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| Hofburg Palace |
My wife and I
had visited Vienna for just about three days once earlier, around a couple of
decades ago on a shoestring budget. We rushed around doing the sights, visited
palaces and museums, went around in circles on the trams of Ring-kai-Ring, and
wandered through the
maze of narrow cobbled streets in the Old Quarter,
flanked by quaint centuries-old baroque structures. We came away not quite
satiated; always had that compelling desire to go back and experience it more
fully. We did just that just a few years ago. Today, Vienna has become one of
the most liveable cities of Europe and no wonder it hosts hordes of tourists.
Keen on a room
with a kitchen-counter because of our
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| Museum of Natural History |
cardio-vascular condition, my wife, surfing
the net, hit on “Rothensteiner Heritage Appartments”. Offering “transfers”,
(sumptuous) breakfast and a (early-bird) discounted tariff, it was a bargain
that we couldn’t resist. Situated on the Neustiftgasse, just a short walk away from what is
popularly called the Ring – the heart of Vienna
– it was indeed a heritage outfit. A baroque structure, as most
Viennese buildings are, it was erected when Vienna was forging away from its core in the
1870s.
Inevitably on
the day of our arrival we headed for the Ring, or the Ringstrasse as it is
formally known. A few minutes walk brought us to the Maria Theresa Platz – a
garden
of immense proportions dotted with delicately carved statues erected at
eyelevel. An imposing statue of Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled over Austrian
Empire in the 18th Century,
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| Votive Church on the Ring |
however, dominates the garden. On either side of
her are two massive almost identical structures, the Museums of Natural History
and of Fine Arts
, their
architecture described as “outrageously flamboyant modernist”. The Fine Arts
Museum has numerous sections and has kilometres of corridors housing most of
the collection – from Egyptian antiquities to works of great artists like
Titian, Rembrandt, Raphael, etc. – of Imperial Hapsburgs. It is almost in the
same league as Louvre of Paris but not quite as large.
Coming out of
the garden we landed up on the Ring, a leafy enormously wide boulevard with
streetcars shuttling back and forth on its central verge. The Ring is like a
horseshoe, circling the Historic City Centre, a World Heritage Site, with the Danube at the far end with the St. Stephan's Cathedral at
its centre. It was laid out when Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered in 1857
demolition of the wall around the old town to make way for a circular
boulevard. Responding to the
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| Nacht Markt |
Emperor’s call
architects from all over Europe adorned it
with a variety of new buildings in architectural schools of the distant past,
giving birth to a style known as “Eclecticism”.
Officially opened in 1879, the Ring is four kilometres long and sixty meters wide, lined with trees and
buildings. Each part of the Ring carries different names and has something
imposing along its length. Some of the impressive structures are the
Parliament, called the “Parlament”, the Rathaus or the City Hall, The Burg
Theatre (the Court Theatre), Votivekieche or the Votive Church.
Two massive parks – the Volksgarten (the Peoples’ Garden) and the Burggarten or
the sovereign’s personal garden – are also along the Ring. While the two
gardens are of enormous proportions, the Burggarten has a Mozart monument where
every evening
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| In the Royal Garden near Mozart Memorial |
is a musical evening. Alongside, is a worth-seeing museum of
butterflies. We ended our trek of the first evening at the incredibly beautiful
Opera House. It captivated us just as it did earlier; this time, however, it
was more impressive, having been recently restored.
The
centrepiece of the city is the St. Stephan’s Cathedral, and that is where we
headed the next morning. On the way young men in period costumes buttonholed
us, pushing tickets for concerts at Hofburg
Palace. Having neither
the money nor the inclination we begged off. Then there it was, under
restoration, in all its splendour.
Built during the Gothic era, St. Stephan's is one of the chief Gothic buildings
in Europe. Towering majestically over the
center of the city, its spire is Vienna's
most identifiable landmark.
The plaza in front, Stephanplatz, is a pedestrianised area
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| Rothensteiner Heritage Hotel |
is a cheery place with fashionable shops and numerous cafes. Nearby is Graben,
one of the oldest streets of Vienna.
Built on a moat of Roman times and filled up around 1200 AD, it was a flour and
vegetable market until the 17th Century, but today a street of smart
shops housed in baroque-era structures. It has the Plague Monument,
erected at the end of the 17th Century to commemorate the passing
off of the epidemic.
Off Graben is the Kohlmarkt, once a coal market but now a
shoppers’ paradise, that leads to the semi-circular imposing façade of the
Hofburg Palace, A town within a town, the Imperial Palace, the favourite
residence of the Hapsburgs, was enlarged over the centuries, its core having
been built around 1220. The Palace’s Imperial Apartments, the Imperial
Treasury, etc have been converted into museums displaying the riches of the
dynasty. There are collections of porcelain and silver, arms and armour and antiquities
and much, much more. The Spanish Riding School located in a part of the
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| New Secessionist architecture |
Palace,
again a baroque creation of architect Erlach of the 18th Century, is
where one can see the finest exposition of dressage on those beautiful white
Lippenzenar horses.
Tired after a long walk we came back to Stephanplatz only
to plunk ourselves on chairs in a sun-drenched café. It was an ideal place to
linger over a cup of Viennese coffee, watch the roadside carnival and sooth our
tired legs. An institution in Vienna,
cafes have a history of their own. While retreating after a fight in the 17th
century the Turks left behind large quantities of coffee beans. The beverage
became so popular that it gave its name, “café”, to the establishments that
served it. Black and strong, with or without cream, coffee is served in its
several variations, each delectable and of a pick-me-up sort.
Next morning as we walked to the Ring the drone of two
helicopters flying in tight circles made us a little wary as we used to see such
a pair circling over Kabul, and then strafe the neighbouring villages during
the soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Only these, apparently, were not armed.
Mystified, we walked on. The mystery soon resolved itself as we hit
Heldenplatz. With a great collection of people and music blaring; the
atmosphere was festive. Then we saw on
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| In a Viennese cafe |
giant screens the progress of a
marathon. While children played around the giant air-filled synthetic dolls,
the adults were either busy monitoring the progress of the Vienna Mrathon or in
sipping coffee or beer in cafes that had miraculously come up in shamiana-like
enclosures on the neighbouring lawns.
A small fleet of cute little
toy-like cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and Swatch had been put out for
display. Named “Smart Car”, these are two-seater lightweight petrol city-coupe
designed for easy manoeuvrability in congested city-centres. Their
electronically managed engine prevents emission of pollutants and saves on
fuel, doing a hundred kilometres in little more than four litres. At Rs.12
lakh, however, they don’t come cheap.
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| Opera House |
On our way back we went head-on
into what turned out to be an annual flea market. Temporary shops had come up
on the street, vehicular traffic having been suspended. We, too, joined the
swollen crowd. Household goods, from clothes, utensils, to crockery, you name
it were on offer. As we were looking at some jackets I heard somebody hollering
the familiar Punjabi “haan-ji”. Turning around to look for the source I
saw an Austrian lad on top of a table smiling and gesturing at me saying “haan-ji,
haan-ji”. Climbing down from his perch he sauntered towards me. He said his
best friend at school was a Sikh from whom he had picked up the word. Later we
saw several Sikhs had set up temporary eateries serving barbecued meat and
chicken, along with kebabs, naans and other Indian delicacies.
Fond of the stuff, the Viennese surprisingly kept them terribly busy despite
their delectable (and our loved) shnitzel available all around.
The Indian culinary presence is
seemingly strong with not
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| At Stephenplatz |
only “Indische” restaurants but also with Indian
spices, pickles and heat-and-eat parathas, roties, etc. Even Indian
spiritual presence is noticed in numerous bookshops displaying its esoteric
volumes.
Known for its Baroque buildings,
Vienna has two remarkable specimens of this 17th
and 18th Centuries architectural style in Belvedere and Schonbrunn Palaces. The two Belvedere Palaces were designed by Hildebrandt for Prince Eugene of Savoy, a military strategist. Both the
Palaces – the Upper and the Lower Belvedere – have been converted into museums
of art. These had closed by the time we arrived but they overwhelmed us, as
they would anyone with the classic, stately and imperial aura that they exude.
Named after Schoner Brunnen, a fountain discovered in
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| The secessionist incinirator |
the
17th Century, the Schonbrunn
Palace was earlier a
hunting lodge. During Maria Theresa’s reign the Palace was used as a summer
residence. Situated on an elevation, it gives a fine view of Vienna. Only 45 of the 1200 rooms of the
Palace are open for viewing. The crystal chandeliers, the priceless tapestries
and furniture, adornments of lacquer and porcelain are worth seeing. The Guest
Apartments are among the most luxurious in the Palace. The Coach Room has an interesting
display of a collection of coaches from 17th, 18th, 19th
Centuries including those of Napoleon, his empress Maria Louise, and of Emperor
Franz Joseph. Extravagant harnesses and trappings and a gilded and ornate
coronation were most interesting. The Palace and the gardens area UNESCO World
Heritage Site
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, once conducted by our
own Zubin Mehta, held a free concert on the Schonbrunn Palace
grounds as a gesture of welcome to the ten new European Union members. The extensive
grounds overflowing with people had the100-odd pieces orchestra far away on the
dais. We took a vantage position at the back, near the entrance. One from a
group of beer-guzzling Viennese
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| Relaxing on the Ring |
young men got talking to me. When I happened to
tell him my nationality, he gave an ear-to-ear grin and said “huh, Sonia
Gandhi!” She had supposedly Arenounced the top job of India only the day
before.
While speaking
of architecture one cannot help mentioning the rebellion against the
established styles. The “Secessionist Movement” of the 19th Century
against the “eclectism” exemplified by the structures around the Ring yielded
its most enduring example, the Secession
Building with its golden
cupola. The other prominent signs of rebellion were the building designed by an
Austrian painter, Friendensreich Hundertwasser, whose colourful Incinerator
erected along the Danube
Canal has become a
Viennese landmark. The Hundertwasserhaus, a cheap apartment block sponsored by
the City of Vienna
and completed in 1985, is so popular with tourists that a museum and a gourmet
restaurant
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| Another example of new architecture |
have come up around it. Fifty apartments built by him have avoided
the monotony of housing estates with sloping roofs and hanging gardens.
The last sight on our itinerary
was the Museum Quartier. One of the
largest cultural complexes in the world, it splendidly combines Baroque walls –
which once enclosed the Imperial Stables – with contemporary architectural
design. Apart from museums, it has halls for cultural activities, shops selling
curios and knick-knacks and several cafes.
A marvellous “Earth from Above” exhibition of massive
weatherproof blow-ups was on. Mounted in the enormous open space along
Museumstrasse, approximately fifty evocative photographs taken by Yann
Arthus-Bertrand from helicopters from the height ranging from 30 to 3000 metres
were on display showing “man’s imprint and assault” on his environment.
Photographs of climate gone berserk, damaged coral reefs, polluted rivers and
mindless urbanisation evocatively brought home the havoc that we have wreaked on our beautiful planet. Two photographs
from India, one of an
unhygienic slaughterhouse of Delhi
and another of carpets being washed in UP, were depressing. Unfortunately the
exhibition is not slated to come to India. Perhaps, we do not have the
wherewithal to mount such an exhibition.
At the end a word on the city’s
transport system would be
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| On Stephenplatz |
in order. Vienna
has an incredibly efficient, dependable, ever enlarging and integrated public
transport system comprising the underground, omnibuses and trams. A single
ticket for a specified duration allows virtually seamless use of all the three
modes, something that we are yet to accomplish in this country. Cycling is
another way of getting around; in fact, the city administration encourages it
by making available bicycles on a nominal deposit. Our hotel-mate, Charles
Weekes, had brought his folding bike from across the Atlantic.
A superannuated like me, he would go around on his bike even outside out to the
nearby wine-country.
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