28 September - Vienna, Austria

After our first night aboard the Monarch Baroness we woke this morning at our berth just outside Vienna the capital of Austria. This city must be one of the most culturally endowed places in the world. Architecture, sculpture, music, painting have all reached incredible levels as artists from all over the world have made Vienna their home. Museums and concert halls are everywhere, and it seems that it would take months to explore what this city has to offer. We were bussed from our ship this morning and had to negotiate the new modern, and traffic bound Vienna to finally reach the old centre which is resplendent with royal dwellings, museums and grand houses with a mixture of architectural styles reflecting the city's history.

 

When in modern times, excavations began for the city's metro railway system Roman ruins were discovered this display, right in the middle of Vienna shows the remains of walls and drainage systems which are over 2000 years old.

Vienna was for many hundreds of years the capital city of the Austro Hungarian empire, ruled over by the Habsburg dynasty and so the city has a fantastic collection of magnificent palaces which these days are used to house museums.

After coming to power, Hitler quickly annexed Austria and declared it to be part of Germany and there are many historical photographs and films which show him addressing the Austrian people in the square shown above while he was standing on the balcony of the building on the left.

Our tour this morning started with an overview bus tour, which gave us a quick idea of some of the main features of the city, followed by an extensive walking tour, once again with a terrific local guide.

She was very well informed about the history and the architecture of the city.

Following our tours we were then free to wander around and explore the city centre by ourselves. We quickly found a great outdoor cafe to enjoy some of the famous Vienna coffee, apple strudel, zachertort and in my case some Viennese sausage. Later, while walking down some of the very opulent shopping boulevards, we discovered a Maltese church, first established by the Knights of Malta. From the outside the only hint it was Maltese, and a church was a Maltese Cross above the door and a small sign which announced "Maltese Kirche".

On opening the doors which looked very much like the entry to an office or an expensive shop, we found a wonderful and very tranquil little church (John the Baptist) decorated with red and white flags. On reflection Vienna is probably the most beautiful city I have ever visited, and it would be wonderful to come back with sufficient time to explore it and all it has to offer at a more leisurely pace.