Eastern Europe - Part 2
Vienna, Austria
By Dr Shamim Ahmed
We reached Vienna from Prague. The enchanting journey through the heart of Europe by train took four hours. The Austrian capital, as we later discovered, is a gold mine of palaces, museums, monumental buildings and parks.
The first evening, we explored Viennas Ringstrasse, a ring road around Innere Stadt, the historical city centre. The area is known for its unique architectural beauty and is part of Viennas UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. The Vienna State Opera, the Museum of Fine Arts and Albertina Museum are some of the famous places in the area. We relished coffee as we strolled at one of the notable parks, Stadtpark, as well as a number of squares dotted with numerous monumental buildings.
Late at night, to our surprise we found a mile-long queue at Albertina Museum. We were extremely lucky as we were informed that on that day, people could visit all the museums by purchasing only one ticket, and the visiting hours would be till one in the morning! This is done to encourage people to visit the museums. We had to wait for an hour before we could get inside the museum. To our surprise, cakes, pastries and cookies were offered for free at regular intervals to the visitors.
The Albertina houses one of the largest graphical collections in the world with huge amount of drawings, paintings, as well as modern graphic works, photographs and architectural drawings. It took us more than three hours to cover the museum and by the time we stopped browsing, it was already one in the morning. We hurriedly settled for a late dinner with spaghetti and shrimp at a nearby Chinese restaurant.
One morning, we visited Viennas exciting art district, Museum Quartier. The area houses famous museums such as Leopold Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Kunsthalle _ a lively array of restaurants, cafs and bistros that make this place even more attractive.
We spent considerable time at the Leopold Museum. It has a huge collection, mostly of Austrian art, built over a 50-year period. The wide-ranging exhibits cover Vienna Modernism, Austrian Expressionism, and the worlds largest collection of works by Egon Schiele. Later, we settled for a sumptuous lunch with grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and mushroom soup.
Nearby is the former imperial palace, the Hofburg. Part of the palace is now the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria. Built in the 13th century, the monarchs of the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, used to reside here. It was the principal imperial winter residence. One cannot fail to admire the splendor and magnificence of the daily life of the Habsburgs while visiting the private apartments and state rooms.
The next day, we visited Schonbrunn Palace, a former imperial summer residence. The Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country. The 300-year-old palace complex includes an enchanting park, a palm house and a structure known as the Gloriette.
We spent an entire morning at Belvedere, a historic building complex, consisting of two palaces amidst landscape with decorative tiered fountains and sculptures. The Palace Museum has the worlds largest collection of Gustav Klimts paintings, including Klimts legendary The Kiss, as well as major works by Schiele. We had lunch with shrimp pasta and tomato soup at the museum caf.
One evening, we visited the 12th century St Stephens Cathedral, the symbol of Vienna. Behind the cathedral in a narrow lane, is Mozarthaus, residence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an influential composer of the classical era. Interestingly, we had to ask several people in the neighbourhood before we could locate the house. Even the waitress at the restaurant nearby did not know the road leading to it.
After having spent some memorable days in Vienna, we left for Warsaw, Poland by train.
Photos: Writer.
