A day in Vienna

Today for the whole day, I roamed about Vienna. My friend will join me after his day in office and German class. Armed with a map and directions, I was excited to traverse vienna. Vienna has a strong cafe culture. The coffee matters, but the atmosphere matters more. These cafes were a haven for artists, writers, thinkers who flocked there and stayed long composing and debating. It is the living room of the city. Went first to Stephansplatz, the home of the most treasured symbol of vienna - St. Stephen's Cathedral. And the inside of it was as gorgeous as those churches were - similar to Milan and Florence. Took the lift to the top of north tower, from where I could see much of Vienna. Then went down Petersplatz, closed to traffic except feet and hooves. Majestic walkway with beautiful building all around. Close by was the Jugendstill Ankeruhr(clock). 12 historical figure rotate by every hour at the accompaniment of traditional music. There was big crowd of people watching out for it at noon. Then visited the Stadttempel, the only synagogue in Vienna to escape Nazi destruction during the third reich. Close by was the Hofburg - the winter residence of the Hofburg emperors who ruled Austria from 1279 to 1916. It is a sprawling residence with numerous additions over the 600 years. Moved on next to the huge museum district. There was a nice nature photography show outside the complex sponsored by Kodak. Spent a long time there looking at those amazing picture, most were from the air though, so no hope of my reliving it. The museums had a very crazy display there, some wierld photographs, I did'nt understand what the artist was trying to show. Also, a mixed show of lifesize puppets marking the similarities and differences between kenyan and english culture. Quite humourous. Walked after that to the Altes Rataus (Old Town Hall), a gorgeous building. But, the english pronounciation of the name is quite funny! In front of it was the open air month long film festival - one of those innumerable shows in european capitals every summer. And there was food from around the world in the foreground, including Indien. At the end of the day realized that no wonder, Vienna often tops the list of most beautiful European cities, only competitor being Paris.

While lazily strolling in the afternoon, and the day was getting a little too hot, I met with an Indian girl, Jahnavi from Gatech with her German boyfriend. Both study history of science. Shared some cups of cafe-au-lait which watching little austrian kids jumping into the pool of water in the middle to beat the heat. The German guy ad gone to India for a month recently, and was extremely disturbed to see the swastika symbol at their doorstep. The Germans are still coming to terms with their past, I think.

Met Ben at night. Then we along with his german girlfriend, Steffi, walked around in the night of Vienna. Had dinner at an open air pub with Irish broth, and some excellent beer. And had a very heady discussion with the, till late in the night in true Viennese style. More on that later.