Vienna waits for youuuuuu (cue Billy Joel’s song on repeat all weekend).
About a month ago, I was able to meet up in Vienna with two girlfriends I met in Serbia in 2020. It was so wonderful to see them again and I love how we have continued to keep in touch.
It was also awesome to be able to visit Austria for the first time!
About Austria
History
Austria was ruled by the Habsburg family for six centuries. Emperor Franz Joseph I, who ruled for 68-years, and his beloved wife Elisabeth, known as “Sisi,” really shaped the image of Austrian imperial rule. There are movies, plays and shows (including Netflix’s 2022 “The Empress”) about Sisi because she was beautiful, unconventional, and independent. In fact, watching the movie trilogy “Sisi” from the 1950s is a Christmas tradition in Austria and Germany (much like watching “Love Actually”).
People
Our tour guide described Austrians as direct, short and punctuational like their German neighbors in the north, mixed with some of the more relaxed attributes of Italians to their south.
Austrians speak German.
Famous Austrians:
- Johann Strauss: “King of Waltz.” A composer famous for his Viennese waltzes and operettas.
- Sigmund Freud: founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, lived and worked in Vienna for 47 years before he had to flee from the Nazis in 1938.
- Adolf Hitler: most people don’t know that Hitler was actually born and lived in Austria in the beginning of his life (not Germany).
- Mozart: lived in at least a dozen different places throughout Vienna.
- Gustav Klimt: painter and representative of Art Nouveau (an international style of art with intricate linear designs and flowing curves) and cofounder of the Viennese Secession, which challenged the state’s restrictions on artistic expression.
Food
- Wiener Schnitzel: the national dish of Austria. A thin, breaded, and fried veal cutlet served with a lemon slice. There are now pork and chicken varieties. Interestingly, the dish actually originated in Venice, Italy. Of course, I had to try this, but unsurprisingly it was not my favorite.
- Sacher Torte: This cake is a household named in Austria and is served everywhere, but the recipe for the Original Sacher-Torte is a well-kept secret, known only to confectioners at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. It’s essentially a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam with a chocolate glaze. We tried this and it was delicious.
- Apfelstrudel: the oldest known apple strudel recipe dates back to 1697 and survives today in a handwritten cookbook in the Vienna Town Hall Library.
Politics
Today Austria is a democratic republic with a president-elect.
Austria is bound to neutrality by the 1955 Austrian State Treaty and its constitution, so they will never join a military alliance or allow foreign troops into Austria.
Spying
Dating all the way back to the Cold War, Austria is a top location for global espionage.
Vienna is home to one of the headquarters of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). These provide both diplomatic immunity and cover for spies. Austria’s neutrality pledge also plays a factor in making Vienna a “spying hotspot.”
Theater
The Vienna State Opera is one of the top operas in the world, with a different program every day. The Vienna Opera house features 50 operas and 20 ballet performances per season!
Riding School
The Spanish Riding School aims to preserve the classic training of Lipizzaner horses (white stallions). These performances in the Hofburg (former imperial palace) are also a major tourist attraction.
Overall, we had a great time in Vienna. It was so easy to walk around or metro anywhere and there was a lot to see and do.
The Jo Show 