to admire a few more fancy buildings along the way (perhaps I could do it in my sleep)...

 

We arrived at our hotel, and wonder of wonders, they had a room ready for us, so we fell very gratefully into bed, to recover a bit of our traveling enthusiasm. Perhaps we’re just getting too old to survive on a few hours’ sleep (now that we've both aged an extra year) and still act like happy first-week travelers. Nevertheless, we collapsed, and woke a few hours later to enjoy Vienna with much happier attitudes towards life in general.

More to come, of course!