blog

Vienna - the capital city of Austria

Walking downtown in a city such as Boston or New York one can always hear the sounds of “starving” musicians playing for spare change. Whether positioned in subway entrances or street corners, it is always the generic sounds of saxophones playing jazz or guitars playing some off version of a popular song that bombards the people walking by. In Vienna the streets are lined with musicians as well. Violinists playing Mozart and Handel, string quartets playing Haydn, and even a piano rolled out into the middle of the plaza so that a pianist might share Beethoven and Listz.

The first impression of Vienna is that it is still a classical city, its palaces and churches testifying to the grandness of the empire it once ruled. Vienna is the best of both worlds, it is both classical and modern. It had no problem entertaining us when we went there. The first stop was the Hofburg palace at the center of the city, to see the royal apartments and the Sissi Museum. Though this might not have been the most entertaining stop for most, it was interesting to see how the last Emperor and Empress of Austria lived. After, we walked from the palace to St. Stephen’s cathedral, a beautiful gothic church at the old city’s heart. The cathedral stands sentinel to the city’s past and was an inspiring sight. After a delightful meal in one of Vienna’s many Italian Bistros, we went to one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. Again when wandering through the midway and rides and games, the blending of old and new could be seen. Afterward we had an exhausted sleep in our Hostel.
The next day we went to Schönnbrun palace, the summer residence of the Habsburg family. The palace was huge and everyone was blown away by its magnificence. It seemed as if the beauty of the palace could not be outmatched, but our next stop was the Austrian Parliament. It was perhaps the most beautiful building I have ever seen, with sumptuous marbles of orange, white, and green, almost every square inch was carved or gilded. It was truly a wonder to see.
The rest of the day was spent shopping in Vienna’s Marienstraße, and ended with us eating the best ice crème ever! Vienna was wonderful, and I most certainly will be going back when I can. (Austin Loignon)

Bildnachweis: Lee Wonhyeok, Lechler Andrew