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tcpipThe last morning in Zurich was spent at the Swiss Landesmuseum, conveniently located across from the Hauptbanhof. This massive, sprawling combination of joined old (historicist French Renaissance) and new buildings includes an excellent collection of local archeological finds, Swiss history content to modern events, various weaponary from the early modern period, as well as well-appointed rooms of the wealthy. It is probably one of the highlights of Zurich and a good way to finish the trip there before taking a flight to Vienna. If time permitted the six-hour train trip probably would have been preferable, but as it was the Swiss Air flight was pleasant enough.
From Zurich the next stop was Vienna, staying in the Hotel Geblergasse, which is utterly spacious and affordable following Zurich. The area is densely populated, with a heavy migrant and working-class population. Anarchist and communist stickers are plastered everywhere and the hotel itself has characters from many walks of life. Like much of what is seen around the inner region of Vienna, it could certainly with a bit more foliage, which contrasts to the surrounds of the well-provided Innere Stadt, which itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for very good reason. Vienna is certainly the most "old European" city, with astounding baroque buildings everywhere. One could spend a lifetime or several in such a place.
Home of a multitude of famous musicians, it is nicknamed "the city of music" and it is appropriate to visit the central cemetery, Wiener Zentralfriedhof, for the gravesides of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, the Strauss family etc, as well as contemporaries such as Falco and Kurt Hauenstein. The Viennesse have a little joke, of their cemetery Halb so groß wie Zürich, aber doppelt so lustig ist der Wiener Zentralfriedhof"
("half the size of Zurich, but twice as much fun"). Also of note is the location of Carl Schweighofer, of the piano-manufacturer family, which featured on the great 1980s hit by Ultravox, "Vienna". As a deep fan of said band, the opportunity to have a photo taken at that location could not be passed up. I also gave my respects to the great psychologists, Viktor Frankl and Alfred Adler.
The following day was an attempt to visit some of the major sights of the Inner Stadt. This included St. Stephen's Cathedral, and a tour of the crypt, notable for containing some 12000 skeletons, mostly of people who died of the plague. When the smell became too much, prisoners were lowered into the pit to dismember the corpses. Afterwards it was a visit to the delicious Globenmuseum (flat-earther hell), and the small but charming Esperantomuseum. There was a Esperanto-word-building Pacman game which I was doing pretty well at, but had to leave for time considerations. Finally it was a visit to the truly beautiful Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, which had a special exhibition on the works of Emperor Maximilan I, being the 500th anniversary of his death.
That night was a visit to the Wiener Staatsoper (State Opera) to see Jules Massenet's Werther, and we were dressed up appropriately. The Opera itself is a truly delightful building and caters to people of all sorts of financial circumstances (best seats for the rich, standing room for the poor). Massenet's adoption of Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, is faithful to the key themes of that story. Performed in French (as one would expect) the Opera also has individual screens for subtitles, including in French itself so one can follow along. Alas, the presentation in that language was not centered and truncated some sentences. Peering at the English translations, I can see that they were sometimes pretty cavalier with their interpretations in that language. Nevertheless, a great performance overall in an astounding location.
From Zurich the next stop was Vienna, staying in the Hotel Geblergasse, which is utterly spacious and affordable following Zurich. The area is densely populated, with a heavy migrant and working-class population. Anarchist and communist stickers are plastered everywhere and the hotel itself has characters from many walks of life. Like much of what is seen around the inner region of Vienna, it could certainly with a bit more foliage, which contrasts to the surrounds of the well-provided Innere Stadt, which itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for very good reason. Vienna is certainly the most "old European" city, with astounding baroque buildings everywhere. One could spend a lifetime or several in such a place.
Home of a multitude of famous musicians, it is nicknamed "the city of music" and it is appropriate to visit the central cemetery, Wiener Zentralfriedhof, for the gravesides of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, the Strauss family etc, as well as contemporaries such as Falco and Kurt Hauenstein. The Viennesse have a little joke, of their cemetery Halb so groß wie Zürich, aber doppelt so lustig ist der Wiener Zentralfriedhof"
("half the size of Zurich, but twice as much fun"). Also of note is the location of Carl Schweighofer, of the piano-manufacturer family, which featured on the great 1980s hit by Ultravox, "Vienna". As a deep fan of said band, the opportunity to have a photo taken at that location could not be passed up. I also gave my respects to the great psychologists, Viktor Frankl and Alfred Adler.
The following day was an attempt to visit some of the major sights of the Inner Stadt. This included St. Stephen's Cathedral, and a tour of the crypt, notable for containing some 12000 skeletons, mostly of people who died of the plague. When the smell became too much, prisoners were lowered into the pit to dismember the corpses. Afterwards it was a visit to the delicious Globenmuseum (flat-earther hell), and the small but charming Esperantomuseum. There was a Esperanto-word-building Pacman game which I was doing pretty well at, but had to leave for time considerations. Finally it was a visit to the truly beautiful Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, which had a special exhibition on the works of Emperor Maximilan I, being the 500th anniversary of his death.
That night was a visit to the Wiener Staatsoper (State Opera) to see Jules Massenet's Werther, and we were dressed up appropriately. The Opera itself is a truly delightful building and caters to people of all sorts of financial circumstances (best seats for the rich, standing room for the poor). Massenet's adoption of Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, is faithful to the key themes of that story. Performed in French (as one would expect) the Opera also has individual screens for subtitles, including in French itself so one can follow along. Alas, the presentation in that language was not centered and truncated some sentences. Peering at the English translations, I can see that they were sometimes pretty cavalier with their interpretations in that language. Nevertheless, a great performance overall in an astounding location.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-23 10:21 am (UTC)Sounds a blast.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-23 12:04 pm (UTC)But if you get any chance at all, I can highly recommend Vienna (as if fairly obvious).
"And I'll Dance With You in Vienna.."
Date: 2019-10-26 03:05 pm (UTC)I'm really getting a vicarious enjoyment from you trip. I visited most of these cities, but literally decades ago, so the recollections are a bit sketchy (also didn't visit all of the sites you've mentioned).
Vienna, is one of the repositories/well-springs of Western culture, on par with Paris and Rome, even if not usually thought of in the same category.
Re: "And I'll Dance With You in Vienna.."
Date: 2019-10-27 09:53 am (UTC)Vienna is really quite wonderful, I get the sense that it has seen it all, and stands dignified and unfazed.
Glad that the posts are providing enjoyment.
Re: "And I'll Dance With You in Vienna.."
Date: 2019-10-28 05:20 pm (UTC)I saw him in Montreal not long before he died. Some people were complaining that “his voice wasn’t what it was.” Yeah, I guess in his 80’s, his voice wasn’t quite as good as in his 40’s, which only made it more moving than almost every other singer on the planet. Canada just issued commemorative stamps with him on them.
Re: "And I'll Dance With You in Vienna.."
Date: 2019-10-30 12:42 am (UTC)There's a nice article about the stamps here which features a rather impressive mural
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/canada-post-to-unveil-leonard-cohen-commemorative-stamp-to-mark-late-singers-birthday
Re: "And I'll Dance With You in Vienna.."
Date: 2019-10-31 11:58 am (UTC)There’s a smaller mural of him, maybe 1-2 story high, that’s been there for years. A local thing, probably the owner of the building paid someone to do it. There are a few of these local murals around. Sorry, can’t find any pix of them, but I think they make a nice touch for the cityscape.