Cruising the Danube in Vienna

 Laureen was busy pouring over a stack of tourist pamphlets in the small apartment we had rented for our stay in Vienna.

It was a very nice spot called MyPlace, located along Vorlaufstrasse in the city Center of Austria’s capital city.

I liked the name.

“Where’d you stay in Vienna?” 

“My place,” I would answer, with a touch of a Viennese accent.

“Must be nice to have your own place.”

“It was,” I said with a slight bow, showing my gracious side.

Our home away from home

The weather had not turned out to be what we had expected, much like whenever travelers travel. It was supposed to be raining and cold much of the time as we trouped about the city of nearly 2 million folks.

The 20 suitcases Laureen had packed for the trip, were loaded to their bulging zippers with winter jackets, rain jackets, jackets with two pockets, jackets with hoodies, and jackets within jackets.

We could have worn shorts and tank tops most days. The Nanook of the North wardrobe was not necessary for this outing. Thank goodness there were 19 other suitcases for this eventuality.

“How about a lunch cruise along the Danube?” Laureen asked.

“I like boats,” I said. “But only if lunch includes schnitzel. Has to have schnitzel or count me out.”

She nodded. “It does and it’s three hours of sightseeing along the river.”

Something about a three-hour cruise gave me a pause for a moment. 

“Gilligan will not be aboard,” Laureen said.

We donned our yachting gear. Blue jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and a light sweatshirt in case the sun decided to disappear behind a silly cloud or two during the river trip.

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe: 1,770 miles of blue flowing water starting in Germany and passing through ten countries before emptying into the Black Sea. The Volga in Russia is longer by approximately 400 miles, but only travels through the one country, so who cares?

We were going to be eating schnitzel on the Danube.

Now, that's a meal

Our ship was to be the DDSG Blue Danube for the lunch cruise. I have no idea what DDSG stands for though – I asked around at the docks but was only met with a couple of salty crew members who prattled something in German.

All flags were flying aboard the DDSG Blue Danube

I smiled and believed they had said something about my shoe being untied. I looked; it wasn’t.

One of the captains, Matthia S. Krista, is quoted as saying. “As one of the most livable cities in the world, Vienna is always worth a visit. For tourists as well as for locals who want to enjoy the view from the water. I am pleased to be able to look after you safely on board our ships.”

In all transparency, I lifted that quotation from the company’s website.

Arriving dockside along the Schwedenplatz in the Danube Canal area, we were greeted by very friendly crew members who reminded us not to fall while boarding.

“That warning ruined my day already,” I said.

Laureen Beyer ready for the cruise

The Blue Danube, our cruise ship, was long and spacious, with two decks: the top view deck on top, and the bottom view deck on the bottom. 

No sooner had we taken a beautiful spot on the top deck with our own table and fabulous views of the river and the city than our waiter appeared as if by magic.

It was Vienna, after all.

“Could I interest you in a beverage before we depart?”

Ah, Vienna.

Like trains in Europe, the cruise started right on time – punctuality is greatly admired and adhered to by Europeans. As the dock lines slipped off port and the bow thrusters churned away in the fast currents of the Danube, I looked at my watch.

“Right on time.”

“I have three minutes past the hour,” Laureen replied.

“American time, I’m on Austrian time.”

Five minutes into the cruise and I'm loving it

The river is wide, plenty wide enough to accommodate a couple of ships the size of the Blue Danube which could easily pass each other if there were a need. There wasn’t and it was more than an hour before any other boats came into view.

What was in view were wonderfully beautiful sights of the city as we drifted by.

River Danube has beautiful sights thru Vienna and beyond

One of the first sights to be seen was the Urania observatory, the oldest observatory in Vienna, built in 1910. During World War II, the observatory’s cupola, along with some of the more fragile astronomical equipment were destroyed by allied bombings. In 1957, the observatory was reopened to the public.

Green trees lined the shorelines of the Danube River, and as we gently cruised, we got a taste of what it would be like living along a real river.

The Mojave River may be a river, but I do not foresee any cruise ships powering by Apple Valley, Victorville, or Hesperia anytime soon.

“Look, mom,” a young tike on a Mojave river cruiser may say. “Is that water I see in the river?”

“No, you are thinking of the Danube.”

The Romans called the river, the Danubius, which is from an ancient Celtic word meaning, appropriately, to flow, and was shortened during modern times to simply the Danube.

History has flowed along the stretches of this waterway for eons. As water transportation played such a powerful role with empires, as it still does today, many a historical figure had ventured the width and length of the river Danube.

In 1529, the Ottoman Empire, after crushing Hungary, ventured to the city of Vienna along the Danube and laid siege. The Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, had over 100,000 soldiers against the defending Viennese army of only 21,000. But after just two short weeks the Ottomans gave up and left the territory.

Rumor has it that Suleiman the Magnificent blamed the failure on his younger brother, Ahmet the Mediocre.

Following the dismal siege, another 150 years of constant rivalry would erupt between the Ottoman Empire and the Hapsburg Dynasty in Austria.

Soon, we entered the Freudenau lock not far from Danube Island, along the Danube Canal. We had never been in a lock before, and it was exciting.

The lock

Note: we need to get out more.

The locals refer to the Freudenau lock as the largest bathtub in Vienna. It is huge, containing more than 80,000 cubic meters of water.

I have no idea what that means but it is a lot of water contained in a long narrow channel with huge metal gates on either side that close as our boat entered the lock.

“We’re locked in,” I said to the waiter as he brought a fresh Gosser to our table.

He smiled and walked away.

“Do you think he has heard that before?” Laureen asked.

“I doubt it,” I replied.

The Danube is such a vital route to ship goods here and there that the lock has over 13,000 ships passing through each year. Not only that, but the site is also used for hydroelectric power.

Ingenious and fun.

Everyone was enthralled with the lock

Twenty minutes later, our ship was raised to the current level of the Danube River, and we were on our way again.

The locks, (there is another on the route), were installed years ago to stop the flooding which periodically would occur in the city of Vienna when the Danube would swell and pour over its banks. 

Danube Island came up fast to the starboard.  The 13-mile-long island separating the Danube River from the Danube Canal, is a recreational mecca for the citizens of Vienna. There is hiking, running, biking, and skating. There are beaches for swimming, water sliding, surfing, water skiing and boat rentals.

Not a great shot of Danube Island, me and not the camera

In all fairness, being from Southern California, there was no way this guy was going to jump into the Danube, where on a good day it feels like two degrees above freezing.

The Viennese are some tough people.

The island also boasts the world’s biggest trampoline center, called the Danube Jump.

We did not check that out.

Along the shorelines popped up little fisherman cabins which are used by individual families to hunker down while using nets in the river for commercial fishing purposes. There are one hundred of them, or so said the lady over the ship intercom system.

A very fancy fishing cabin along the River Danube

The Blue Danube continued cruising along pristine shorelines, bustling pedestrian walkways along the banks, tall modern buildings, tall historical buildings, and just a wonderful exploration of all Vienna had to offer from the comfort of our chairs.

Beautiful hotels awaiting Vienna guests in posh rooms

In the distance were the spires of St. Stephen’s Cathedral completed in 1578. Slowly, the Danube Tower, the tallest structure in Austria rising over 800 feet above the land came into view. Then the Ernst Happel Stadium appeared on port, the largest stadium in Austria which can seat over 50,000 football fans and was completed in 1931.

Observatory in Vienna along River Danube

One landmark after another slid by and each as interesting as the last.

We had not thought of taking a daytime cruise, but it turned out to be a great way to see the city and get an idea of where to travel once we were on dry land again.

It worked, and the schnitzel was delicious.

The Huntington Library

 I glanced over at Laureen, who was sipping coffee on our front porch.

“You know,” I started. “I’d like to head down the hill today and walk through some gardens.”

“We have plenty of land here for you to walk through and there are some pretty nasty sized weeds calling your name.”

Listening very attentively for a few seconds, I did not hear one weed beckoning me.

“How about a walk-about at the Huntington Library in San Marino?”

The Huntington Research Center

In 1862, the U.S. Congress chartered the Central Pacific Railroad to build a railway eastward from Sacramento as part of the western extension of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Many in Congress, it is rumored, hmphed and hmphed while smoking big cigars and tipping their top hats to each other over this railroad charter.

“We do such wonderful things for our subjects,” one congressman may have said.

“I believe you meant to say, our constituents,” another congressman may have replied.

The first congressman nodded. “Why certainly that’s what I meant.”

Theodore Judah, an American civil engineer, had an idea to build the Central Pacific Railroad but needed financial support for such a huge project.

“Fat cats are needed for this railroad,” Judah may have pondered.

Soon, he had four wealthy individuals who wanted to get more wealthy by constructing a railroad which would be part of the tracks linking east to west.

Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, and Collins Potter Huntington ponied up the finances for Judah’s dream.

When the Central Pacific Railroad finally met up with the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit in Utah, the ‘Big 4’ realized they had done something truly special for the country – and were going to make a fortune.

Instead of taking weeks, or even months, to bring goods from the east to the west, it would now be only a matter of days to supply the needs of pioneers and growing towns along the route.

Shop owners were said to have danced in the streets with joy.

“By golly, that sarsaparilla will be here in no time. My customers will be bellied-up to the bar for that lip-smacking delicacy.”

But this article is not about the railroads, it is about Collis P. Huntington’s nephew, Henry E. Huntington who left a beautiful legacy in the town of San Marino, just southeast of Pasadena.

As a boy, Henry grew up hearing about his rich uncle and what he had accomplished in the railroad world, as well as other successful monetary ventures.

As it turned out, Henry went to work for Collis as an executive at the Southern Pacific, which had been the Central Pacific earlier. When Collis passed away in 1900, Henry assumed the leadership role with the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Virginia as well as other businesses which were under Collis’s control.

To say the least, Henry was becoming wealthy.

Henry E. Huntington

In 1910, Henry divorced his first wife, Mary Alice Prentice Huntington, and in 1913 married his uncle’s widow, Arabella.

No judgement here, but it did shock the high society in San Francisco at the time.

“OMG, can you believe they got married?” one socialite asked another socialite.

“When I heard, it was simply LOL to me.”

The weather was nearly perfect for us to stroll the 207 acres which comprise the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Over 130 of those acres are taken up the Botanical Gardens. That is a lot of walking in and out of the various gardens at the Huntington.

Laureen Beyer strolling one of the gardens

There’s the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, the Chinese Garden, the Desert Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, the Children’s Garden, the Australian Garden, and some others I forgot to write down.

There are nearly 27,000 different types of plants on the grounds which include 16,000 various species. Must be considerable work for the staff of full-time gardeners to keep track of such numbers.

Lots of various trees at the Huntington

“I think it was sixteen hundred and fifteen, but I suddenly had a coughing spell and lost track,” one gardener told another.

“Well, let’s start again, shall we? You know how the head gardener can be.”

It was relatively early in the morning when we arrived, which allowed Laureen and I to shoot through the gates and onto the grounds rather quickly.

Heading to the 16,000 square foot Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science proved to us that a greenhouse that large may have its own weather system brewing.

The huge steel and glass building is home to three different habitats – a lowland tropical rain forest, a cloud forest, and a carnivorous bog.

It also sports a humidity that must be nearly 3,000 percent.

I was dripping sweat within seconds of entering the structure – Laureen was glistening.

“Holy Moly,” I said. “My eyeballs are fogged over.”

It was amazing what had been created for guests to experience. Huge towering plants dripping water onto other plants and tourists. A large pond was surrounded by portions of the rain forest. There were plaques everywhere describing this plant or that plant for the curious botanists.

“There is the Corpse Flower,” Laureen observed. “Want to take a closer look?”

“A closer look? Sure, it’s not a Venus Flytrap?”

I was more interested in studying the Amorphophallus titanium, or Stinky Plant in laymen’s terms. Research states that when this plant blooms it can clear a room out quicker than a pug with digestive issues.

I’m immature like that. 

After spending nearly an hour looking at this plant or that plant, we exited into the late morning sun where a gentle breeze greeted us.

“That is refreshing,” Laureen said.

“Yeah, I think I dropped twenty pounds of water weight in there.”

As an entrepreneur, Henry invested in this and in that and along the way purchased great tracts of land. He purchased 500 acres in what was called the San Marino Ranch, where the library is now located, as well as other large parcels in Pasadena and Los Angeles.

Being the creator of the Pacific Electric Railway Company – the Red Car. Henry was able to amass more wealth by offering a 24/7 mode of transportation in and around the ever-growing city of Los Angeles. By 1910, his electric trolley system spanned over 1,300 miles with 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys.

Henry was responsible, along with other early developers, of creating the Southern California that we now recognize.

Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Huntington Lake, Huntington Hospital, Henry E. Huntington Middle School, and Huntington Drive are just some of the places named after this man who had moved from Oneonta, New York to make California his permanent home.

Speaking of homes, the original home of the Huntington’s, located on the grounds happens to be more of a humongous mansion, now the art gallery. 

The Gilded-Age abode was designed by Myron Hunt, along with the adjacent library built in 1919, also by Hunt. Other buildings were added during the following years including a tea house, a bowling building, billiard building, art gallery, a mausoleum, and other historical structures.

Just one of many beautiful buildings at the Huntington

And I thought the few sheds on my property were impressive.

An interesting fact, the mausoleum located on the grounds was designed by John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.

Arabella was quite the art lover and between she and her husband garnered an extremely large collection of masterpieces from around the world during their marriage.

John R Beyer standing beside one piece of art work

A statement concerning Huntington stated the following, ‘far and away the greatest group of 18th century British portraits ever assembled by any one man.’

It was estimated during his lifetime the collection of art was worth 50 million dollars. Today it is valued at over 400 million.

Prior to Henry E. Huntington death in 1927 – Arabella had passed away three years earlier, a foundation had been formed and the acreage, including all the buildings and gardens were opened to the public in 1928.

Both, Henry, and Arabella wanted to give back to the community which had welcomed them with open arms. They are interred on the Huntington grounds.

We took our time wandering through the Huntington Art Gallery where wide marbled hallways and carpeted stairways greet the visitor leading them to room after room with walls hung with some of the most beautiful paintings in the world.

Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy, Rogier van der Weyden’s Madonna and Child, Thomas Lawrence’s Pinkie, Mary Cassatt’s Breakfast in Bed, Andy Warhol’s Small Campbell’s Soup Can, and so many more to please the eye.

Gainsborough's Blue Boy dressed in blue

There were sculptures, decorative art pieces, prints, furniture from around the world, huge tapestries depicting hunting or battle scenes, and so much more to take in.

Every object was impressive. 

The day sped by quickly and soon early afternoon was upon us. It felt as though we had put many miles on our tired legs traipsing through the gardens and the art collections.

“I’m exhausted,” I said as we left the complex.

Laureen nodded. “In a good way?”

I smiled, “Yes.” 

For more information: https://www.huntington.org/