Reflections

We leave Vienna tomorrow, and today being the last Sunday before Christmas, all but the Christmas Markets are closed and the city has a very slow and relaxed day. Our plan is to head down to the main parklands in the city centre (Stadt Park), before a final visit to the markets around the Schonbrunn Palace this afternoon.

It seems a good time to reflect on the visit to Vienna. We've been staying in Singerstrasse, a street in the First District that radiates away from Stephensplatz, the site of Stephensdom which is a magnificent medieval cathedral and just a 3-4 min walk up the street. Vienna is – to an Australian - an interesting juxtaposition of history and modernity. The formal order and unrelenting timeless stylishness of the older buildings contrasts with more modern glass extensions and the very modern inhabitants. This combination of modern life in a ancient setting is very normal in European cities which have evolved over hundreds of years – but totally out of the ordinary for Australia, where the opportunity for such a long architectural history has not yet developed. For those who know King St in Perth, that is a reasonable approximation of a Viennese 1st District street – except it needs to be narrower, with less regular paving, and 5 storey buildings on both sides.

The Austrian people have a reputation for severity, and that certainly seems to be the case. There is no hostility, but also little overt politeness except in active social exchanges. I wonder if it is partly because of the insularity that coldness tends to inspire, but is I gather more prevalent in Austria than other countries, and so there must be more to it than that. One good thing is that the general lack of concern shown to you by others occasionally allows you to be a little that way yourself when you want.

The language barrier has been less of an issue than might be expected. Justine's parents have noticed a much greater prevalence of English on this visit, both spoken and printed. We have generally been able to communicate very basic universal concepts (eg: 2 chocolate croissants) with basic German utterances and pointing – but to be honest there have been few times where the English of the people we encounter has not been almost embarrassingly good. Aidan has found it odd that Mum and Dad can't understand all the language, and in the taxi from the airport he launched into his full Indonesian repertoire as being the only non-English reference point he knew of.

All in all it has been an interesting visit. Last time I was here it was blanketed by several feet of snow, so to see it cold but snow-free has been a nice 'change'. It is notable how much more bitter the cold of daytime maximum temps of only a few degrees is compared to max's of even 8-12 that we get in Canberra. I think the cold, grey and rain really add to the experience, even if I am not sure you would want it all the time!

Tomorrow we had off to St Gilgen's near Salzburg for christmas. I'm not sure how good the internet access will be from here on – the cable connection in our room has been very handy so far! Will update the blog as and when I get the chance from now on.