Who would of thought that I would come halfway around the world to see new places and experience wonderful music and their first night I sit down to dinner with a couple from home. There are way too many coincidences on this trip, but the couple from home put the icing on the cake. It is great seeing and doing things from a similar perspective.
After dinner we had an early evening and as the water of the Danube sloshed by alongside...I drifted off to sleep with visions of Vienna Austria with concerts and beautiful palaces and gardens to see.
This is not the 1st time I am in Vienna. I was here years ago and I must say there are still as many tourists here as I saw in Budapest. It is reassuring that so many people still want to come and see the beautiful churches and hear the wonderful music of Mozart and Beethoven and many more.
When we land in port it is indeed a curious scene we are not the first ship in port. As a matter of fact...river cruising is alive and well on the Danube. This is almost like the Nile where the hotel ships line up one alongside the other. To disembark, you get a tour of the lobbies of several ships on your way to the dock itself. This is not all bad.....but today there are a total of 8 river ships docked here. Needless to say....Vienna is crowded.
But this is a city of huge parks, wide avenues and pedestrian streets. There are gold leaved monuments around every turn and photo ops are continual. Representatives of various concert halls dot the corners spreading information about the wonderful musical entertainment available in this city of music. These are cute young men dressed in period dress complete with white wigs and leggings( yes and also the pants and silk coats).
As are most cities in Europe, Vienna is a walking city. We ar part of the parade of people walking everywhere. They drop us at St. Stephens Cathedral, a beautiful example of early architecture.The Rose garden of the nearby palace of the Hapsburg's is stunning at this time of the year with roses of all colors lining every path. Vienna is particularly green at this time of year. The winter snows gave way to summer rains and the tress that bloom along every street give a wonderful glow to this city. Ii should be called the Emerald City ....not the City of Music.
The walks of this afternoon are followed by a concert in a great hall this evening. A small Chanber Orchestra entertains while a young couple dances waltzes to all time favorites of Mozart and Strauss. There is even a petite opera singer who entertains with a scene from the Magic Flute. It is impossible to believe that such a powerful voice comes from such a small person.
Back on the ship after such a full day....the sloshing of the Danube outside my cabin lulls me to sleep for yet another night in this wonderful part of Europe. What will tomorrow hold in store?
I can't wait!
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