MUSIC IN THE AIR - WIEN, VIENNA

Austria, how do I define you? Gorgeous, beautiful, the land of "The Sound of Music", Vienna, music, opera, Mozart, Salzburg, the Habsburgs, Viennese Waltz,The Blue Danube, the Alps, apfelstrudel,Edelweiss, I can go on and on and on. Suffice to say that it is a land of memorable memorabilia! Vienna was our stop after Prague.The countryside was dotted once again with pristine cottages with red roofs and lots of cows in the meadows. It all appeared very peaceful, serene and beautiful.

Vienna has a lot of history, which is not very ancient. The House of Habsburgs was actually the royal house which provided brides to almost every Royal house in the continent.  Queen Marie Theresa the reigning Empress of Austria had 16 children and almost each one  helped in binding these European countries through matrimonial alliances!! Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI of France, was also a daughter of this Queen.

Vienna has beautiful buildings, fantastic Churches and fabulous Concert halls. The very first evening in Vienna, we went to watch a performance of Western Classical music and Waltz. The theatre where we went was the one where Strauss used to perform. The very thought of being in that very theatre left me with goose bumps. We watched The Strauss &  Mozart Concert at  Wien. The acoustics were superb. The chandeliers were brilliant and the show was enchanting.Three Waltz numbers, one Aria, excellent musical numbers of Strauss and Mozart, transported me to another world! Vienna has the Vienna Philharmonic and also the Vienna Boy's Choir. Vienna has imposing buildings dedicated to music like the State Opera House and the Golden Hall at the Musikverein ( Viennese Music association).

The next morning I came back to terra firma  and went on my way to see Vienna, the city. It's city centre is at Schwedenstrass. I know it is difficult to pronounce it, but if we break it up into S(ch)weden strass, it becomes easier. All the famous fashionable brands are available here. A new showroom of Swarovski had opened here, so we went to see its beautiful and dazzling display of crystal on the wall. The wall of crystals was very spectacular and gave a rippling effect. That was to be expected, as after all, Austria is the home of Swarovski.

Next day we went to see the Schönbrunn palace . Schonbrunn means beautiful spring. This was the summer palace of the Hapsburgs. It was modeled on the Palace of Versailles.The palace is spectacular. The golden painting on the walls was made with actual gold! The chandeliers are crystal and gold!! Opulence, grandeur, beauty, all rolled in one!!

The garden at the back of the palace is vast. It has been designed very beautifully. The sprawling lawns and the colourful beds of flowers have been arranged artistically They are a visual treat. The garden stretches out very far and at the end of the garden is a gate called Gloriette. There is a maze in the garden and the sides  of the lawn are adorned with beautiful statues. It is delightful to stroll around the garden and feast your eyes with the well laid out display of spectacular colours!!

Sculptor

A very beautiful Church  of Vienna is St Stephen's Cathedral. It was here that Mozart got married. The rail of the pulpit is rather interesting. There are decorations of lizards and toads on it, which depicts that going upwards is rather a hazardous journey. At the top of the pulpit is the statue of a puppy, which symbolizes protection of preachers from intruders. There are four statues beneath the stairs. One of them is the self portrait of the sculptor, looking out of a window.He has a chisel in his hands, and the stone mason's signature mark on the shield.The chapel has exquisitely coloured glazed tiles on the roof.

We learnt about Elizabeth of Wittelsbach, popularly called Sissi.She was the Empress of Austria. She was very beautiful and took great care to maintain herself.She was very popular and loved by the people.Her life was however quite tragic, and in some ways quite similar to the more well known Princess Diana of England. There are a lot of films made on her life and there were a lot of posters all over the city about her and her films.

The Von Trapp family belonged to Austria. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria, so was Hitler.Kurt Waldheim, Sigmund Freud, are also from Austria. Mozart, Schuberg, Strauss were all from this country. Beethovan lived here for a long time. There must be something in the air that made this place the home of Western Classical music, and also gave us the Vienese waltz.

 Edelweiss is a beautiful flower which is found on the Alps. It is white and has a yellow center. This flower was introduced to us through a song in The Sound of Music.

 Austrian people are friendly. Their German does not sound too harsh, they have some softness in the way they pronounce the words. Austria, a land locked country, with the beautiful large and blue Danube passing through it, and the eastern Alps is very very beautiful. I could not take my eyes off the scenery as we drove past, and thought perhaps that was the most beautiful road on earth. The sprawling Alps, the splendid green in the meadows, the little villages with each one having its own Church had a very calming effect. Simply beautiful, just like the magical strains of the violin rising to a crescendo and then dipping, and going up again. No wonder there was so much music here!

 Mozart, a great composer who gave us outstanding compositions, always managed to spend more than what he earned, so he was financially in a bad state. Tragically, he was buried in a mass grave. The Viennese say that was according to the 1783 laws, but some say that was because the family could not afford a proper funeral! Another case of genius not getting his due!

Just like the Von Trapp family, I too now say, "so long, farewell, I hate to say goodbye, goodbye......"