I hadn't planned on going to Europe this year, but I really needed a break!
Armed with a Eurailpass valid in Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, I set off on this quick, three-week trip...
The route: Vienna - Bratislava - Ljubljana - Zagreb - Graz - Augsburg - Mariaberg - Munich - Vienna
(Click on map to show enlarged)
Saturday June 16: Depart Canberra/Sydney
Departed Canberra 12.00 pm. Some three hours to wait at Sydney airport. Brother Phillip and his wife Elaine came to the
airport to see me off, which was nice. Flight left for Vienna at 16.20.
Sunday June 17: Vienna
Landed 5.45 am and took airport bus to the city. I had booked into Hotel Amarante, a few U-Bahn stops south of the city centre, but it was too early to check in.
I dumped my bags at the hotel and took the U-Bahn to the centre.
By 9.15, I accidentally found myself listening to the Vienna Boys Choir singing a Schubert mass!
Strolling through the grounds of the Hofburg (Imperial Palace), I had encountered a spruiker (in the form of a quite
amiable middle-aged lady) selling tickets for admission to the Hofburg's Royal Chapel, where the choir sings a mass
every Sunday. It happened to be Sunday, and I happened to be passing just as they were about to start! The spruiker had added a few euros to the
cost of the ticket that others were lining up for, but what the heck? How often do you get to hear the Wiener Sängerknaben
on their home ground? I bought the ticket, despite the fact there was no direct view of the choir: once inside, many of us
sat in alcoves built into the side walls of the very tall chapel, while the choir (accompanied
by a chamber orchestra, no less) were in the rear gallery. If I leaned right out of the alcove, I could see a little bit
of the orchestra and one or two of the singers. But, in any case, the sound was terrific, and there was a video relay inside the alcove.
Afterwards, as if that wasn't enough, I walked back to Stephansdom (St Stephan's Cathedral), where I heard the last half
of another mass setting! This one composed by Ignaz Pleyel, a lesser-known contemporary of Mozart and Haydn. I'm not sure who
the choir was, but they too were accompanied by a chamber orchestra.
View to the choir gallery of the Royal Chapel VIEW ENLARGED
Finally, I was able to go back to the hotel and check in, gratefully peel of the clothes I had been wearing since leaving Canberra 36 hours ago, shower a lot,
and sleep a little. I set the alarm to wake me after 3 hours, forcing myself to adjust to local time (otherwise I'd have woken up at midnight!).
6pm: Definitely did not want to wake up, but two coffees at a nearby cafe helped. Went walking. Ended up on the "beach" of the Donaukanal (Danube channel).
They've dumped sand and set up parasols, sun chairs and "beach bars" in a spot next the the river, close to the city centre!
I was starting to feel human again, and after two beers at a beach bar, quite mellow! Any more, I decided, could be dangerous. So I headed
back to the hotel for a proper night's sleep.
Monday June 18 : Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna
Woke up feeling much refreshed, and decided to do a day-trip to Bratislava, only an hour or so away from Vienna by train.
In fact, if you by a 24-hour ticket for unlimited travel on the Bahn or Bus, which I had done, this can take you right to the
Slovak border by rail. You only need to buy a ticket for the remaining short distance into Bratislava.
Low point of the day: I discovered my video camera had stopped working, for no apparent reason. Blank screen. Damn!!! The result is that the images
on this page (except for those of Graz, which were taken by my sister after she joined me there) are stolen from tourism literature and web sites.
I'm sure they won't mind.
The first thing I did in Bratislava was to climb up to the castle. It was closed, but there's a great view from up there.
Next, a look around the cathedral, near the foot of the castle hill, whose earliest construction dates from 1221.
This has an unusual feature: a section of the floor is glassed, looking down into an opened section of the burial chambers
below, where a couple of exposed human skeletons are on full view.
Composer-wise, Bratislava was the birthplace of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a pupil of Mozart. (If you haven't heard of him, don't panic!
He's the sort of composer whose music you might hear occasionally on classical radio stations and think, "Oh, that's nice").
Bratislava has his birth-house as a museum. On this day it was closed. I subsequently discovered that in many of these cities,
museums tend to be open from Tuesday to Sunday, and this was no exception. Never mind, I contented myself with walking every
remaining street in the typically charming Altstadt ('old town')
Returned to Vienna along the Danube! There is a regular service by high-speed cat (called "Twin City Liner"),
which takes just a little over an hour and costs about 25 euros. But definitely worth doing in one direction
for the experience. Great scenery, and bar on board! (Wish I'd had the Video camera.)
Back in Vienna, the night was still young. From where the boat docked, I took the U-Bahn a few stops north to Prater,
the fairground park famed for its Riesenrad (giant ferris wheel), built in 1879. This was the first time I'd been here,
and I took a ride on the wheel. It moves quite slowly, and is a little like London's Millenium Wheel, although
nowhere near as huge, of course. Good fun. (Wish I'd had the Video camera.)
Tuesday June 19 : Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Awoke quite late and checked out of the Vienna hotel at 11 am. Took train to Ljubljana via Villach and Bled.
Lonely Planet suggests travel by bus in these emerging east European countries is more efficient than by train.
I soon found this to be the case. The 'InterCity' I changed onto at Villach to take me into Slovenia consisted of a couple of
2nd class wagons only, and didn't reach Ljubljana until 8 pm! I wanted to be back in Graz, Austria, by Thursday,
so any hopes I may have had of getting as far south as the Croatian towns of Split or Dubrovnik would have to wait for another trip!
Anyway, the scenery by train was magnificent, especially the alpine ranges between Villach and Bled. And Ljubljana
turned out to be possibly the most picturesque of the four cities I visited in these first four days, with
quaint, colourful old buildings clustered around the river at the foot of the inevitable castle-on-the-hill centrepiece.
Interesting hotel situation here. Most of the hotels anywhere near the city centre are new four or five star places,
built as the country has liberated itself from its socialist past, in order to cater for business users and conferences.
On the night I arrived, just about everything was booked out, due to several conferences in town. But I was finally able to
get the very last room in the imaginatively-named 'City Hotel'.
I might have stayed another night in Ljubljana, but the hotel room was unavailable. So, after a late breakfast and checkout,
I decided to leave my bags in the care of the hotel while seeing the sights of the old town, and then carry on to Zagreb (Croatia) in the afternoon.
12.00 : explore open areas of castle, admire views etc.
12.15 : walk back down to the town
12.30 - 13.15 : Walk through the streets of the old town, viewing such notable buildings as the Philharmonic and the Town Hall
(Yes, I covered every street - it's not that big an area!)
13.15 : Collect bags from hotel, head to station.
13.30 : Beer in station cafe
14.08 : Train to Zagreb
The train was crowded, but there was a not-so-crowded restaurant car. So I remained there for the 2.5-hour trip and had another beer. Yes, alright, maybe two.
It was a very hot day, and I'd done a lot of walking.
The ticket collector came through, checked my ticket, then drank a beer himself before moving on to the next car!
Arriving in Zagreb, it seemed that, as in Llubljana, there were not many 3-or-less-star hotels near the city centre. However, I found a
reasonable room at the imaginatively-named 'Hotel Central', right opposite the station, exactly as recommended by Lonely Planet.
After checking in, I took a stroll to the old part of town, about a 20-minute walk away.
While Zagreb is quite a big city, the old section (the medieval Upper Town) is relatively small. But there are some interesting things to see.
Most unusual is the eastern gate, or Stone Gate. A fire in 1731 is said to have destroyed most of the large
wooden gate, leaving intact only a painting of the Virgin and Child by an unknown artist, which can still be seen.
People now come to pray here and treat it as a shrine, believing it to have magic powers.
My route back to the hotel took me through some wide streets not open to traffic, where open air cafes stretch down the middle of the streets.
A big band happened to be playing some pretty good swing music at the top of one of these streets. Earlier I had also passed
a youth choir singing on a podium in the middle of a park. I think Zagreb was having some sort of outdoor music week.
It all made for a nice atmosphere.
Zagreb (the arrow's pointing at my hotel)
VIEW ENLARGED
Thursday June 21 : Zagreb to Graz
I had planned on leaving Zagreb in the morning at 9.44, but the train didn't appear at the platform indicated.
When it disappeared off the departure list, I asked at the information desk and they said it had gone.
I have a feeling it left from another platform. Next train in the direction of Graz would be 13.15.
So, another stroll through the town, this time at a more leisurely pace. Finally, the afternoon train did appear and took me with it.
In my first four days I had visited Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Zagreb (Croatia).
Graz would be my 5th city in as many days, but there I would remain for the next week...
Most of the images below which do not have people in them were stolen from the Graz Tourism website.
This is actually OK. The website says they can be downloaded and used elsewhere as long as the source
is acknowledged with "Copyright Graz Tourismus". Done. Vielen Dank!
Thursday June 21 : Arrival in Graz, Austria
Graz was my main destination on this trip. I had been here for the first time in the previous year (2006), at this same time of year, when the month-long
Styriarte Festival of music commences. My friend Henny (see previous travelogues) plays violin here every year
what has become my favourite band, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe! Graz has also become one of my favourite places in Europe
(Austria's best-kept secret? A town with all the charm of Salzburg, but without the hordes of tourists! Shh... don't tell everybody!).
All in all, I couldn't resist a repeat visit this year.
Arrived on the train from Zagreb at about 6.00 pm and took the tram to the Hotel Weitzer, where the orchestra stays, and where I was also booked.
Tomorrow my sister, Cynthia, would also join me here from England. After checking in, I learned that the orchestra was rehearsing late, until 9pm,
in preparation for tommorow night's big opening concert. So later that evening, after their rehearsal, I finally
met up with Henny and a few of the other musicians for some late evening drinks before calling it a night.
Met Cynthia at the airport at 14.30. She was meeting me in Graz, as my time was limited on this trip and I wouldn't have had
much time in England if I'd tried to visit her there. Plus, she was interested in visiting Graz after hearing my description of my visit last year.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe was playing a Beethoven program on this and the following two nights. On the program was
the Mass in C (with the Arnold Schönberg Choir), and then the 5th Symphony, under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Tonight's performance, which opened the Styriarte Fest, was broadcast live in the town's Hauptplatz (main square),
via a video link advertised as a Klangwolke, or 'sound cloud'. Cynthia and I had tickets for tomorrow night's
performance, but tonight we wandered into the square about half way through the Mass and saw
the rest of the concert from one of the Würstlstands (stalls selling sausages and beer) that are dotted
around the square. Bier and Wurst for dinner while listening to a great performance of Beethoven's Fifth!
The atmosphere was just terrific - imagine the giant video screen in front of the town hall, a big sound system, and the entire
square full of people listening and enjoying this great music. Some, like us, with beer in hand!
A nice thing about the video screen was seeing close-up shots of the conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and his often quite manic facial expressions that you don't see in the concert hall, where he has his back towards you!
At the end of the concert, the audience in the hall rose to their feet in a standing ovation, while we in the town square were applauding as well!
Saturday June 23
Showed Cynthia around the Altstadt ('old town') during the day, including a look inside the cathedral, which
dates from the 15th century and contains much decoration from the baroque period.
We also visited the Diözesanmuseum attached to the Mariahilf church, where there was a special exhibition about
pilgrimages through the ages, and what drives people to make such journeys, even in modern times. This was of particular interest to Cynthia,
as she has actually walked the pilgrim route (or camino) across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Then in the evening we went to the live performance of the
Beethoven concert. We were lucky enough to have been allocated perfect seats, right in front of the conductor,
just six rows back! While we had had enjoyed last night's outdoor broadcast, here we could appreciate it on a deeper, musical level,
without external distractions.
And, yes, there was another standing ovation at the end! Nikolaus Harnoncourt is especially loved
by the citizens of Graz, as he lived here as a child, and still has close connections to the town, despite his international fame and stature.
But regardless of any bias, it was a brilliant performance by all concerned - orchestra, choir and conductor - and they all thoroughly deserved the ovation!
In the morning, a visit to the Kunsthaus (house of art), the amazing building designed to resemble
some sort of sucker fish, and a work of art in itself. Near the Kunsthaus we walked across the river via
another modernist construction, the Murinsel (island in the Mur river), an artificial island with a
café and a small open-air performance area. Neither of these construnctions seem out-of-place amid the
old buildings that surround them, in fact the contrast is very interesting and effective.
At lunchtime, we met up with Henny, and the three of us took the lift to the Schloßberg, the
'mountain fortress' that dominates the town. The lift is reached through a tunnel at street level: it
rises vertically through the heart of the mountain. The coolest way to reach the top in summer!
Up here, there is an unusual café built into the side of the cliff face, where we stopped for a snack
and a drink.
In the evening, Henny went off to do the third performance of the Beethoven, while Cyn and I had a leisurely dinner
in an outdoor restaurant near the river, watching the Schloßberg gradually come alive with floodlighting as darkness fell.
Monday June 25
Henny had a day off! No rehearsals, no concerts.
The three of us went out to the Basilica of Mariatrost, about a 20 minute tram ride from the town centre. This is an historic 18th century
church and a place of pilgrimage for many. Memorable are the huge ceiling frescoes, and the very ornate main altar and pulpit.
The church was elevated to to the rank of Basilica by pope John Paul II in 1999.
It's perched on top of a hill which is a bit of a climb from the tram stop. Our visit being in the heat of summer, it's fortunate
that next to the Basilica is an open-air restaurant offering beer to weary pilgrims!
From Mariatrost, we walked part of the way back towards Graz along a walking track that took us via the Hirschenhof,
a farm now converted into guest accomodation, in a delightful rural setting, where we stayed during last year's visit. At the Hirschenhof (click the images to view enlarged). The old lady with Henny
is Frau Greta, daughter of the original owners of the Hirschenhof, who is still lives there.
A wonderful, sprightly old character, who looks after her chickens every day, and talks in such a strong
Austrian dialect, that even native German speakers sometimes have trouble understanding!
Tuesday, 26 June
The orchestra spent the day rehearsing their next concert featuring two Mozart piano concertos
conducted from the piano by Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
Mozart concertos under Aimard seem to have become a regular feature of the COE's calendar. A similar concert was on the bill
at last year's festival. Cynthia and I went along to the rehearsals, which are always interesting.
After the rehearsal had finished in the late afternoon, Cyn and I caught the tram out to Schloß Eggenberg,
a monumental baroque palace on the edge of town, used regularly for concerts and exhibitions, and set in a large parkland.
As Cynthia was leaving the next day to return home to England, she wanted to have a quick look at the Schloß.
It houses an amazing collection of artworks dating from medieval times, which I had seen last year. Unfortunately
for Cynthia, the castle was closing at 7 pm, so we only had time for a quick look around the courtyards and open
areas, without going inside. Ah well, that leaves her something to see on a future visit!
Aimard in rehearsal
Schloß Eggenberg
Wednesday, June 27
Just time to see one more 'sight' before Cynthia has to go to the airport. Next to the cathedral is a mausoleum
commissioned by Emperor Ferdinand II (1578-1637) as a tomb for himself and his family. Worth a visit if you've
got a spare half hour to fill. Quite a cheerful place to be dead in, really. Lots of nice artwork, and more
impressive frescoes on the ceilings. And there's a bell-tower you can climb for a different sort of a view
towards the countryside (the view over the old town is restricted).
Then in the afternoon, I saw Cyn off at the airport. It had been nice catching up with her in Austria for
a change, instead of England. Something different for both of us. I think she enjoyed Graz.
Thursday June 28
This year, the COE's concerts are all in the modern Helmut-List Halle instead of in the beautiful old concert hall, the
Stefaniensaal, where they performed last year. A pity... the accoustics in the new hall are a bit "boomy", although this
was more noticeable during the rehearsals than in the performances when the room is full of people.
However, this morning I furtively infiltrated the Stefaniensaal (remembering my way through the musicians' entrance where Henny
had let me in last year!) to see Harnoncourt rehearsing his ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schönberg Choir
for an upcoming performance of Haydn's The Seasons. Some musicians in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe had told me it would
be no problem for me to go in and watch, that no-one would question my presence there, as there are always a few others there
looking on from the side galleries anyway. They were right!
It was very interesting to watch Harnoncourt rehearsing his Viennese ensembles in German. (The COE, being multinational,
rehearses in English). Concentus plays on period instruments, and this was the first time I'd seen an 18th century
style Contrabassoon in action: the thing was not doubled over like the modern equivalent, and looked to be about 3 metres tall!
I was taking all this in from a position in the gallery just a few feet from the bass end of the choir. What a sound
when the choir made its entrance - so powerful, it hit you like a train! I counted roughly 50 voices. I was starting to
regret not having arranged to stay in Graz for this concert too, which was taking place on the Saturday. However, I
had more places to go, people to see, and, sadly, tonight would be my last night in Graz.
And so to the COE's Mozart/Haydn concert. The Haydn came across nicely, but in the Mozart concertos, the piano
sounded a little 'wet', almost as if a little too much sustain pedal was being used. But this was probably due to
the accoustics of the hall. The Stefaniensaal would have suited this concert better, especially for the Mozart.
Nonetheless, an enjoyable concert to finish off my week here.
After the performance, I joined Henny and some other members of the orchestra for "dinner". No doubt in larger cities where orchestras tour,
there are places open late where they can get something to eat after a hard night's blowing, pounding or scraping. In Graz, however, the options are limited,
and half the orchestra ends up grabbing Bier and Wurst at one of the few Würstlstands still open in the main square!
And that is where we went tonight. I don't suppose it would ever occur to members of their audience, watching them onstage, that this is where
world-class musicians end up getting fed after a concert!
Friday June 29
This morning Henny decided to go along to see Concentus Musicus rehearsing, as I had done yesterday. But it was time for me to leave Graz.
I walked with her to the Stefaniensaal, said Auf Wiedersehen outside the musicians' entrance,
then went back to the hotel to check out.
Leaving Graz, I was now on my way to visit Henny's elder sister, Martina and her husband, Heiner. (I had got to know Martina and her family
when we were both at school a few decades ago, and in recent years we have regained contact, thanks to the internet.)
Martina and Heiner live in the village of Gammertingen-Mariaberg, south of Stuttgart. To get there,
the train route runs through Salzburg, Munich, Augsburg and Ulm.
I stopped overnight in Augsburg, as I had in the previous year.
On this occasion, I had a few hours in the evening in which to see a little bit of the city.
Walking into the old part of town (of course!), I found myself in a long and very wide street,
Maximilianstraße, with an impressive old church at one end. Augsburg having been a big trading centre
in olden times, I wondered if this may once have been an enormous market place?
Maximilianstraße, Augsburg
Saturday, June 30 : Mariaberg, Tübingen
After leaving Augsburg, I changed to a local train at Ulm and made it into Mariaberg early afternoon, where Martina met me.
Mariaberg is an unusual village: most of it is an institute looking after people who are mentally handicapped.
Heiner is part of the institute's medical team. As he needs to be constantly on call, they live in a large apartment block,
close to his place of work.
Today, Martina took me back there, but only for a short time. Martina's son, Urban, wanted to visit an outdoor event
with rock bands and various happenings, that was taking place in the nearby university town of Tübingen.
So the three of us drove to Tübingen for the rest of the afternoon and early evening, and Martina showed
me around this very beautiful old town while Urban went to the fest.
After climbing up to the Schloß (another castle-on-a-hill in the centre of the old town), we spent some time by the river
Neckar, where one can see an unusual boating tradition unique to Tübingen: a type of punt, called a Stocherkan,
which is propelled like a Venetian gondola, pushing it along by thrusting a long pole down into the riverbed.
These boats can take a dozen or so passengers, seated facing each other along the sides. On this occasion, we saw several boats
that had been hired for a wedding party. Not an unusual occurence, apparently. They leave the church, leap onto a Stocherkan,
and float off down the river to a hotel where the reception takes place!
The bride and groom had one boat to themselves, specially decorated, into which they climbed, bridal train in tow, trying not to fall into the river! This pair succeeded - just - and floated off with much laughter towards the reception. Once again, would have made an interesting video, if only my camera had been working...
Sunday, July 1 : Mariaberg
My visit had coincided with something a little different from the day-to-day life in Mariaberg. Today it was the village's annual Fest day! An "open day", where all the areas of the handicapped people's facilities are on show, as well as various exhibits, flea-markets, food and drink stalls, musical performances etc. The event attracts a large number of people from all over the surrounding districts.
It all started off with a festal church service under a huge tent. Martina and Heiner were singing with the choir, accompanied by a local brass band. They all played and sang very nicely. But as soon as the church proceedings were over, the screens came down along the side of the tent, revealing numerous food and drink stalls: the whole thing transformed instantly into an enormous beer tent, which remained crowded for the rest of the day! From "God Is Here" to "Gösser Bier" in five minutes!
Elsewhere, it was interesting to see some of the exhibits of woodwork and metalwork made in Mariaberg's workshops by the handicapped residents. Some beautifully crafted pieces... I might have been tempted to buy something, had it not been for the restrictions of my luggage.
That evening, Martina and I played a duet, for the first time in about 35 years! She is a superb flautist, but on my previous visits, there had not been the opportunity for us to play music together. (Last year, she had met me in Graz, and the only piano we came across there was being used by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe!)
Monday, July 2: Mariaberg to Munich
Today I would have to leave Mariaberg, as I needed to start heading back towards Vienna for my flight home on July 4.
But Martina was not working until the afternoon, so we picked up where we left off last night, playing duets for flute and piano:
Schumann's Waldszenen (that is, some of the easier parts of it that I was able to bluff my way through sight-reading!),
and another Schumann piece, Abendlied. Finally, we resurrected a sonata by Handel, which we had first played together in 1970!
Déja vu, indeed!
I could have happily played music for the rest of the day, but Martina dropped me off at the train station at Gammertingen on her way to work. We said auf Wiedersehen just before 2pm, when a train appeared which, after changing at Ulm, would get me to Munich by 5pm.
I had chosen to stop in Munich on the way back to Vienna, as I'd never seen much of this city. I'd passed through the city on a couple of previous occasions, but only long enough to have a beer at the Hofbräuhaus (and if I did anything else after that, I don't remember!). Martina and Heiner recommended a visit to the Deutsches Museum, for its collection of musical instruments, and an example of a 1950s-vintage computer, taking up an area the size of an average living-room.
On this evening, I found a hotel not too far from the station, then wandered downtown. I stuck my head inside the Hofbräuhaus, to see if it still looked the same as it did 20 years ago when I last visited. It did. Still full of drunken tourists.
I settled for Bier and Nürnberger Bratwurst at the Ratskeller in Marienplatz, which was quite pleasant and, surprisingly, seemed to be populated by Germans!
Tuesday, July 3: Munich
After a stroll through the town in the morning, I spent the afternoon at the Deutsches Museum.
And of that, I spent at least two hours just in the musical intruments section. Martina was right... I have never seen such a huge collection of instruments anywhere!
Every conceivable instrument ever invented, plus some fascinating hybrid inventions (e.g. a keyboard triggering a mechanism featuring a rotating 'bow' which plays a violin!). Many of the traditional instruments, like harpsichords, date back to the 17th century. And there is a modern section with classic synthesisers and elecronic gizmos. (You know you must be getting old when you see a synthesiser you used to play not so long ago, like the Yamaha DX7, is now a museum piece!!!)
As for the rest of the museum... I saw as much as I could in the time remaining. It closed on me at 5pm. Yes, the old computers were interesting (the 1950s room-size computer comparable to the CSIRAC on display at the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne). But the museum also houses entire small ships, aeroplanes, space capsules, and all sorts of communications technology from early radio artefacts to modern media. I'll have to go back one day when my video camera's working - photography IS allowed!
On the way back to my hotel, I had a look inside the Frauenkirche, the landmark church with twin towers that dominates views of the centre of Munich. While I was there, an organist started to practice. There was to be an organ recital the following day, so it might have been the recitalist preparing. He played something that sounded 20th century French, and I noticed there was a Widor piece on the program the next night, so it may have been that. A massive sound! It's a very tall church, with huge reverberation - I timed an echo of nearly ten seconds after one loud chord.
I could see the organist up in the gallery. (With the tremendous noise he was making, it would have made another great video shot, if only...)
Wednesday, July 4: Munich to Vienna
Suddenly, it's my last day in Europe. I board the 10.23 train via Salzburg to Vienna, where I arrive at 15.30.
My flight takes off tonight at 23.20, so I have 5 or 6 hours to kill before heading to the airport.
Stash bags in a locker at Westbahnhof. Stroll up to city centre, about 2 or 3 kilometres away, along Mariahilferstraße.
This is Vienna's main shopping street, so has nothing of any great interest to me, but at least it's a part of Vienna I
haven't seen before. I take my time, browsing through a couple of CD stores, and that kills a couple of hours.
It's a weird feeling. I have no hotel to go back to, the next time I go to bed it will be in Australia, but that's nearly two
days away, and I'm strolling the streets of Vienna with all the time in the world. I'm in a strange sort of limbo.
I reach the city centre. Suddenly, I find myself listening to some unbelievably excellent piano playing.
A busker with a difference! An beautiful young asian lady, at an upright piano on wheels, is playing virtuoso piano music in the middle of one of the many pedestrian-only streets that make up the heart of Vienna! I listen for a while - she plays beautifully.
I took note of her website, which was written on a sign by the piano:
www.soryang.at. (Later, visiting her website, I discovered her guestbook has comments from others who, like myself, chanced upon her 'street concert' and were surprised and delighted by it.)
Eventually, I throw a few Euros in her hat and move on. Well, that lifted me out of the feeling of limbo for a while!
pic from Soryang's website
This is exactly what I saw - now it's on YouTube:
Check out this one too, with a grand piano outside St Stephen's!
I take the U-Bahn back to Westbahnof, collect my bags, and hop on the 8.00 pm airport bus. Bye-bye, Vienna.
Check in early. Time for a beer. Flight scheduled to take off at 23.20. It does.
Thursday, July 5: Up in the air
Change planes at Bankok, from Austrian Airlines to Thai Airways. Four hour wait. Change a few Euros into Baht. Drink coffee. Find an internet terminal, send some emails.
Drink a beer. OK, next flight.
Friday, July 6: Sydney - Canberra
Touch down Sydney at 6.30 am. On time. Good, I have 2 hours to make my domestic connection to Canberra.
But I soon know I'm back in Australia. The transfer service from International Terminal to Domestic can now only be used by Qantas passengers already checked through to regional destinations. Those of us arriving on non-Qantas flights now have to go outside, get on a bus to Terminal 3, join a massive queue to check in to domestic flights. By the time I reach the counter, my flight has closed. They put me on a later one. Wait around and drink coffee. Coffee's terrible.
Get home to Canberra at 10.30. I had left Munich at 10.30 on Wednesday. Allowing for the 8-hour time difference, that means I have been travelling for 40 hours exactly. Consider going straight to doctor to have clothes surgically removed. Instead, I manage to peel them off carefully, have a shower and a nap.
At least I now have the weekend to rest before going back to work to start saving up for my next trip!
The atmosphere was just terrific - imagine the giant video screen in front of the town hall, a big sound system, and the entire square full of people listening and enjoying this great music. Some, like us, with beer in hand!
The three of us went out to the Basilica of Mariatrost, about a 20 minute tram ride from the town centre. This is an historic 18th century church and a place of pilgrimage for many. Memorable are the huge ceiling frescoes, and the very ornate main altar and pulpit. The church was elevated to to the rank of Basilica by pope John Paul II in 1999. It's perched on top of a hill which is a bit of a climb from the tram stop. Our visit being in the heat of summer, it's fortunate that next to the Basilica is an open-air restaurant offering beer to weary pilgrims!
