By late afternoon/early evening, we arrived in Vienna, capital of Austria and classical music. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Austria? Sound of Music, Viennesse Waltz, Viennesse biscuit or Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well for me it’is definitely Music!! Austria is one of the most cultured countries in Europe and Vienna being its capital is also the capital for classical music.
Threfore, there is no surprise that many well-known composers or musicians and some examples are Mozart, Johann Strauss, Hadyn and Schubert.
Vienna is all about classical music and beauty with a amazing collection of buildings and architecture. The city lies in the Danube Valley and has been inhibited for thousands of years. Charlemagne arrived in 803 and claimed the region as the eastern point of the Roman Empire but Vienna was only recognized a s city 300 years later. The Babenberg dukes took control of the place but they were soon replaced by the Habsburg family. Through carefully planned political marriages, the family became the longest ruling dynastry in Europe. It is also the city where the famous French Queen, Marie Antoinette, a Habsburg was born. A quick dinner at the hotel and a night tour of the city on coach finished the evening.
Berlin/Prague/Vienna tour Day 8
We made an early start for the day. Our first stop was the Hofburg, the official residence of the Habsburgs and is now home to a collection of museums and collection, and it’s also the office of President of Austria. The architecture was impressive, really fit to be the home of the longest ruling family in Europe. A short walk from there is the Spanish riding school. Well horses and horse riding is always part of royal family. It is the home to magnificent white stallions which were the favorites of Habsburg. The tickets for the morning training session is always in demand and there is always a queue first thing in the morning at the palace gate!!
A short walk from there we arrived in Kartnerstasse which is the main shopping street in Vienna, packed with souvenir shops. Walking along to the end of the street is the St Stephen’s Cathedral. It locates right in the centre of the city and is identified by its spires. It is also the logo for the famous Manner biscuit with a shop right next to the cathedral. The company's best-known product are the "Neapolitan wafers", introduced in 1898. They are sold in blocks of ten 47 x 17 x 17 mm hazelnut-cream filled wafers. They also do some other flavours but the hazelnut version is the original. Apart from getting biscuits, we also had a browse around the other “Mozart” stores. In Vienna, if you want to get tickets for the Opera, you just have to walk up and speak to one of the guys dressed up as Mozart-they are all over the city!! The chocolates, Mozart Kugeln, is also a must-have.
As I have said, Vienna is the capital of classical music, there are many shires or monuments dedicated to the various famous composers. You can find the “stars”, kind of like the walk of fame in LA, of composers and muscians. Searching the stars on the ground kept me busy the whole day!! Apart from the stars, there are also squares dedicated for famous musicians. We went to the one for Johann Strauus, one of my favorite composers, with the famous golden statue, After that, we headed to the one for Mozart with the flower arranged musical note!! On the way, we also stopped over at the Hotel Sacher for a slice of the well-known Sacher Torte, a rich cholocate cake.
We joined our tour guide late afternoon for a tasting session of the schnapps before going back to our hotel to get prepared for a fantastic evening. A visit to Vienna cannot be regarded as complete without going to a concert!!!! This evening we first stopped as the orangery of the Schonbrunn Palace for a nice meal. After that, it was time for a nice concert of works from both Mozart and Strauss. In the first part of the concert, the works of Mozart was played which I did not know a lot-well perhaps it’s time that I should listen to more!! Well the second part was dedicated to Johann Strauss and I nearly jumped from my seat when I heard the first few notes from my favorute Blue Danube. This also marked the last evening of our fantastic trip.
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Advantages: Historic Scenic Clean Friendly Reasonably priced English spoken and understood widely Disadvantages: German signs a bit tricky for those with only english language
OWENSKI 14.05.2001 ·
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Review of Vienna (Austria)
Advantages: good nightlife, many shopping opportunities, big city with an atmosphere like a small town, safe even at night, excellent public transportation system Disadvantages: none
Boodil 14.07.2000 ·
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