From Wienerschnitzel to Verdi in Vienna
Vienna, imperial capital of the Habsburgs, was historically also home to ethnic minorities from throughout the empire. No longer the power center of a multinational regime, Vienna, however, retains its atmosphere of greatness from times past. The charm of its architecture and the agreeable, slow tempo of life harkens back to the times of Maria Theresa, the only female ruler of the Habsburgs, and her son Joseph II, who followed her as head of the dynasty in the late 18th century. The city remains a melting pot metropolis, as one sees in the Viennese telephone book with about half the names German and others Slavic, Hungarian, Romanic and so forth.
Life is gracious in this city, a place where people linger in elegant cafés, sometimes for hours, reading newspapers in several languages, talking or just sipping coffee, watching people and following one’s own thoughts. The coffee culture in Vienna is special. It was here that the European coffee drinking tradition began after the defeat of the Ottoman Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683. The invaders left mounds of coffee beans behind, and entrepreneurs who knew how to roast them soon opened coffee shops all over Europe. Today in Vienna there is an astounding variety of coffees, from mélange and mocca to the fiaker with rum and the one- horse-carriage with Schlagobers or whipped cream.
On this comfortable fall morning, we first ventured into the city past the historicist Jubilee Church built in 1898 to honor Emperor Franz Joseph’s reign of 50 years. Our expert guides provided lively commentary on the historical sites on our bus tour: the Johann Strauss house, the royal gardens, famous cafes where Sigmund Freud and other notables met, art nouveau edifices and military ministries. At the legendary amusement park Prater, we took in a slow bird’s eye view of the city and its surroundings from the century old giant Ferris Wheel. The fall colors were not yet brilliant, but the scenery was indeed.
Along the Ringstrasse where the former city walls stood, we marveled at Vienna’s grand architecture from 1860’s and 70’s, including Parliament, City Hall, and the Vienna State Opera, where a large group reveled in a splendid performance of Verdi’s historical opera Don Carlo the following day. We saw the grandiose Art Historical and Natural Science Museums, Burg Theater, Votive Church and many other beautiful monuments, including statues of Goethe, Schiller, Mozart and Schubert. Our walking tour included the Spanish Riding School and the Hofburg, the imperial residence of the Habsburgs.
An exceptional event was the private concert by the Vienna Boy’s Choir, with its 500- year tradition. The clear vocal sound of boys without vibrato moved all of us, and we were pleased to hear their concert prior to an eight-week concert tour in the USA. Our last stop of the morning was the Griechenbeisel Restaurant, where we feasted on Wienerschnitzel and Sachertorte. Later we had a private guided tour of the magnificent Liechtenstein Palais, housing an incredible art collection, considered the largest private art collection in the world. Our indefatigable guides gave us insightful commentary on the works by Rubens, Rembrandt and many others. Of particular interest was the world’s most costly piece of furniture, the Badminton Cabinet, decorated with exceptional Florentine stone inlay work called pietra dura. In spite of a long day, many opera fans attended Richard Strauss’ opera spoof Ariadne auf Naxos at the Volksoper. It would have been impossible to have experienced more in one day in Vienna.
