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Aug. 28, 2005 I visited Vienna briefly in the Spring of 1991. In April and May, Austria tends to be cold and cloudly, with snow changing gradually to rain. The sky is almost always swept with cirrus clouds that let in a modicum of a sunshine, but not enough to banish the chill, with temperatures mostly in the 50’s and 60’s. I started out in Rome, Italy, where I had spent a few days, but it got rainy there, so I figured that, if I caught a train north, I might get out of the rain without a big change in temperature. I made the stupid mistake of inquiring, in Rome, if there was a train from Venice to Vienna, and learned that there was indeed. I had supposed I’d be going straight to Venice, but, no, my train went only to Verona, so I had to transfer to another train to go to Venice. When I got to Venice, I learned that the train for Vienna originated in Verona, so I had to go right back, when if I’d stayed on the first train I’d have been rolling right along. And all this on an icy, windy night! Finally, after much ado, I was rolling in the Austrian Alps. We passed through Innsbrück and Linz, where I was amazed to see the elegant commodious houses of the upper middle class dotting the countryside, as in many a plush American suburb. But there was snow in patches on the ground. In late morning, we made Vienna, our train pulling into the Westbahnhof, one of several massive train stations one finds around town. I put my baggage in a locker there, and after eating in the station, headed straight down Mariahilfer Strasse, which is full of stores, including some major department stores like Gertmanski’s and Stafa. I found my way to Maria-Theresien Platz, a major square on either side of which there is a very impressive museum. One is called the Museum of Art History and the other is called the Natural History Museum. The latter is absolutely on a par with the American Natural History Museum in New York. I was more interested in natural history, and enjoyed immensely the collections of fossils, butterflies and other insects and arachnids. I also toured the Art History Museum at a very leisurely pace. The sight of the two identical museums facing each other across the square, which is crowned by a statue of Empress Maria Theresa, is imposing. Vienna has a second, smaller Natural History Museum, which specializes in Austrian fauna and flora, and I visited this too. One great landmark in Vienna is Schönbrunn Palace, built in 1695 by the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs were one of the most powerful families ever to exist. They arose around 1300 in Switzerland and Austria, and would go on to rule not only the Empire of Austria-Hungary but also the entire Spanish-speaking world, one of the branches of the family accounting for several Spanish kings. Even Mexico’s Emperor Maximilian was a Habsburg. They were mostly blindly intolerant Roman Catholics, and came to their unfortunate end at the close of World War I, defeated along with Germany and the Ottoman Empire, by Britain, France, Russia and the US. Schönbrunn Palace, built to rival Versailles Palace, is said to have 1500 rooms, but only a couple of dozen are open for public viewing. These are mostly bedrooms and drawing rooms decorated in baroque style. Not far away from Schönbrunn Palace is the Museum of Arms and Armor, and, next to it, the National Library. With so little time in Austria, and having only a minimal acquaintance with the German language, I didn’t get involved in learning the procedure at the library, just looking about momentarily. St. Stephen’s Cathedral is another famous Viennese landmark, but at the time that I was there it was caged in scaffolding, apparently with serious structural repairs going on, so a really good view was not to be had. Downtown Vienna, with the Danube River flowing nearby, is an enchanted city, with narrow quaint streets loaded with exclusive shops, for furs, jewelry, expensive candies, haute couture and other sumptuous goods. There is also many a sidewalk café, and there were people sitting about, but it was too cool for me. Outside the enchanted mile downtown, Vienna is very reminiscent of some of the Eastern cities in the US, with platforms for elevated trains, red-brick apartment buildings and corner churches and candy stores reminiscent of the early twentieth century. Vienna has also preserved as museums the houses of some of its favortie sons, like Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Strauss and Freud. I didn’t get a chance to visit these, because the rains began when I had been in town a few days. I took a jaunt to Budapest, Hungary, only about 200 miles away, hoping on the return that the rain would have stopped. But no, on my way back through Vienna, it was raining torrents, so I continued on through Zürich and Paris, into Amsterdam. Perhaps another day I shall return, but I’d never even consider living in Vienna. It’s far too cold and also too expensive. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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