Wien

It seems that with each post I write and with each place I visit, the sites and buildings are increasingly 'majestic' and 'amazing' (I keep running out of synonyms for those two particular adjectives because everything I've been able to experience has been so). Even Dresden found it's place on this chronological scale of ascending grandness. I think the perpetual increase in awe that comes with each weekend destination reflects the impressive nature of most European cities (barring Bratislava) and has little to do with the order in which I visited them. Vienna, on the other hand, defies this. Of all the cities I've seen, the royal complexes in Vienna are the most opulent. The lavishness of the half dozen or so palaces in the capitol of Austria speaks to the wealth and power of the Hapsburg family, who ruled considerable portions of Europe from the 13th Century until World War I. Their 'summer palace' in Prague is one of the largest buildings in the city, so imagine the scale and luxury of their imperial headquarters (it puts the Rockefeller and Carnegie summer homes in Newport to absolute shame).

Molly's third trip to Prague of the semester fell on the same long weekend that our apartment turned into a hostel; eight friends of our roommates' descended on us from all over the continent in one big Tulane reunion. The first few days were great fun, but the two of us opted out of more of the Eastern European club scene for a more relaxing weekend in Vienna, which is only a four hour train ride from Prague. The city, which had just received its first significant snowfall of the year, was alive with Holiday life. The Ringstrasse, a famous five kilometer boulevard that circumnavigates the center of the city was alight with decorations and Christmas spirit. Because the sheer volume of the city's royal, musical, and academic sites is so overwhelming, Molly and I decided that a bus tour was the most efficient way to experience all that Vienna had to offer in our short visit. The hop-on, hop-off style of the tour gave us not only the freedom to explore different locations at our discretion, but a chance to thaw out in between jaunts. The numerous gardens, palaces, opera houses, university buildings, and seasonal markets jam-packed our two-day agenda and reinforced Vienna's reputation as one of the top five most visited cities in the World. The Schonbrunn Palace and St. Steven's Cathedral are among the most famous sites in a city unrivaled in its grandeur, but my favorite place in Vienna was the Hofburg Palace and its surrounding gardens. We walked around the massive building for what seemed like miles, amazed at the elaborate carvings and construction of each of its numerous entrances. The demographics of the tourist population that visits a particular city offer telling insight into that destination's character. The groups of hammered English guys that frequent Prague and the hordes of American teenagers that flock to Amsterdam speak to their respective reputations. Similarly, the older English and American couples that we encountered on the streets of Vienna reflect its quieter disposition. The cost of living might have also had something to do with the absence of college students...

Molly and I in front of the Hofburg Palace. Although we were only in Vienna for two nights, Molly brought 46 kilograms of clothes, boots, and other bags-and guess who carried it? However, pretending I was a fully loaded paratrooper about to jump made sightseeing much more entertaining...

A lack of sunlight in my own picture of the Schonbrunn Palace (below) didn't do the structure the visual justice it deserves. The first picture at the top of this post is an image from the internet and better represents its size and stately ora. The Hapsburgs had this obnoxious rule that once someone of Hapsburg blood stayed in a room for a night, no one from the family could reoccupy it, so the structure was under constant construction and expansion. My family has this obnoxious rule that once someone uses a plate or utensils, they must be washed before touching another Carpenter meal or mouth. I guess that wasn't haughty enough for Molly as she explicitly told me that it wouldn't be a difficult choice were she to find an Austrian prince. 

The birth and climax of classical music, personified by history's most renowned composers-Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, among others, all of whom spent most of their lives in the nurturing care of the Hapsburgs-occurred in Vienna. Molly and I had the opportunity to see a classical concert, and despite the fact that we were the youngest couple in the audience by at least fifteen years, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Although Molly had her heart set on Beethoven's Third Symphony in E Flat, the concert we had sufficed. Above to the left is the pedestrian sidewalk of the Ringstrasse, the circular boulevard that circumscribes Vienna's most important blocks, and to the right is a shot of one of the city's many Christmas markets.

Once again, apologies for such a belated post; final papers, exams, and a lack of internet in Italy have hindered my efforts to keep this blog updated. Even Molly's urging me to complete the Vienna post, which was "just about her," wasn't enough, but more is soon to come. Posts about our trip to a Czech ski town, my trip with Molly to Italy, and a reflection are forthcoming. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and safe travels throughout the Holiday season!