Austria and Prague 2019 - A Self Guided, Sleep Deprived, Walking Tour

Imagine the outer edge of a spiderweb. Now imagine the inside of that web blown apart by the elements leaving it a maze of bits and pieces. This is something like Vienna's historical city center. Plazas abut one another. there can be as many as 3 names associated with different areas of the same open space. Streets spread out in what seems a random manner. Some come to an end in yet another plaza (or 3), others change their names for no apparent reason. Even with a map it can be difficult to find ones way. Bear in mind we had been flying all night so we were not exactly, well, fresh.

Not to misunderstand, it is worth it. 18th and 19th century buildings abound. They drip with ornamentation. They are wrapped in floral garlands, faces peer out at you from the center of stone and plaster medallions, statues grace rooftops and stand at watch along their eaves, caryatids, both male and female, the male ones paragons of muscular virility, the females soft and slightly overweight, support balconies and doorways or sometimes just stand around as if awaiting orders on what to do. Upscale shops  Lagerfeld, Chanel, Rolex, Tiffany and Versace among scores of other fill the ground floors of many of the buildings.If you want to spend gobs of money, Vienna has you covered.

After a time we felt the need to answer "nature's call". My husband stepped into the Imperial Burial Vault. The man at the desk allowed us to use the men's room there. Essentially we were peeing in a graveyard. A sign advised us "You are entering a graveyard, please be quiet." We peed as quietly as possible. After our muted urination we snuck into a portion of the vaults. Massive, ornate sarcophagi are lined up behind rails. Signs on the rails told us who was interred within. After a few moments my husband noted that we had not paid admission, were only there due to the largess of the desk attendant and perhaps we should leave before our subterfuge was unearthed. We returned to the maze of streets and using the steeple for a guide found the main cathedral.