The most popular tourist items were t-shirts, mugs, and shot glasses declaring, "No kangaroos in Austria". I thought this strange at first. Are there really that many of us who would confuse Austria with Australia? It got me thinking. Just what is Austria, and why Vienna? I cannot answer, but I can share my first hand observations and report that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my investigation and that I fully intend to conduct more research in the future.
Austria is in the heart of Europe. It is about the size of Maine, and shares a common border with Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Ron and I first traveled to Austria on our honeymoon years ago. We visited Salzburg and Hallstatt, and even spent a few days in the remote Tirol region, hiking through the Ehrenberg castle ruins. I loved the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, the haunting castles around every turn. I found Austria incredibly beautiful, and the people charming and welcoming.
But we had never been to Vienna, where a quarter of Austria’s population lives. Vienna is one of Europe's oldest capitals. It was home to the Hapsburg's who were large and in charge for centuries. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1438 until 1740, and only ended when there was no male heir. Marie Theresa ran the empire in the 1700, and what she lacked by way of an X chromosome, she made up for with her “Y”. Of her sixteen children, she arranged for marriages of eleven daughters to secure alliances, expand her empire, and avoid war. At the time, the Empire was so vast that it was said the sun never set on the Austrian Empire. The monarchy ended at the end of World War I, when then-emperor Karl abdicated, and the former Hapsburg territories became new nation states. Vienna survived the war, both wars, with little damage, and it retains the glittering proof of the wealth and power that once called Vienna home. As historians write- Vienna is a head without a body.
We arrived in Vienna after dark, which was quite fortunate. The sun sets late here, and I am an early riser and often miss the lights and sounds of magnificent places at night.
We were also quite fortunate to have hosts and tour guides for our visit. Our dear friends Pamela and Steve from Winston-Salem have been coming to Vienna for years, and have often said "We'll show you Vienna, if you show us Paris." We finally took them up on their offer! Their son Andy lived in Vienna years ago and is fluent in German. Andy and his girlfriend Sarah joined us, adding youthful perspective and energy to the group.
We stayed at the Hotel Austria, in the heart of Vienna, and started each day with a hearty Austrian-style breakfast buffet.
And then we walked. And walked. And walked!
Even with transportation passes for the metro, tram and bus, which we used extensively, I highly recommend that Vienna be experienced directly from the pavement! We spent hours wandering through the open public gardens that circle the perimeter of the city, large expanses left green and open when the city wall was no longer needed. I tried to capture the magnificence of the Hapsburg castle, and the castle yard, and impressive promenades, but photos just would not do justice.
We ventured slightly out of town to explore the Hapsburg's summer place, Schönbrunn. The story goes that Maria Theresa wanted a summer palace with a view of the city she loved. The builders started construction on a hilltop, and then organized what we would call a "strike". The castle instead was built on the land at the bottom of the hill, and on the hill sits the unfinished Gloriette. It was well worth the climb on yet another unseasonably warm day to sit in the little cafe, sip Vienna's famous "cafe glace" and enjoy fantastic views of the gardens below.
We continued to walk, eat and drink our way through this city, with several stops for ice cream at the famous Zononi Zononi, conveniently located just a block from our hotel. We enjoyed several traditional meals at Fisherbrau, Gosser Bierklinkik, and Restaurant Giorgina. Fun fact: quite by accident we learned that our extremely helpful waitress at Restaurant Giorgina had lived just a few miles from our home in Jupiter, Florida for seven years - she returned to Vienna because she missed her family and is now helping to run the family restaurant. It is truly a small world...
And of course, there is the music. Classical music. Vienna is often heralded as the ‘capital of classical music" not because the great composers were born here, but because they chose to come to Vienna.
Throughout the city are wonderful monuments, statues, fountains, and other tributes to Mozart and Beethoven. Mozart, born in Salzburg, was one of Vienna’s most influential residents. His first visit was 1762 when he was invited to play at, wait for it, yes - Schönbrunn Palace! Strauss, Beethoven, Haydn and Berg all spent time in Austria’s capital - Johann Strauss and Franz Schubert were born here.
I am not a music person, in the sense that I do not "know" music. I know what I like, and that has worked for me. Ron is a music person. He took a music appreciation class at ECU about a hundred years ago, and it changed his life profoundly. Since I met Ron, there has been music in my life, literally and figuratively. Attending a concert was high on our Vienna list. We caught a Brass Ensemble featuring organist Olivier Latry at the Grosser Musikvereinssaal. Life changing? Ich weiss nicht, but certainly life affirming.
There is still more of Vienna to see, and we will never see it all, but Ron would like to note that so far we have not encountered a single kangaroo.
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