Vienna

About a year ago, my sister was at a meeting in Prague, and took a side trip to Vienna, where she visited 'cousin Eva Marie'. Both Jane and Eva Marie encouraged me to make another trip to Vienna, not that I needed a lot of encouragement, as Fran and I had loved what we saw when we were there for three short days four years ago. So I made reservations and went up for four nights. What a wonderful city.

Eva Marie and I were in touch with each other as I planned my trip, and I was able to find a reasonably priced hotel right in the downtown area. The public transportation system is so well marked and easy to use, I had no trouble making it from the airport to my hotel. Then I was able to wander around a bit to see things like the strange statue to the left, and get acclimated to Vienna.

Eva Marie had asked me about my tastes in music, and she was able to get me the last ticket that was available for a Philharmonic concert. Vienna seems to be a city of music and art, and every night there are Mozart and Strauss concerts going on. However, the Philharmonic is in some ways special, and plays a wider variety of music. I was fortunate enough to be able to hear them play Schuman's Fourth Symphony and Beethoven's Sixth (Pastoral). What beautiful music. What a great conductor. What a marvelous French Horn player. What a wonderful, intimate concert hall. How delightful. The folks I sat next to apologized for not being able to speak with me in English better, and I just smiled and told them that I was the visitor, and should be able to speak to them in German, so it was my fault. They seemed tickled with that response.

The second night, I attended an organ concert at St. Stephan's Cathedral. I did not take pictures there, as the lighting was not sufficient, but the concert was good. It was not just organ, but also a trombone quartet and a large mixed choir. The conductor of the choir had done the arranging of the music, and it flowed well. Again, I got into a conversation with the couple next to me, and again they apologized for not having enough English to converse well, and again were pleased when I admitted it was my problem in not having German enough, not theirs.

During the day, I spent time wandering the areas that Fran and I had seen on our previous visit, and visiting the Albertine Art Museum. That will get it's own space.

Vienna was truly a city of music, and a city of art. In my wanderings, I found a man knowledgeable about the local jazz scene, and I was able to bring back a few great CDs by Viennese players of whom I had not heard.

Finally, I did follow one of my German friend's advice, and ordered Kaiserschmarm'n for desert once, after having eaten a wonderful but rather large schwien schnitzel. Just a word of advice. If you want that for desert, don't eat dinner first, or you will never finish it. It was wonderful, but far too much.