We were up and ready to explore the center city this morning. We took the metro in, but I wasn't certain of my orientation when we came up from the station. Rather than leading the group in the wrong direction for a block until I could find a street sign, which I've had to do several times, I decided to just ask someone on the street. I approached a young man who confirmed that I was headed the right direction and kindly wished us a good visit to the city. As we walked away, several of the members of the group said "he was so Nice!" It's amazing how impactful first impressions can be. It was a nice way to start our visit.
We began with a stop at Stephansdom and a private tour of the crypts. I've seen the crypts twice already, but this guide was especially good and shared some details hadn't heard before. The guide was also the king of dry, understated humor. It was hard to tell if he was joking or not, but eventually we picked up that he was not as straight faced as he first seemed.
The dead bodies of the royal family are partially entombed at Stephensdom, meaning that their organs are removed, placed in sealed copper jars in alcohol and saved in the crypt. The hearts are preserved in the Augustinerkirche which is the parish church for the royal family, and the mummified bodies are in the Capuchinerkirche. Apparently this was for political reasons. The archbishop as Stephansdom got the organs, the parish church the hearts, and the church with economic connections (unclear on this distinction) got the bodies. If the copper jars get a leak, they put them in larger containers (which had happened to several of them that were in large jars).
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