It seemed a little sacrilegious to actually walk up the steps painted with Monet’s water lilies. There is a lift which provides wheelchair/disabled access as well should this be needed and an excellent cafe at street level.
When you get to the top of the steps you are greeted by this statue and a view over the streets around you.
Continue reading → Vienna: The Albertina Museum and the Rathaus
We slept like kings! We slept so well that the hassles of the previous night were temporarily forgotten, and we showered and took ourselves down to breakfast.
We went to reception to inquire about breakfast and the internet — not really having been in a fit state to do so the night before. Breakfast starts at a whopping 19 Euros for a continental breakfast and goes up to 28 Euros for the full Monty. Internet usage is 35 Euros a day. They could, however, offer us a daily package of 35 Euros per room to cover both. PHEW! We thought we had better check on car parking while we were talking EXPENSE — 25 Euros a day !
We could take our breakfast outside, which we chose to do. PANIC — where is my camera? I want to photograph this. Mr P goes to the car and I check the room — then we do it in reverse to make sure the other has not missed it . Still no camera! Mr P suggests it might have been left at reception after the debacle the previous night.
We asked, they checked, and bingo — there was my camera! I was able to give make and model, identify and name other objects in the camera case and, phew, I had it back.
The sales pitch on booking.com who we use for all our hotel bookings:
This historic Vienna hotel features a health club with gym, indoor pool with sunbathing lawn, sauna and steam room. Guests reside in a 19th century Imperial Riding School in Vienna’s diplomatic district, while enjoying the lush 2,000 m² private garden.
The boutique style Imperial Club offers uniquely designed rooms and suites with elegant furnishings. Standard features include flat — screen TVs, high — speed Internet access, safes and air conditioning.
Organic Austrian cuisine can be enjoyed at the hotel’s Borromäus Restaurant with a winter garden or on the beautiful summer terrace. The Arsenal Beer and Wine Pub proposes typical Austrian dishes and seasonal specialties of highest quality.
Guests may discover hidden gems only a local would know with Renaissance’s In-The-Know recommendations, personally curated weekly by the hotel’s Navigator.
The Ringstrasse and the city center, the opera, concert halls, theaters and museums are within easy walking distance. The Rennweg Train Station is right behind the hotel and provides a fast and direct connection to the airport (22 minutes). Various tram stops are only a few steps away.
We paid in advance last year and got an exceptionally good room rate — around 75 euros a night.
We were on a mission — not from God like Jake and Elwood in the Blues Brothers — more like hell given the number of twists and turns the week took, but more of that later. Our mission was to see Robbie Williams in concert in Vienna. Tickets for the concert here were about 50% cheaper than in the UK, so we decided we would take a break and incorporate the concert into the itinerary.
Once we had our precious tickets, we then proceeded to work out the most acceptable way for us to travel. Acceptable to us includes the following criteria — cost, opportunity to see new places, have new adventures, explore new and different cultures, make the most of opportunities, tasting new food and wines, hotels with bath and shower, the opportunity to learn, and most importantly for me, a means of travel which allows me to photograph.
We chose to travel using the motorway network — mainly for speed and our lack of geographical knowledge.
A month ago, we reviewed the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz BeBop 12-50 guitar strings, and today, we are reviewing their heavier brother, the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Swing 13-53 Flat Wound guitar strings — the heaviest gauge guitar string TI makes in that cycle. As I dip deeper into Jazz, finding the right tone is another ongoing mission, and the TI Jazz Swing flat wounds are uniquely different in three ways than the previously reviewed Jazz BeBops — other than just being all-around thicker.
Continue reading → Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Swing 13-53 Flat Wound Guitar Strings Review
You must be logged in to post a comment.