Wien

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Today we drove to Vienna to spend some time in the city, stay overnight, and collect Thomas' daughter, Isabella in the morning.

We made our way to a neat little hotel, settled in, then walked through this ancient, culturally rich city and visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the building itself on the Ringstrasse, an incredible piece of art in itself, crowned with an octagonal dome, marble staircase, frescoed ceiling. The gallery was opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Josef and is filled with Rafael, Rubens, Velazquez, Rembrandt, to name but a few. I could have lived in this building for the rest of my years, and drawn life from the beauty of the art (kunst). The glory, the colour, the classics, the beauty, the betrayal, the religion, the battles, all giving me sustenance to view the next and the next and the next....

We had a glass of wine in the gallery coffee shop and I had my first Apfel Strudl.

From here we had a concert to go to, a four piece clarinet/alto sax performance in the Nationalbibliothek. The music, of course including the renowned Austrian composer Mozart, brought tears to my eyes. It was infallible, and gave much joy.

Sights of Vienna (remember, we were there for a very limited amount of time) - the shopping in Vienna is fit for royalty, Choppard, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's just to name a few, but you get the jist.

Ste Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is the mother church of the archdiocese of Vienna. It is a Romanesque and Gothic building, in similar vane to Notre Dame, but sits on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147.

Schloss Schonbrunn was the Habsburg monarchs summer palace, the most popular tourist attraction in Vienna. The original mansion owned by another, was built in 1548. The Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian bought it and created hunting (the Habsburg's favourite pastime) and recreational grounds. A palace was added in 1638 by Eleanor Gonazaga after the death of her husband Ferdinand II, and the name Schonbrunn (meaning beautiful spring) was created.

Spanische Hofreitschule - we didn't see the horses perform, but we saw where them kept in their stalls under special heat lamps for warmth and protection of the sensitive skin. Lipizzaner stallions date back to the 1520s when Ferdinand I imported the first horses from Spain for the imperial palace. White horses became fashionable during the 19th century. Originally multi-coloured. Fearing Russians would commandeer the Lipizzaner horses, in 1945 they were transferred to Upper Austria, not far from Thomas' village.

Austrian Actionism - this one you can google yourself, very interesting, but not my cup of tea.

Music - Talented Habsburgs - Leopold I - a composer, Karl VI - violinist, his daughter Maria Theresa - played double bass, her son - Josef II played harpsichord and cello. Of course you have the other more famous musicians including Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven trained by Haydn, Schonberg and the contemporary Falco.

Interesting story regarding two musicians, Salieri and Mozart. Was Mozart murdered by Salieri? Conspiracists say yes. The story was endorsed then by Alexander Pushkin's play "Mozart and Salieri" written in 1830. It was followed by an opera, the book named Amadeus, then of course the contemporary version - a movie of the same name.

Ringstrasse - Emperor Franz Josef was largely responsible for the monumental architecture around the Ringstrasse - a wide, tree-lined boulevard encircling much of the Inner Stadt.

The Rathaus (city hall) - a neo-gothic building, modelled on Flemish city halls. The main spire soars to 102 metres including the pennant held by the knight at the top. By night, a spectacular fairy castle, suitable for Princess Avalon of Brisburg (2004).

Despite strict smoking bans that have swept across Europe, Austria agreed on a multi-option compromise in 2009 - in any locale under 50 square metres, the proprietor is free to choose between smoking and non-smoking. If the property is larger than 80 square metres, a non-smoking section must be provided. If between 50 and 80, a strange loophole occurs and most proprietors avoid law citing architectural grounds. Basically the majority of the population smokes and it doesn't matter if children are present, people are eating or if you are in a small confined space. I was so swept away with the beauty, history and thrill of it all, that even the smokers had a certain charm. Sad but true.....

Dinner in a traditional cafe, our coats hung on coat stands by the waiter who formally took our orders. I've learnt despite the cold in Vienna, a woman never, ever wears a beanie, and she must have the latest boots and style. Thankfully I bought a gorgeous pair of boots whilst in Salzburg.

Viva la Wien...

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