A Saturday Evening in Vienna

Vienna is the classical music capital of the world and any trip to the city, without watching a concert or an opera, is incomplete. We were privileged to watch a concert on Saturday night at the Wiener Musikverein, the home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. That night, there was a wonderful performance by the Birmingham Chamber Music Orchestra.

We expected the opulent and elegant concert hall, which hosts a very famous New Year Concert, to have a reasonably large audience but the place was actually filled to capacity. Dress codes are not necessarily the norm and it's not the snobbish elite that goes for such a concert, but it did feel odd to be dressed in casuals, when the place was full of classical music connoisseurs dressed for the occasion.

The chandeliers in the concert hall reminded me of the Belgian chandeliers in the Durbar Hall of the Udaipur City Palace. As the band played away, I couldn't help but feel that I was transported back to the time of the Habsburg Dynasty. This was another world, a tradition well preserved, right down to a drink of sparkling white wine just before the start.

As the concert came to a close, the knowledgeable audience in one of the most beautiful concert halls on earth gave a standing ovation to the orchestra. This concert was one of the highlights of my fortnight in Europe.

Vienna: A city of coffee houses

When it comes to warm beverages, coffee defeats tea hands down in Vienna. The Viennese do love their coffee and a nice cake to go with it. Coffee houses are institutions in Vienna that go a long way back. Once you order a cup of coffee, you can get as many refills of drinking water as you want. The idea is to get some coffee and read a complete selection of newspapers.

Cafe Pruckel has Die Presse and Das Bild, to go with several German and foreign newspapers, including the Financial Times. Each of Vienna's great coffee houses reek of character and have a well-preserved old world charm. I tried Pruckel, Cafe Landstadt and Cafe Sperl and my pick of the three is Cafe Sperl by a landslide.

Old World Charm: Sperl

Cafe Sperl serves the delicious Viennese Sacher Torte to go with excellent coffee, served rather lukewarm. I love the interiors of Sperl and I feel like I am in another, more elegant world. I honestly have to say that Sperl is my favourite cafe on the planet now.

Sacher Torte: More than a cake!

The cafe is another jewel in the Viennese crown. I was told of several other coffee houses in the city but obviously 3 days wasn't enough to try them all. Oddly enough, Vienna's Cafe Coffee Day is popular for those who want South Indian coffee and Indian snacks. 

Pet Dogs and Austrians

Gunter was away from beloved home town of Graz but still pleased to be in Vienna at the advent of spring. The last traces of snow had melted and it was a gorgeous Sunday with temperatures climbing over 20 degrees. The good and warm days were ahead.

Unlike in the streets of Bombay and Delhi, Gunter wouldn't have to deal with his worst enemies: the stray dogs. Vienna had none. What freedom to own the streets and not worry about these mutts, Gunter thought as he walked the streets of the Austrian capital.

The Viennese were civilized enough to mind their dogs and keep them in check. They even went a step further and cleaned up after the canines. Why on earth someone would want to keep these dumb, dirty, ugly and aggresive creatures was beyond Gunter. Each time he passed the "Hunde Salon" near the San Stephan Cathedral, Gunter would feel a degree of digust and contempt. This was something that he couldn't change about Vienna.

After a lazy and long lunch, Gunter felt it was time to go for a walk in the glorious garden in the Belvedere Palace Compound. He basked in the sunlight that fought off any hint of clouds. This was a great Sunday, he thought until he heard a strange noise in the garden. It was the unmistakable bark of a poodle.

Angry, Gunter looked at it, exchanging the meanest of glances. Did the mutt or its owners read the sign that said "Hunde Verboten?" As the barks grew louder, Gunter, who was in no mood for a fight, gave a dirty look to the mutt and the law-breaking criminals that brought it inside one of the treasured gardens of the Habsburg Empire.

"I think that dog should be shot," Gunter said. "They all should be... Stray or pets, Indian or Austrian." 

Images from Vienna/Wien

The city is like one giant 5-star hotel: elegant, opulent, stately and grand. Here are some images from my wonderful time in the city.

Those nasty and mean Viennese

I spent a few days in the Austrian capital and I must confess, everything I heard about the nasty Viennese is true.

Let me cite a few examples:

When we reached the city centre from the airport and asked for directions from a stranger on the street, the man actually went out of his way and walked us to the famous Cafe Pruckel. The mean person wanted to know about Bombay and how life is in India these days. He talked about how beautiful Indian culture is and how he would like to visit the country sometime. He was so nasty that he even offered to wait with us outside the cafe until our friend turned up! What an awful way to start a trip to the Land of Mozart!

Then there was the bicylist who nearly knocked me over on a sidewalk. What nerve did that man have to nearly hit a foreigner who was walking on a bicycles only lane? Not only did he apologise but stopped his bicycle ahead to check if I was alright! When he saw a thumbs up for me and a smile, he rode on. What a bad guy!

These evil people of Vienna. They smile all the time. Young or old people, whether you see them on the street or in a tram. They smile at you and say Guten Morgen or Guten Abend. I am sure the pretty girl sitting next to me in the tram to Belvedere was exhibiting her meanness with that charming smile. These Viennese!!! They even make an attempt to respond to questions in English when asked in German!

Oh yes, the service culture is so bad at the cafes like Landtmann, Pruckel and Sperl that you get great coffee, desserts and snacks for reasonable prices and rather quickly from polite employees.

It's good that I set my expectations low after warnings from my friends and from the movie 'Before Sunrise.' Else I would have been saddened with the hostility of the people of Vienna!! NOTTTT!

I LOVE YOU, VIENNA!!!! You are one of the friendliest cities on earth. Thank you for your warmth, courtesy and welcoming nature!

Final thoughts on Italy

While having dinner with a few friends in Rome, I spoke optimistically about India's future and its great economic prospects. The Italians didn't have anything close to that optimism for their own country. "Ours is a civilization on the decline," said a writer from Naples. Post-war reconstruction was done with by the 1960s, political reconciliation by the late-1980s and unprecedented wealth came in with the European Union. They said that India was "fortunate enough" to have so much left to be done in...

There are still a few things that can be done in Europe, and Italy in particular. Yes, it is a rich country, but you do see beggars and homeless people. And no, not all of them are from Eastern Europe. Being homeless or living in a cardboard shack in tropical Bombay is one thing but facing similar conditions in the cold is another.

I do believe that the right policies can revive the economy in Italy and bring about some more optimism. We'll just have to see whether Signor Monti can think beyond the "cuts, cuts, cuts" that the Germans want.

It wasn't without sadness that I took that flight to Vienna from Florence. Italy is a country I fell in love with at first sight. It was so easy to fit in, blend in and just be me...

Images of Florence

Florence is truly one of the most beautiful cities on earth.