Vienna

6.15 am

After an early start from Prague, we cross into Austria. We’re in Vienna now, or Wein, as the Germanic name goes. It is a gracious city with oodles of old world charm. The buildings are all in Romanesque or Gothic style, though Steven pointed out some sporting Art Nouveau heritage as well. Magnificent is the only word to describe most of the public buildings. White marble with gorgeous Corinthian pillars, gilt figures proudly shining on top. The city tour we went on was enough to convince us that this is one place which has ‘come-back-again’ flavour. We were let off at Schwedenplatz, shortly after which we boarded the bus starting with the Ring Road. We were taken past the Heroes square and the Hofburg Palace (the winter palace of the Habsburgs). It is huge, maginificent in character and there is a statue of the famous Austrian empress Maria Theresia, mother of 16 children. She ruled over the huge Austrian empire and was mother to Marie Antionette. The Palace is now a state building. Part of it is the President’s chambers. We saw the Lippizann horses at the Spanish Riding School, also known as the dancing horses. The famous show of these horses is apparently booked upto 18 months in advance. Still, we got to see some of the horses in their stables. Moving on to St Stephen’s Cathedral, we marveled at the grandeur of the 12^th century buildings built of limestone. The pulpit was particularly interesting as were numerous stained glass windows and paintings of antiquity. We passed the beautiful Viennese Concert House where Mozart’s music is a regular feature. Lots of Gothic and Renaissance styles intermingling to create an unforgettable experience. Our tour of the city was over by 4.30 and we were in the Bellevue Hotel by 5.00 pm. The hotel building was a gracious one but it seemed like an old one, much in keeping with the general flavour of the city. After short naps, we decided to take in some sightseeing of our own. There were trams just two minutes away from the hotel, and so we hopped into one going towards the city centre near the Town Hall. In front of the magnificent façade of the Neo-Gothic Town Hall, there is an open air park and square. A festival of classical music was due to start shortly we found. There were stalls with food from different parts of the world, and the place was thronged with people. The program, a recording of Mahler (symphony No.8), started up and after dining on Indian food from a Pakistani stall called Indus, we sat down on the chairs with hundreds of people to savour the divine music. We left the Town Hall and took the tram back to our hotel after the magical evening.

9.00 am

We were due to the visit the 17^th century Schonbrunn Palace, formerly a hunting lodge, seat of the Austro-Hungarian emperors and empresses. The palace has been compared to Versailles, and quite rightly I would think. Painted in a distinctive yellow (known as the Schonbrunn yellow), this vast imperial complex had been home to the famous Habsburgs of Austria. We saw rooms of the Empress Sisi, Franz Joseph and of course Maria Theresia, furnished in the 19^th century styles of opulence and beauty. The Schonbrunn is flanked by Baroque style gardens which have retained their originality since the days of Empress Sisi, beloved by the Austrians. Lots of marble statues, red begonias, green palms and grass, all set off with the sprawling yellow palace – wonderful vista of taste and beauty. Our bus dropped us off at Schwedenplatz and we lunched on the Lebanese doner ( chicken sandwich). The girls predictable had noodles and pizza. Now we were moving onward towards Budapest, the capital of Hungary.