July 2 - Wednesday
We took our usual Tram 44 to Schottentor and then Tram 1, but got off at Schwedenplatz to catch subway U1 to Stephansplatz. We were a little early for Mozarthaus, so we checked a couple of bookstores for a German-language edition ofThe Hobbit. In the first bookstore, I asked <<Haben Sie der Hobbit in Deutsche?>> The clerk correct me to <<auf Deutsche>> but didn't find the book in her database. In the second bookstore, I asked for the book and the clerk responded in German. I had to admit that I knew no other German other than what I had pieced together to ask for the book (this store didn't have the book, either, but I bought 2 children's books for Meredith and Julia). At a few minutes to 9:00, we waited for the Mozarthaus to open, listening to a quartet of young adults practicing singing a classical piece that sounded like part of a Mass.

The museum was really cool. Starting at the top to see & hear about the important people in Mozart's life, we went down a floor to learn about more of his acquaintances. The next floor down had pictures & music, including a sample of Wolfie's handwriting (very small) in English, telling one of his students to meet him at a different time. Also saw his death mask - he was handsome from the front. There was a neat Disney-like display with music from one of his operas, sung by a performer dressed in multi-colored feathers. The next floor down was Mozart's actual apartment - nice view from the window; brass handles on the casement windows and doors, a mural on one wall, and the building had a central stairwell - large, with ironwork railings - for access to all apartments. In the gift shop, bought a white Eine Kleine Nachtmusik t-shirt, a couple of postcards and a violin magnet.

Since we spent more time than we expected at Mozarthaus, we took U1 to Karlsplatz and went to the University's Freihaus Building so Mike could check out the room where he would make his presentation. We ate lunch in the Mensa (school cafeteria). I had spaghetti (kleine spaghetti mit sauce Bolognese) and Mike had chicken; we both tried apfelspritz to drink.

After lunch, we walked 3-4 blocks west to the City Museum. The "2,000 Years of Vienna in 10 Minutes" movie was all in German, but had some interesting computer graphics showing how Karlsplatz had changed over time. The museum had these weird wooden "tunnels" to direct people through the exhibits. The coolest things were the city models on each floor, showing the entire city over time. We weren't allowed to take pictures but didn't find that out until after I had taken a photo of an ancient Roman relief carving. Mike had to leave to prepare for his presentation but I stayed at the museum. On the second floor, I opened my messenger bag to get out the museum floor plan. When the Velcro made its characteristic loud, ripping sound, a guard came running into the room. I pretended I didn't notice her and simply opened the map and looked at it studiously. Just prior to that, another guard had asked me if I had a ticket, which I had to dig out to show him. There were multiple guards on each floor, hovering like they thought I was going to blow up the place. When I was in the gift shop, trying to hurry so I could get to Mike's presentation on time, I noticed an entire ancient-Vienna room that I didn't remember going through. Oh, well.

I made it back to the Freihaus Building just on time for Mike's presentation but there were some "technical difficulties" so I had a chance to catch my breath and drink some water. We stayed for the next presentation, too, partly because the presenter had sat through Mike's and partly because Mike had forgotten his flash drive in the computer. Next, Mike headed over to the Main building to moderate another presentation session, while I continued my search for The Hobbit in German (still no luck). I met Mike in the hall outside of "Main 15" and we decided to go to Subway for supper. I had shrimp salad & chips and Mike had chicken teryaki (no free refills on drinks). We retraced our normal route this time (Tram 1 to Tram 44) to get back to the hotel.

GIFT SHOP STORY: I bought 13 postcards at the City Museum. Since Mike & I had previously been discussing how to say the numbers 13 through 19 in German, I told the clerk about it and asked, "How do you say 13?"
She replied, "Thirteen."
"In German."
"Dreizehn."