30 May 2010

We were not rushed this morning as the first item on our agenda was Mass at St Augustin at 11. This was another good suggestion from Lynne, as they were doing the Mozart Missa solemnis in C as the liturgy for the service. The word is that the music acoustics are better there than at St Stephen’s. The choir and orchestra do a large scale Mass every Sunday, and today it was for the Feast of the Holy Trinity. So the church was standing room only.

There was more music, including the Post-Communion hymn, Nun danket alle Gott, which we were able to sing along with easily auf Deutsch. It was a beautiful and worshipful beginning to the day.

When the Mass was over about 12:30, it was raining and we were feeling a bit short of time. We had planned to take the train over to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, to add another country to our list. But with the time and weather against us, we decided to stay in Vienna. We had lunch at Café Restaurant Palmenhaus in the former conservatory of the Hofburg Palace overlooking the Burggarten. It was a very nice setting inside during the rain.

After lunch the rain had stopped and we took the tram on the Ring Tour around the old city. We got off at the Rathaus and Parlament stops. We completed the tour at the Staatsoper, where we had started. From there we wandered up Kantner Strasse through the main shopping area. It is a great people watching area. Our goal at the end of the walk was St Peters, which had been suggested by a gentleman from Melbourne, Australia we met at Mass in the morning. There has been a church at this site since about 400 AD. The present building is from the 17^th century. While there we saw an announcement for a free organ recital in the evening.

From there we went to Reinthaler’s Beisl for dinner. It is a delightful old café. After a little more walking around, we came back to Café Hawelka for our after dinner coffee. This is one of the great old coffee houses in Vienna, recommended by Rick Steves and Lynne Heller, and is next door to Reinthaler’s Beisl.

We then returned to St Peters for the free organ recital including music by de Grigny, Bach, and Händel. I couldn’t find any information about the organ, but it sounded and looked like a late 18^th or early 19^th century instrument. It was a wonderful way to end a relaxing day in Vienna.