Pomp and Pageantry in Vienna
Vienna, October 2024
Reception at Archduke Ferdinand's Great Grand-child
You have undoubtedly been to Berlin, Paris and London on numerous occasions. Fully understandable, they are always worth a visit. Vienna, on the other hand, is not quite getting the attention it deserves. We at Parnassos.dk aim to change that a bit.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Vienna as its capital, was for centuries one of the most powerful political centers in Europe, with an abundance of cultural and intellectual treasures. Amongst the city’s children you will find Erwin Schrödinger, Sigmund Freud and Gustav Klimt, not to mention classical music’s biggest stars, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Haydn, Mahler… the list is long.
Their music was all composed on the streets of Vienna.
We had two lavish trips to Venna in both 2022 and 2023. With this 3rd trip it hasw become a tradition. Anno 2024 will see yet another lavish tour with one truly unique experience after the other. We are sure you will agree after you have read the below.
When we, Friday 25 October 2024 at approximately 2 pm have been assigned our rooms at the centrally located Hotel Regina, we will go straight to the following first event:
Parnassos ApS is a member of the Vienna Experts Club. We cooperate with the Scandinavian department of the Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO), and we are a member of Rejsegarantifonden ↗, the Danish equivalent of ABTA (You can verify our membership by following this link↗). Just type our company name in the relevant field.
Rejsegarantifonden guarantees your money – independently from where you book your trip – whilst we guarantee your adventures.
Palais Coburg's Six Wine Cellars
After we have been assigned our rooms at hotel Regina, we will go straight to the imposing Palais Coburg and descend into the catacombs of the palace, where its six wine cellars welcome us. One cellar is dedicated to French champagne, followed by the wines of the New World, one for Europe’s finest grapes, one devoted to Spanish and Portuguese wines, one to Austria’s own bottles and finally one to Chateau d’Yquem.
60,000 bottles to admire and envy, including the oldest in the collection, the Rüdesheim Apostolic wine from year 1727.
And of course, there will be time for tastings. You can also buy any wine to bring back with you, including the most expensive from the collection, a magnum bottle for 240,000 euros. It is said to taste great, but let us immediately add, that the bottle is not included in the price of the trip.
Bösendorfer Saal in Vienna
Followed by our first private concert. The anecdote goes like this: the great Russian pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, was once asked which grand piano was his preference to play during his concerts, to which he replied,
When I play Bach, my choice is Steinway. If it is Beethoven, I prefer Bösendorfer.
And in the mythical Musikverein building itself is the small, elegant concert hall, Bösendorfer Saal. We have the hall at our disposal for our first evening in Vienna.
We are honored to be able to announce that Irina Kandinskaya will sit in front of the piano. She was a student of the two Russian giants, Sviatoslav Richter and Stanislav Neuhaus. Her program will consist of works by Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky – and Beethoven of course. There is an opportunity to ask questions after the concert. After this, we will meet our first evening in Vienna – in style.
We have the room for an hour. After this, we will enjoy our first dinner in Vienna.
Café Central for Ourselves
We have rented the incomparable Arkandenhof connected to one of the most famous cafés in the world, Café Central. Plus, we have our own private entrance, hereby avoiding the endless queue in front of the café.
Here we will have our dinner and accompanying wine-pairing, which are included in the price. Actually, everything described below is included in the price, unless otherwise stated. See the pdf file at the bottom of the page, where you can see exactly what you get for your money.
What Happened to the Tram Driver?
Saturday morning, October 26th, our guide, Vienna’s tourism director Gerti Schmidt, takes us on a tour through the city’s history and architecture in our own tram.
While we wait for the green light – literally – from the Wiener Linien to use the city’s public tracks, Gerti has ensured that two waitresses will serve us bubbles in our plastic mugs.
We traveled in the same tram during our previous visit to Vienna in October 2023. It turned out to be a great success – and for quite a few of our Copenhagen guests also a journey with a nostalgic tinge. The creaking sounds, the decor and the tickets or “tickets” not unlike what you experienced in the trams running on Copenhagen’s streets in the 1970s.
Beethoven, his Home - his Heuriger
The tram ends at Heiligenstadt on the outskirts of Vienna.
At the foot of the ‘Heiligenstadt hills’ we will visit one of Vienna’s most famous children, Ludwig van Beethoven. His residence was located at Probusgasse 6 and has today been converted into a very elegant museum. It was his home – which also served as a kind of summer house – from 1792 until his death on March 26, 1827. Two Beethoven experts are waiting for us at the door.
Incidentally, one of his first works in the house was Piano Sonata No. 17, ‘Der Sturm’. One evening, Beethoven heard a horse galloping just outside his window. It inspired him to write the 3rd movement of the sonata, which lasts just under 7 minutes, here played by Valentina Lisitsa.
Beethoven, he is truly one of the giants of music.
At the end of the road, we find Vienna’s most pastoral ‘Heuriger’ restaurant, which was Beethoven’s regular pub. (his favorite drink was Austrian rosé). Here we will enjoy our lunch before the bus takes us back to the hotel, where we have just enough time to recharge before it starts again. Lunch is included, while drinks are between you and the restaurant.
Musikverein or Wiiener Staatsoper?
The famous concert hall, Musikverein, home to the world’s finest symphony orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen and was inaugurated in 1870. It is here that the annual Vienna New Year’s concert takes place. is held.
As a fun fact, it can be mentioned that it was also here that the so-called “scandalous concert” was held on 31 March 1913.
The program consisted of music composed by the 2nd Vienna School with Arnold Schönberg at the helm.
The avant-garde music was just too much for the evening’s audience. A commotion ensued and the impresario for the evening’s program, Erhard Buschbeck, subsequently slapped one from the audience.
Apart from the fact that a court case followed, the slapping also became famous because of the testimony of the operetta composer, Oscar Strauss, who expressed in front of the judge that the slapping had been the only harmonious sound of the evening.
We expect a little less exalted theatregoers on Saturday 26th October. The program will be published in April 2024 and will naturally be advertised here.
The concert ends around 9.30 p.m. The night is still young and we will find a place for those who fancy a post-theatre dinner. The concert ticket is included in the price, but not the post-dinner.
Visiting Princess Anita von Hohenberg
We are extremely proud to be able to announce that Archduke Ferdinand’s great-granddaughter, Princess Anita von Hohenberg, who lives at Artstetten Castle, has agreed to receive us at her home for a champagne reception.
Her great-grandfather’s fate had incalculable consequences for the European continent. The assassination of him and his wife, Countess Sophie von Chotek, on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo was the start of World War I and set all of the old continent on fire. They are both buried in the family crypt in the same palace, which we have access to during our visit.
Princess Anita will hold a speech for us, and for any Brits joining us a wonderful anecdote of the British Royal family will follow. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions afterwards. We are sure that it will be another highlight of the trip.
"Umberto Ecos" Abbey
At the bank of the Danube, in the town of Melk – and a short distance from Schloss Atstetten – we find one of the world’s most imposing abbeys, the almost 1000-year-old Benedictine monastery.
A huge number of reliquaries of saints are stored and displayed, together with a splinter from the cross of Christ. As if that’s not enough, a small piece that is stained with the blood of the Saviour. It’s up to you if you think this strains credulity.
We will visit the monastery in the afternoon, where we will be shown around by their very knowledgeable guides. They will lead us to the library, containing more than 20,000 volumes, that served as an inspiration for Umberto Eco, who gave us the wonderful novel The Name of the Rose.
Organ Concert at Melk Abbey
After the doors have closed to the public, we will be guided to the devinely beautiful church to attend an organ concert.
When the tones of the pipes and tubes have gone silent, we will head to a most charming pavilion, where a sommelier will tell us all about the monastery’s home-produced wines – including wine tasting, naturally!
Next, we will have dinner at their restaurant, before our bus brings us back to Vienna rather late in the evening.
The Imperial Habsburg Collection
Monday 28th October is, for us, in the sign of museums. We think it could be fun to create the following contrast: A guided visit to the fabulous Historisches museum in the early afternoon, where we see the large Rembrandt-Hoogstraten exhibition together with visitors from all over the world. So far so good.
But, have you ever tried enjoying a museum on our own? Well, this is what you are going to experience. Two, actually. Even better, the top two museums in Vienna.
Palais Liechtenstein
Around the world there are private museums and art collections that VIP guests can visit undisturbed. Presidents, Billionaires, famous pop singers. That kind of people. You will find such a private collection in Stadtpalais Liechtenstein in Vienna. And this is the collection we will visit.
One of Europe’s richest families, the Liechtenstein family, has given us access to the City Palace. A mansion which has just been restored to its former glory by the decent sum of 120 million euros, paid out of the family’s own pockets. Admittedly, inflation has been vicious of late, but we still think that one gets a lot for £ 100 million.
Monday late afternoon they open the gate for us. After having enjoyed a glass of wine in one of their halls, their two ‘in-house’ art experts are ready to show us the family’s private museum.
And without a doubt, you will gasp when we reach the family ballroom, which is almost otherworldly beautiful.
The Oberes Belvedere Palace
We continue the VIP treatment in fine style during the evening. The same philosophy as above applies when we have the entire Oberes Belvedere palais at our disposal Monday evening.
You get used to this special VIP treatment surprisingly quickly. The risk, of course, is that it becomes more difficult to go back and visit museum exhibits afterwards with large crowds around you.
Perhaps you have visited the impressive Belvedere Palace and Museum in Vienna? A breathtaking permanent exhibition with numerous paintings of Picasso and Monet on the walls, and of course the world’s largest collection of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s works, including The Kiss.
After we have had the obligatory glass of champagne and offered canapés, the museum’s specialists will separate us into small groups and take us to the palais’ inner sanctum.
But the evening is not over yet…
The Quator Vivant from the Haydn Conservatory
After the tour and viewing the best of European painting, we will go to yet another enormous hall in the Oberes Belvedere.
Here, the quartet, Quatuor Vivant, from the Joseph Haydn Conservatory in the town of Eisenstadt, just outside Vienna, awaits us. They will play while we are amazed by the enormous hall.
We had the pleasure of the quartet in 2022, when our group visited Eisenstadt. They enchanted us in the Haydn Hall, depicted by the photo.
The same hall where Haydn worked for and entertained the wealthy Esterhazy family and their guests for nearly 30 years.
The photo was taken immediately after our concert on Thursday 29 September 2022. A lovely memory. (Our guests had already left for the palace’s Portico to taste the house’s many wines).
The concert in Belvedere will last until approximately 9 pm. At that time, many of us undoubtedly want to go to a restaurant. We have our eyes on a popular and reasonably priced restaurant nearby the museum. The dinner is included. Drinks are between you and the waiter.
Tuesday's Choice
The program is, as mentioned, pretty compact, which is entirely on purpose. Therefore, when we arrive at Tuesday, there are undoubtedly many of you who want to enjoy the city at your own pace. Our experience tells us that cirka half of our guests will depart on this day, the other half will choose an extra day. (which you can buy as an addition to the trip itself, during the purchasing process).
It may be that you just want to spend the day wandering around the streets and alleys, enjoying a lunch in the Naschmarkt district, where you will find restaurants catering for every palate.
Or, if you haven’t had enough museums via us, there are around 100 more to choose from.
For those who leave Tuesday, we recommend that you take an evening flight home, giving you extra time to enjoy one of Europe’s pearls.
4* Hotel Regina
The choice of hotel, this year, has fallen on Hotel Regina, a four-star hotel whose corridors and rooms take you back to the 1800s. With 21st century facilities, of course.
It is elegant and is right next to the Votiv Church and close to the city center.
Breakfast in Vienna
Is breakfast included in the price? Both yes and no. We would like to entice you to try a few of the many famous coffee houses the city has to offer. Variety suffers, when one uses the hotel’s breakfast four times in a row.
We will therefore give you a voucher of 100 euros that can be used at the following cafes:
Café Central not far from our hotel. Trotsky and Freud liked to hang our here. They also lived in the city at the same time as Stalin and Hitler, who happened to be seen on occasion at Café Central as well. Fascinating thought, it’s likely that they have been in the same room at the same time.
Café Hawelka was the favorite place of Andy Warhol and Peter Ustinov. Café Sacher is another obvious option. Or Café Sperl, which is used in the Vienna Blood detective series.
Café Prückel, this gentleman’s favourite, even though it is a bit far away from our hotel. Not to forget Café Schwarzenberg as well as, Café Schopenhauer whose menu is a tribute to a number of philosophers. And finally Café Landtmann, also reasonably close to our hotel.
That’s eight cups of coffee in the morning. It is worth considering a few of them as a substitute for the hotel buffet. If you choose to simply eat at the hotel anyway, it is of course completely up to you. However, the 100 euros will not cover more than around 2/3 of the cost.
Austrian Airways
The journey to and from Vienna is not included in the price. In our opinion, it is clearly preferable that you choose the departure and return times so it fits exactly to your own schedule.
If you are based in Denmark, you should consider taking the Austrian Airways flight departing 25th October at 09.50 am from Copenhagen airport. For those taking this departure, there will be a bus waiting for you at Vienna Airport, to take you to the hotel. This trip is included in the price.
If you choose a different departure, it is still easy and cheap to get to our hotel by public transport from the airport. Google Maps helps you and if you need tips and advice, you are welcome to contact us.
Please note, if the trip is cancelled for whatever reason, we will reimburse your air ticket.
We hope that the above has tempted you and that we may have the pleasure of seeing see you in Vienna in October 2024. And if you want to extend your stay, you can read further:
An Extra Day: 24th - 25th October 2024
As you are in the city, why not take an extra day or two in addition to the program Parnassos has put together?
The city is certainly worth more attention.
If you therefore want to take an extra day BEFORE the “official” start of the trip – we can call it the overture – then you can add the extra day during the purchasing process. The price for andovernight stay at Hotel Regina (shared double room) is DKK 1200.
An Extra Day: 29th - 30th October 2024
And our Purpose is?
We want to create exclusive experiences – without excluding anyone.
Granted, our tours are not among the cheapest, but they are still accessible to most of those who walk in the footsteps of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish poet who once said, ‘to travel is to live’.
The ‘trick’ is to be a large group. We’re talking about around 40 people. Being many has its own dynamic. And a larger budget allows us to offer truly unique adventures that surely will be beyond most of us if we acted on our own. Sometimes we will split up in 2 groups of 20 when that makes more sense.
Our purpose is to tear us away from our day to day lives, to ensure that when you are back home again, you will ask yourself, ‘did I really experience what I think I experienced’?
What Exactly do you get for your 11,800 dkk? (aprox € 1,575)
Here you find a specification of what you can expect for your money.
Please Note:
The amount covers the stay and events during our days in Vienna. It does not include the flight as this give our guests much more flexibility.
If the trip is cancelled, whatever the reason, we will reimburse the value of your air ticket.
