Our third and final day in Vienna, a trip which isn’t complete without a visit to the Wiener Staatsoper.
We did not attend a performance, but enjoyed a guided tour of the opera house itself. Our guide did a wonderful job.
When you wander through the corridors, you automatically start to imagine what it must have been like at the opening in 1869. Everyone dressed in late 19th-century fashion. Woman in wide skirts and large sleeves with their waist constricted in a restrictive corset. Men in beautiful wool costumes with exquisite tailoring and refined details. Maybe we should go back and attend a New Year’s concert, or the Vienna Opera Ball, in a tailored suit so we can relive some of that atmosphere.

In the Gustav Mahler Hall, a space used during intermissions and special events, you can see 13 gorgeous tapestries covering a total of 117 square metres. They took six years to make and show scenes from Mozart’s Magic Flute. Another reason to return and have a glass of champagne during the famous Opera Ball.
The opera house was closed for ten years during reconstruction after WW2. Only the main façade, the grand staircase and the Schwindfoyer were spared from the bombing. In November 1955, it was festively reopened. It is almost unbelievable that most of it was actually completely destroyed and that you are walking around in a building with such a grandeur that is 70 years young.

After visiting the opera, we still had plenty of time to enjoy a cocktail in a local bar. One that was recommended to us by a Belgian art lover and family friend. Loos American Bar in the Kärtner Durchgang.
It’s not a big bar, but the interior was amazing. Grey-green marble, red-tinted wood, black and white floor, leather sofas and mirrored walls. And not to forget, a delicious Negroni. This day was also bathed in sunshine, which made the walk back to the hotel to collect our luggage less sad. Vienna, we’ll definitely be back!
But first, a bratwurst on the go ;-)