Sweetness in the air
Tantalizing our senses
The linden blossoms
For more on linden trees in Vienna.
On Maylo’s morning walk
18 MayAll around the trees
A blanket of soft petals
This year’s blossoms gone
ESC-Opening Ceremony
17 MayThe Life Ball last night and the opening of the Eurovision Song Contest this evening … Conchita (Wurst) is very busy at the moment! (And Vienna is the happening place.)
Visitors
14 MayWhat a great thing it is to have visitors–nice visitors–in this case, a friend I hadn’t seen in 30 years and her husband. (Sadly they were just in Vienna for the day.) They bravely put themselves in my hands at 10:30 this morning in front of Stephansdom, after saying they wanted to see whatever I recommended.
We started with the climb up the 343 steps to the top of the South Tower of Stephansdom so that we could get the overview of the city. We had great weather for it, which, along with the fact that today is a holiday in Austria (Ascension), perhaps explains why there were so many people up there, some of them rather, shall we say, assertive. Nonetheless, we did get to see out of all the windows, in all directions, and I got to play the game of “Can I orient myself and tell them what is what”.
Then down to the ground again and around to the Graben. We didn’t stop to admire the Plague Pillar but did take note of it and made use of the Art Deco (Jugendstil) toilets under the Graben near St. Peter’s Church. Then up Kohlmarkt to Michaelerplatz where it started to sprinkle, which we considered a good excuse to duck into Café Griensteidl for coffee (and cake, in some cases).
When we came out again it had stopped raining. We marveled at the Roman ruins laid bare on Michaelerplatz and then took Herrengasse north away from the center, turning off to go down to the Freyung. After a quick detour to Am Hof (because of “The Third Man”) we headed out Schottengasse to Schottentor. I pointed out Palais Ephrussi because of our mutual Japanese connection, and because I’m pretty sure “The Hare with Amber Eyes” is a book this friend would appreciate.
There we turned into the Ringstraße (celebrating 150 years this year). We didn’t go in anywhere but admired in passing the University (650 years old this year), the Rathaus all decked out for the Life Ball, Café Landtmann, and the Burgtheater (where reference to Klaus Maria Brandauer was made). Then we came to the Parliament. We walked up the curved approach commenting on the Greek-style statuary and the mosaic on the wall at the top, and I realized I had never walked up there before. I usually simply go by in the tram and look out the window. It may not be all that high–certainly it’s not 343 steps up–but we still had a nice view of the Volksgarten and parts of the former Imperial Palace.
We continued along the Ring to the two museums, and I told the joke of how to tell which one is the Natural History Museum and which the Museum of Art History. Out of the depths of my memory I dredged up what I know about Maria Theresia so that my guests had a sense of who it was sitting between the two buildings looking regal. It’s amazing how easy it is to remember the more prurient details–Marie Antoinette was the youngest of Maria Theresia’s 16 children–and how vague I was on the important reforms, including educational reforms, she pushed through.
Deciding to take a slightly closer look at the former Imperial Palace (Hofburg), we crossed the Ring, went through the triumphal arch, studied the victorious, of course, military gentlemen on horseback (A. Ferkorn’s statues of Prince Eugen and Archduke Charles), pondered the fact that Hitler had stood on the balcony and made his first speech after Austria was annexed in 1938, and then walked through with a quick glance at the chapel where the Vienna Boys’ Choir sings.
Coming out at Michaelerplatz once again we turned right and headed south this time, with only a nod to the Spanish Riding School where you can see the Lipizzaners in their stalls, the National Library, the Augustiner Church, and the Albertina. By this time, those of us who hadn’t had cake earlier were feeling a bit peckish so we turned into the Burggarten and secured a table at the Palmenhaus, one of my favorite restaurants in Vienna even when, as was the case today, it’s a little too chilly to sit outside. (I simply can’t resist a restaurant that has a six-page menu of which one page covers the seasonal dishes they are offering and five pages cover the wines, all good and mostly Austrian.) After a lunch of white asparagus for two of us and Schnitzel for one of us, we continued on to the Ring where I left my visitors to go on to the Secession while I went home to walk the dog.
It strikes me that this was a pretty good tour of the city for five hours or so, and that it was rather special to do it this year with the two anniversaries (Ringstraße and University) and two big events (the Life Ball and the Eurovision Song Contest) happening in the next few days. A great way to spend a holiday.
Dogs on public transportation
10 MayThe question of whether dogs should wear muzzles on public transportation is quite a controversial one in Vienna. To address the concern dog owners often express that their dogs suffer when wearing one, the public transport authority here talked with a dog trainer (who actually gave some good tips on how to make travel easier on the dogs). His message: if properly (gently, with positive reinforcement) introduced to the muzzle, the dog shouldn’t suffer at all. To encourage the humans with the dogs to put the muzzle on their pets, the Wiener Linien were handing out free treats to those who complied. 🙂 Only in Vienna!
The link below takes you to the interview, in German:
http://blog.wienerlinien.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/hund_maulkorb_u_bahn.jpg
The May Day Parade
1 May
Seems to get smaller and less enthusiastic from year to year–a reflection of the way politics are going in Vienna? (May Day is associated with the Social Democratic Party.) But then if this photo is any indication of how they’re communicating their message, they probably need to pull up their socks (or at least their banners). 😉
Half my life in Vienna – a love letter
27 AprToday marks the point at which I have lived half my life (so far) in the USA and half in Vienna. From the time I moved here (almost 27 years ago), people have invariably told me, “You’re so lucky to live in Vienna!” And I am. Of course, once you live here you have all the usual everyday concerns most people have (paying the rent or mortgage, what to cook for dinner, doing a good job, why one’s hair is suddenly sticking up at weird angles), but the truth is I am lucky to live in Vienna, for many, many reasons.
For one, I chose it and was able to put that choice into action. My mother asked me what I would do if money were no object and to our surprise the sentence that came out of my mouth was, “I would go to Vienna and study singing.” A year and a half later, with my life savings in my pocket, I was on my way. And I found more or less what I was expecting to find, which is a miracle!
I found a gracious city of great beauty with an unbelievable wealth of cultural offerings, where the inhabitants really do take the time to have coffee with a friend at one of the famous coffeehouses or go out to the Heurigen (wine tavern) for “a’ Glaserl Wein” (or two or three). Where a referendum approved a hydroelectric plant but rejected the opportunity to co-host the World Fair with Budapest (the rationale–yes, it’ll bring in money but it will also bring other things we don’t want, like more crime). Where–especially in the early days–not only did carefully dressed people completely naturally take public transportation to work but in the ball season (ball season!) one regularly saw people in their evening finery in the tram (sometimes in the morning hours, slightly less elegant, on their way home). A city where there were recycling bins on almost every street corner and visiting U.S. American students were asked to keep their showers short “der Umwelt zu Liebe” (for the sake of the environment, as well as for reasons of economy). Where attractive public housing was scattered around the city, sometimes in the best neighborhoods, because even people who don’t earn a lot should have a decent standard of living. Where to take a several-hour walk through woods and meadows, uphill and down, all you need to do is get on a tram (EUR 1 per day, if you have an annual pass) and take it to the last stop. Where, after indulging in such a walk, you almost always find a simple restaurant where in nice weather you can sit outside and you get good food for a fair price. A city where people still know how to revel in the simple pleasures of life while occasionally splashing out on great tickets to a world-class performance or, say, a night at a ball.
You can imagine my friends–especially, for some reason, my Viennese friends–sometimes feel the need to point out that it isn’t all roses, not even in the famous beds of the Volksgarten. And I do know that, but this post is not about those things. This post is a love letter to this city which has given me a home and so many wonderful times throughout the years–and promises, I hope, to go on doing so.
Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume.
A demonstration
24 AprOne of the biggest and loudest protests I have seen in Vienna in years–Austrians of Turkish descent protesting the use of the word “genocide” in connection with the slaughter of the Armenians 100 years ago. I don’t know what to make of it. One of the signs says politicians should leave this topic to the historians. My impression is that the historians I have read or talked to are the first to say it was the first genocide of the 2oth century.
ecbinvienna 
