A key attraction is the Prater Wheel - a massive ferris wheel that's been there for decades - way before any Millennium Wheel. The view from up here is amazing - and dispels all notions of Vienna as a baroque city stuck in some time warp. Beyond the gorgeous inner suburbs lies a thoroughly modern city, with factories, power plants, huge hospitals that dominate the skyline and, tucked behind the Cathedral of St Francis of Assissi (see pic below), the UN megalith. And, as you can see, a dense mix of smog and fog. I'd love to come back some sunny day and see how much is actually pollution. I guess this is the 'dirty' and resource hungry side of intensely concentrated population that as tourists, we seldom see. Its a sobering thought - because even in our urban centres (Melbourne, Sydney) it's possible to get out of town in under an hour and see areas where human incursion is minimal. Europe has been so settled for so long, that the human presence dominates the landscape - everywhere is cleared and settled, farmed, mined or, just sometimes, reserved as carefully tended public open space. I'm not homesick, but I have a new appreciation of home, and how important it is to preserve what we have there...
Idealistic moment over, after the wheel, we went for hot chocolate, and tourist shopping. Vienna's favourite historical figures - Mozart and 'Sissi' (Kaiserin Elisabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Josef, more about her later) are everywhere... on teacups, chocolates, liquers...
Back in the inner city, I finally indulged my craving for schnitzel, at the very laid back 'Einstein' - aptly named as it's a fave hangout for students at the local university. Good student prices too ($A8 for a schnitzel with potato salad and horseradish carrot, and $A5 daily specials - orroit!).
Alex is full of uni stories today... later in the afternoon, he tells me that classes for history students are held INSIDE the Hofburg, the truly awesome Habsburg palace that features about 8 major wings and is now home to the national library, Spanish riding school, no less than 3 churches, a bunch of museums, and still hosts all the major state functions for the city. Photos can never do this place justice... you have to walk around it, through it and get totally lost in it to appreciate that this was the home of ONE FAMILY (and their five thousand nearest and dearest relatives, friends, retainers and trusted servants) for over 600 years. Nevertheless, I've tried - the pic below shows part of the 'New Palace', which was only ever half finished (!!), and which comprises only about 15% of the total...
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