We started off to follow the walking tour in our guide book. We began just outside the Opera House (more on that later). Next was the Sacher Cafe, famous for its Sacher-Torte chocolate cake. But it was a bit early for coffee and anyway there was a long line up of people waiting to get in to this classic Vienna coffee house. So we moved on to see the Monument Against War and Fascism - very moving. Then we ducked into a much less crowded 'classic' cafe, Cafe Tirolerhof - with marble-topped tables, chandeliers, upholstered benches, lots of folks lingering over the provided newspapers and grumpy waiters in suits.
We got the typical Viennese coffee service - on a little tray with a glass of water.
We carried on along some wide pedestrian avenues (Kärntner Strasse) with glitzy storefronts at street level but older facades on upper stories.
We came back to St. Steohen's Cathedral, centerpiece of Vienna, with its tiled roof.
Looked yummy but very expensive! 
We then detoured from the walk to return to the Rathaus for the celebrations of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Where else would this be celebrated? When we arrived, crowds had already gathered in the plaza in front of the building, and the choir and orchestra were all in place on the stage. We worked our way into the crowd until we were just behind lots of folks holding the music. Thought if we got any closer we may have to sing parts unknown to us!! At exactly noon the orchestra played a fanfare. Then there were a bunch of speeches in German before we finally got to the music. First piece was Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", next a Mendelssohn. Then more speeches. We waited patiently and finally were rewarded with the entire Handel's Hallelujah chorus with full orchestra and choir onstage, and hundreds of people in front of that singing along with all their might, all in the plaza in front of this historic building! The words were projected onto big screens beside the stage. There must easily have been 2-3 thousand people involved.
The music director was totally engaged and singing along to keep all the participants together!
By the time this was over our feet were feeling very flat, so we returned to hotel for lunch snack, and to put our feet up before heading out again. Next we went to take the tour of the Vienna State Opera, one of the most famous music halls in the world. The opulence was guaranteed - thanks to Franz Joseph I (whose very simple hunting villa we'd visited in Bad Ischl). You can only go inside if you take a tour and they are done in many languages. First you line up to buy your ticket then go down to find sign for your language of choice. The tours are done at 2 and at 3 each day. We were amongst hundreds taking a tour but were with an excellent tour guide who was able to keep our group of about 25 together.
The main entry staircase -
The Emperor's intermission room -
A small section of the seats. The top level is for standing room ticket holders. You can still do that for 3-4 euros,
Or - you can watch the live performance for free on the big screen just outside the Opera House. There is a determination here to make cultural events accessible to all.
For dinner tonight we looked at some of the recommendations in our guide book for close to our hotel. We picked Amerlingbeisl - an outdoor courtyard hung with vines. Chilly but interesting. Cobbled floor with a scattering of fallen leaves. We both had pork mediallions served with polenta in a delicious pepper sauce.
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