Vienna

[Dreamwoven]

Vienna holds a special place in my memories. I have been there many times with my Jewish aunt (my father's sister) when I was young child. The film The Third Man takes place in Vienna and at the time it was made I was going to visit my relatives in Czechoslovakia and Hungary, so the catchy theme tune of the film has stayed in my memory. We had to take The Orient Express (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient_Express), which was not one train but several, with carriages added and detached along the route to Vienna and beyond to Istanbul. It started from London Victoria where we embarked and went over by train ferry to Ostend then re-embarked and went through West Germany and then through Austria, following the Danube.

We got off at Vienna, at Westbahnhof (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wien_Westbahnhof_railway_station), where we had to change to local services. It was a brand new station then, no doubt destroyed during the war. We had several hours wait in Vienna so we had lunch there. I loved this part of the journey as we had so much time between trains we could see some sights and enjoy Viennese cuisine. We ate the most delicious Wiener Schnitzel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Schnitzel) and also enjoyed the Vienna coffee house (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viennese_coffee_house) culture. Read about it, the Wikipedia page captures the atmosphere wonderfully.

From Vienna we went to either Czechoslovakia or Hungary, so I had the chance to visit both countries. My mother's family in Hungary had many relatives, all of whom survived the war, being Catholics. My father's relatives (besides his parents he had several brothers) almost all perished in concentration camps, but we mostly visited the beautiful countryside and the old towns of Bohemia and Slovakia.

I only realise now how lucky I was to have been give the opportunity to visit these countries several times. They have affected me deeply. Both Prague and Budapest are very beautiful cities, as are many others in both countries.

[NikolaiI]

Beautiful thoughts, Dream.

I've loved Vienna too, but from afar; when I was a child, for a period of time there was no placed I wanted to see more, because of the chess played there, but also for the history. I've since found some other places I would like to see more, but Vienna is still on my list, for sure.

Thank you for sharing, and it's good to know some more about you.

[Dreamwoven]

I reciprocate with pleasure. Thank you. Many of the people I have talked to about Vienna feel the same. Its an odd city, too big for such a small but beautiful country as Austria, but very appealing. See you around!

[NikolaiI]

You're welcome.

From Falco to Rolf Slotboom, there's a lot of good things about it. :-)

I followed your advice - there are a lot of interesting facts even in the first few paragraphs. Vienna is a state (one of nine), as well as a city, if I'm not mistaken. It has also won several awards for the most livable city, and the Mercer "Quality of Living," four years straight, '09-'12, and then winning again in 2014.

and also. . .

"The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and fifth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2011 Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world's number one destination for international congresses and conventions."

From Wiki's article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna)

[Dreamwoven]

Yes, as in the early postwar period it is still at the East-West crossroads of Europe. This goes back to the Ottoman Empire besieging Vienna in 1863. It was the high tide of their invasion of Europe. The bags of coffee beans abandoned at the Ottoman retreat formed the basis of the Viennese coffee house culture, as explained here (https://www.wien.gv.at/english/culture-history/viennese-coffee-culture.html).

The Wiki article of Vienna was interesting, too. I didn't know that the city's name comes from the Italian for Vienna. There is much to learn on the internet about places we loved.

[Dreamwoven]

From Westbahnhof we took the train to either Bratislava, today the capital of Slovakia, or Budapest. You needed a visa in those days, and the train, mostly half empty, chugged across the plains. Bratislava was only 80 km away, Budapest three times further. I remember very little of Bratislava, it was always a fairly nondescript town. Budapest was quite different, a metropolis with a beautiful location.

Straddling the Danube, Buda is on the west bank and Pest on the east bank. The Hungarian Parliament Building (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Parliament_Building) is an imposing construction:

The Hungarian Parliament Building (Hungarian: Országház, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈorsaːɡhaːz], which translates to House of the Country or House of the Nation) is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It lies in Lajos Kossuth Square, on the bank of the Danube. It is currently the largest building in Hungary[1] and still the tallest building in Budapest.[2]

The Jewish Quarter (http://www.budapestbylocals.com/jewish-budapest.html) is in Pest, and has retained its old style, including synagogues. This is the only remaining jewish settlement in Central Europe.

Here I need to make a short historical diversion. The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria-Hungary) resulted from the ausgleich of 1867 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_Compromise_of_1867) which gave the Hungarian language an equal status to German. By this Budapest became a major capital of Europe, initiating half a century of expansion and prosperity in which Budapest thrived and grew. The Holy Crown of Hungary dates back 1,000 years, and so it gave Hungarians an equality with Austria in what was a polyglot empire. Jews in particular welcomed this and Hungarian became their preferred language. From having pariah status, Jews were given an equal status to Hungarians. See the History of Jews in Hungary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Hungary).

How, then, one may ask, did the jewish quarter of Budapest, survive the Nazi holocaust? Much of this can be credited to Admiral Miklós Horthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miklós_Horthy), who was Regent of Hungary from 1920 to 1944. As Regent, he tried to protect all citizens of the Dual Monarchy. The Treaty of Trianon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianon) in which the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up was opposed by Jews who resented the loss of their protected status.

Horthy was forced into a whole series of compromises to keep the worse effects of Trianon from the ravages of Hitler. The elite 2nd Army (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Army_(Hungary)) was sent to the Eastern Front where it was decimated at the Battle of Stalingrad.

For more information see here (http://degob.org/index.php?showarticle=2020), here (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Hungary.html) and here (http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Hungary/Hungary_from_1918_to_1945).

[Sarabande]

I lived in Vienna all through 2011, arriving in January. I went to lots and lots of serious concerts at the Musikverein, Konzerthaus, Theater an der Wien and Wiener Staatsoper. At these places I saw the absolute cream of the classical music performing and conducting world!

Also, we travelled all through Austria and it is a permanent picture post-card of a destination. Vienna is impossibly beautiful and its people are reserved and always well dressed at the concerts. They are not the types who rush in and "hail fellow well met" but if you need help they'll be there for you.

We kept under the radar and avoided the tourists and were 'embedded' in the local experience. I cannot tell you the joy of Sunday mass at either Stephansdom or Augustinerkirche with full orchestra, choir, conductor and organ show-stopper at the end; all for free! We return there for 6 weeks on 9 April this year and I cannot wait. Just a 72sq.m apartment in the 5th Bezirk (District) and I'll catch the U3 (Hutteldorf to Heiligenstadt) and just 3 stops - Margaretengurtel/Pilgrimgasse/Kettenbruckengasse to Karlzplatz and then a walk up some steps to the pavement just a minute from the Musikverein.

I cannot wait and I'd live in Vienna permanently in a heartbeat, even though my husband and I are Australian. We're too old for them now, more's the pity. But we spent some serious Euros in that fabulous, safe country.

[Dreamwoven]

You clearly have more experience of living in Vienna than I could ever have from our several visits where we changed trains, albeit with long stops. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences there. I have a vague memory of going to the Wienerwald and there is much to see and do in the Danube Valley area of Austria, abbeys and castles. I would return to Vienna to show my wife around and also Budapest which is a beautiful city.

There is an interesting book on Viennese music culture: by Tia DeNora Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: musical politics in Vienna, 1792-1830 on patronage in music and its impact. University of California Press, 1995.

I hope you enjoy the forum, everyone is friendly here and many are very knowledgeable in their own fields of interest.

[Sarabande]

You clearly have more experience of living in Vienna than I could ever have from our several visits where we changed trains, albeit with long stops. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences there. I have a vague memory of going to the Wienerwald and there is much to see and do in the Danube Valley area of Austria, abbeys and castles. I would return to Vienna to show my wife around and also Budapest which is a beautiful city.

There is an interesting book on Viennese music culture: by Tia DeNora Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: musical politics in Vienna, 1792-1830 on patronage in music and its impact. University of California Press, 1995.

I hope you enjoy the forum, everyone is friendly here and many are very knowledgeable in their own fields of interest.

Thank you so much!! And the book reference is known to me; I've presented programs for retirees on Musical Appreciation and have drawn on my experiences of Vienna and musical research for them. Also, I've written for 5 years of classical music messageboards, though I've recently dropped this as I've run out of things to say. I look forward to learning new things and having new challenges with literature.

At the moment my main interests are "freedom of speech" and "democracy" and I'm reading about this. Perhaps I'll review these books when I've read them right through. Thanks again for the welcome. (I love your country, btw, and will be there - again - in Gotenborg and Varberg in the coming weeks!)

[Dreamwoven]

Hoe you enjoy it, when you do come! Sweden is a big country, from the northern to southern tip of Sweden it is as far as from the southern tip to Southern Italy. Glad you are enjoying the website and hopefully the winter will be over by the time you come.