Austria - Vienna city of my dreams

Heaven, Vienna mine
I'm in the spell of your charms divine
Dressed like a queen, with life so gay.
You are the love of my heart today (link).

Music is our life lately...another wonderful concert -this time in Vienna at the beautiful Auersperg Palace being entertained by orchestra, ballet and opera from Mozart and Strauss and played by the Vienna Residence Orchestra. (above picture). It is our mission to embrace the musical culture for which Vienna is famous for.

We have ditched the car and am now using the railway as our preferred mode of transport. It takes a bit of mind work to assimilate with the Austrian town names. Fortunately the railway system is logical and punctual so there is no real issue in navigation.

Caroline: "Vivaldi's Four Seasons came to life in this acoustically perfect Church and showed off the brilliance of solo violinist Dimitris Karakantas. We were also treated to the rare beauty of a male soprano voice in between the movements of Vivaldi's masterpiece. What a superb evening ." (we saw Dimitris Karakantas in Salzburg as well)

Outside the building glows in delight with this and the many fine performances before it.

On our travels we meet various people, sometimes details are exchanged. 5 years ago Christoph and I ascended the trails in Nepal to lake Tilicho - see link. Today we meet in Austria and walk on the range near Preiner Gscheid in the Rax. The hills were alive with blooms, air was good, legs got a good workout, glad to catch up on those random interceptions of friendship.

The ascent gave us a good work out, for me especially due to the weeks of touring without a great deal of exercise.

I had to repeat the now traditional jump:

more or less started in Nepal:

Surprise me: there is a lodge up here serving food and beverages. The local farmers provide the stock so there are interesting local delicacies and dishes.

The bier ist gut !

Whilst Christoph and I were off hiking, Caroline wanted to see the horses. Fine steeds the were too.

and the estate somewhat above my pay rate - just to look after the garden alone.

Vienna city is a hot place in the summer. There is not much in the way of trees to offer shade and the buildings are a reflective white.

Many of the famed composers have either lived or performed here.

In Salzburg we enjoyed the concert / dinner style of entertainment and were not disappointed with this one in Vienna with a combination of music and singing along with a bit of acting.

Just looking at the food makes me hungry.

We hired a bicycle and explored the city and an island on the river Danube

Melbourne is considering elevated rail in places around the city so I was interested in the aesthetic of this one. It looks a lot better than ballast and ironwork holding power cables and frees up the space for pedestrian thoroughfare. The rail noise was not noticeable.

An amusement park required a ride participant. I am not sure that it was a wise impetuous move; I think I still have a reeling stomach.

The ride along the river was an adventure. We wend our way down a lofty bridge and its curving ramp.

To the paths on the island below. Here I went to the river side to was my hands after some dripping food soiled them. For whatever reason, I overbalanced and ended up in the drink. Luckily it was a hot day ! The river has quite a current, luckily when I fell in I was able to swim back and scramble up the somewhat steep bank.

The Danube is not a pretty river with its banks decorates with industry, bridges, buildings and large boats.

Back in the city there are traffic lights specifically for cyclists.

It is time to move on to our next and final country - Hungary. We say our goodbyes to Christoph and feel good with all the experiences of culture and adventure that we have had in Austria.