Tucked modestly in the heart of Europe is the country
of Austria. It is a land of wonders, where forests and lakes are the
main features of this small country on any atlas or map. Austria truly
is a nation of balance and harmony. Forests may be the breath of fresh
air that invigorates the spirit of the nation, but the heart of it
beats enthusiastically in the capital city. Vienna.
Vienna is a cocktail of different experiences. It’s
where the old and new collide that ends up creating something truly
unique. Vienna is enraptured with its elegant past, which is beyond
apparent when strolling down the broad avenues and small cloistered
side streets. Statues seem to be around every corner that peer down
upon the onlooker as if to remind them that so much has happened in
this city.
Many capitals throughout Europe are famous for their
striking architecture, but there is something about the grand buildings
of Vienna that are different. They are majestic yet understated, stately
yet friendly, and all at the same time. For cinema fans its also hard to
imagine Vienna without occasionally seeing it through the trademark
Dutch angle of the classic film “The Third Man.” A cocktail of the senses
indeed.
Vienna is full of museums and buildings that echo its
past, but the city is also looking toward its bright future. Strauss’
Beautiful Blue Danube may be ringing in certain areas of the city,
but in other parts feature modern and vibrate nightclubs that are
blaring the latest in Euro dance music, fueled by the caffeinated
energy of Red Bull. A native Austrian product that has since
enveloped the rest of the world.
The transportation system in Europe is the finest
in the world, which makes getting to Vienna easier than ever. If one
is on a grand tour, Austria has an excellent rail system and a
modernist train station within Vienna itself that looks like it was
designed by a group of futurists from a Brahaus school of design.
At the end of the day, Vienna is not a city that can
be broken down into individual components. It can only be understood
like a grand painting hanging in a national gallery; when one looks
upon Vienna in the sense of the big picture, then finally the true
beauty of the city can be seen.
