22 Jan 2014

Kara's apartment



In The Living Daylights, Bond follows Kara from the Conservatoire. Unfortunately the KGB is waiting outside her apartment and stops the tram. General Pushkin, head of the KGB, takes her away for interrogation. For this scene, a part of western Vienna, along Antonigasse, was converted to look like Bratislava.
The area has not changed a lot since 1987 and the tram stop is still located in the same place in the middle of the street. The foto atelier on the right corner is gone, if there ever was one. Even though the city of Vienna has upgraded the trams during the last 25 years, some of the old trams can still be found around town, like the one in the picture above. This model is the closest you come to the one seen in the film. Kara's tram line in the film is 9 but the numbers have been changed. Today, the tram line that runs past Kara's apartment is number 42.
Pushkin arrests Kara and she is taken to the KGB headquarters. Bond is left behind on the tram with Kara's cello case, in which he later finds her address. Pushkin's car continues down the Antonigasse and the tram is turning left down the Sommarugagasse. Even this part of the street is very recognizable.

When Bond investigates Kara's Cello case, he finds her address on a card. The address is supposed to be Kvetinova' ulice č 27, which means something like 'flower street no. 27' in Slovak. Notice also the incorrect spelling of Bratislava (Bratislavia) which apparently is blooper. Milovy was a Czech town that inspired the filmmakers, but it is also the male form. If Kara would have been Slovak her last name should have been Milova.

When Bond and Kara are getting ready to escape from the apartment, a KGB agent is watching as Bond leaves the building.
Kara's house 25 years later.
The facade on Kara's building has been renovated after the film and a new door has been put in. When Kara leaves the apartment she arranges her coat and empty cello case in the telephone booth outside her building in order to fool the KGB agent assigned to watch her. The telephone booth was naturally put up for the film and does not exist.

The correct address is Antonigasse 92 in Vienna. Why 27 was used in the film instead of the correct number 92 is unknown. The best way to get there is to take the tram from the Shottentor tram station in central Vienna. When you take tram 42 you arrive the same way as Bond and you can get off at Kara's station to enjoy this fairly untouched location.

The Shottentor station is located right next to Hotel de France, which was our hotel during the stay in Vienna. A very nice hotel conveniently located at Shottenring tram and U-bahn stations.

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