8. August

Today was day 2 in Bratislava. We woke up early for a weekend, around 9. Like in Vienna, nowhere is open on Sundays because everyone is religious, so we had trouble finding breakfast. All the tourist shops were finally open, though, and we looked through several shops before realizing we had to move it if we were going to make our ferry on time. We arrived at the harbor after only going the wrong direction once and managed to catch our ship back to Vienna. Again we enjoyed the ride, and this time it was not dark and overcast, but rather sunny and warm. I would have liked to spend at least another day in Bratislava to explore some more, but this trip was definitely worthwhile. We knew we had crossed into Vienna when we were waving to people on the shore, and a woman flipped us off. I am not quite sure why the Viennese are as rude as they are. It might be just because we are tourists in a large group that always want to split the bill, probably any waiter's nightmare.

Later that night was our opera night. We saw die Fledermaus at the Theater an der Wien, where the play originally had premiered in 1874. Upon arrival, I immediately searched out the Papageno Tor, a sculpture of the bird-catcher Papageno from Mozart's Magic Flute over the doorway. I was surprised at how this sculpture was so hidden from the public, facing a side alley of the theater.

For the occasion, we all got dressed up and had a glass of champagne outside the theater. The opera house itself was smaller than what I was expecting, but still very impressive. It was not as ornate or decorated as some of the buildings we had visited. I particularly enjoyed the music, composed by Johann Strauss. The operetta itself was very entertaining and fun to watch.