Plucky Survivors See Europe Day 13: Vienna

Had a late night in Vienna.  We’re not going to talk about why.  But it drove me to sleep a little later than I had planned today.

I took the subway to Rauthausplatz where the Vienna City Hall and the epicenter of the Vienna Pride festivities were taking place.  Despite my late start, it wasn’t very crowded yet.  Our tribe is not generally known as “morning people.”

The festival itself featured few dozen booths, mostly food, drinks, and makeup stations set right at the front of City Hall.  I’ve been to a lot of Pride festivals, and this one had the background scenery on point.

The parade itself was not starting for a little while, so I walked a few blocks in search of food.  That’s when it started to rain and it was not kidding around.

While I waited in doorway for it taper off, I noticed the name of the hotel across the street and the part of my brain that stores random funny moments from old sitcoms generated the episode of “Designing Women” when they are all going to a spa called La Place San Souci but Suzanne pronounces it “La play-ce san sucky.”  I wanted to go into the hotel and see if thought that was funny, but I guessed they wouldn’t.

I started walking again but the rain came back so I ducked into a little café called “& Flora.”  They were offering brunch, which my people are good at, so I requested a table. 

When one orders an omelet with ham, one doesn’t expect it to come on the side but one was not disappointed.  That and some hearty bread with olive oil infused butter and raspberry marmalade were a perfect way to get my metabolism going. 

Just opposite me were some bookshelves and on them a couple of signs I felt were appropriate to the day and the trip in general. 

Satisfied from a food perspective, I headed back toward the festivities and my reservation at the Austrian National History Museum.  They were offering a chance to view the parade from the rooftop, and I snagged one of the limited tickets.

The museum itself is another gorgeous work of art, with a big domed entryway and lots of imposing grandeur.

A group of about a dozen of us were taken up an elevator, then up a set of stairs to the rooftop level.  There we were offered complimentary beverages and umbrellas in case it started raining again.  It did, so I was happy to have it.

Then it’s up a little set of stairs to duck through a half-doorway, and suddenly you’re on the roof with panoramic views of Vienna and, to the point of the moment at least, the parade.  It was spectacular, breathtaking, and beyond my expectations – a truly once in a lifetime experience.

I took lots of pictures and video.  Deal with it.

I had a lot of thoughts while I was up there.  Here are just a few:

This was the best 40 Euros I’ve ever spent.

Our community is resilient and strong and shows up.

Nobody throws a party like the gays.

I’m having the time of my life.

Seriously, I got a little verklempt.  I turned to one of the museum employees watching over us, a woman about my age, and just said “thank you for doing this.”  She was very kind to the weird guy trying to hold back tears.  She told me her daughter is gay and as soon as the opportunity to work this shift became available, she jumped at it.

When I said I was from the United States and mentioned how scary things are getting at home, she pointed to the parade and the tens of thousands of people below us and said, “That’s why you do things like this.  That’s why you go to things like this.”

Not seeing how I could possibly top the experience, I headed back to the hotel for a little bit of well-deserved R&R and a spot of work.

For dinner I had been told about a restaurant about a mile from my hotel that served the best authentic Austrian cuisine, so I set off for an amble.  I had only gone a couple of blocks when I spied a sign for the Retro Video Games Museum.  Detour!

There are about a dozen rooms filled with a history of video games, starting with computers with the kind of games I played when I was a kid that were all text-based and moving through Pong, Ms. Pacman, Sega, Xbox, and on.  There were even a couple of pinball machines.   The cool thing is you can play any of them – just sit down and get your blast from the past by blasting some alien invaders.

The amble continued and I passed a small gay bar called The Hive, which had a squadron of alt-gays hanging outside.  I stopped for a drink because it was there and I feel as thought I haven’t had enough vodka on this trip.

Onward to Zum Alten Fassl, a traditional Austrian restaurant that doesn’t look like much from the outside (blink and you’ll pass it), but they take you through the kitchen and you’re outside in a beautiful garden with tables, lights, and greenery.

The server didn’t speak any English, so they sent me someone else – his name was Kirk and he was from Pennsylvania.  We chatted a minute and then I ordered the Austrian meatloaf with mashed potatoes and fried onions.  I was going to do a schnitzel, but fried didn’t seem like a good idea at this point so I played it safe.  I was still very happy with the meal.

I’m back at the hotel now, planning to forego the rest of the Pride festivities, much of which doesn’t get started until very late.  I have to get up at dumb o’clock tomorrow to drive to country number four as I trek through the Alps on my way to Venice.

Ciao!