Que sera, sera

As I was walking through Karlsplatz today, I heard someone playing Que sera, sera on an accordion. It was dusk. I was flanked on one side by an enormous, baroque church, in front by a modern sculpture placed off center within a pond/fountain area, to my right by a row of distinctly European benches and a neat alley of sycamores, and behind me the Wien Museum. And I thought to myself, yes, que sera, sera. How I arrived here, how this is not ordinary, how happy I am, and how at home I feel - que sera, sera. The future's not ours to see... I'm thinking that might be my new theme song. (I should say that hearing the music did strike me as a bit odd at first since the far off accodion sound is really something more fitting to Paris, but I went with it anyway.)

But on to more serious things. What a day! I slept for 13 hours last night. That was a sleep in the making. I had been up for 36 hours (short sleep the night before I left, little sleep on the plane, hit the ground running when I got here). It was a glorious sleep, full of odd dreams and mini-wake-ups with myself saying, "It's only 6 a.m., go back to sleep." Several of the dreams involved me being half-naked, wrapped in a towel in work situations. It seemed I was late getting there and just came as I was. I can't decide if I'm feeling vulnerable at work, rushed through life, or just plain sexy. Probably some of all of the above.

Anyway, I didn't leave the hotel until 2 p.m. I walked down Parkring and straight to the Belvedere. I wandered through the gardens and spent a good amount of time in the Upper Belvedere Museum. There are some rooms there that are at least three storeys high with marble decorations going floor to ceiling; gilded everything; frescoes everywhere; and bas relief like it's going out of style. Some of the rooms have been preserved with the frescoes like they were when the aristocrats lived there, and you can just feel the sense of entitlement when you walk into these rooms. Amazing.

And then there's the art. They have several rooms dedicated to Klimt, with works like the Kiss and Judith I. Having seen so many reproductions of these works, it's nice to see them finally in person. They are truly stunning and stand the test of time. Especially worth seeing the detail he put into his work and his mastery of working with gold leaf and other non-traditional materials. I also just enjoyed walking a museum, which I haven't done in a while, and seeing artists that we don't normally see at home.

After this, I wandered down to the Wien Museum. This museum was staffed by a group who were not the friendliest people in the world. When you hear the announcement that the museum is closing in 15 minutes, they really mean leave now. However, the museum does give you a great sense of the history of Vienna through religious objects, maps, clothes, materials, art and military objects. Yet it is very much geared to a German-speaking audience, which, if you think about it, seems odd. Wouldn't you want others outside of your country to understand the position your city and country had in the world? I'm going to make a note of that the next time I visit an American museum or iconic place.

After that, I sat in Karlsplatz and listened to the 6 p.m. bells toll outside the church. It is truly lovely. I then wandered around the Ring for a bit. What struck me was how Vienna truly lights up at night. Very much like Paris that way - you can really take in how impressive the buildings are with all of their detail.

I ended the day at a lovely cafe (the Moritz) with a friendly waiter, who took great care of me. He served a wonderful Viennese Chardonnay and I had fried calamari. Not the kind we usually get at home, but really good non-breaded calamari grilled a light garlic/basil. It came with nice veggies and some of the best small cooked potatoes I've had in a long time.

Now I'm ready for another long nap. And best of all, it's daylight savings time tonight so I get an extra hour! (Or as the Viennese say, we're changing to wintertime.) Whatever will be will be!