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The 17th November was the date that nineteen members of the HBA took the an Aer Lingus flight to Vienna. It was during a cold snap here, reading 2 degrees at Dublin airport, so in our wisdom we took extra clothing for the expected Austrian weather. When we arrived we found to our surprise it was 10 degrees! Our stay at the Hotel Kummer on Mariahilfer Strasse, for the weekend was very pleasant indeed and quite reasonably priced.
We negotiated out way through the city with the “Hop on / Hop off” tickets that can be used on the trains and the trams. The Christmas markets were in full swing during our stay. These markets are very big. They had vast displays of Christmas decorations – hundred of stalls all very nicely set up. While the ladies browsed around, some of the men folk sampled the mulled wine. The place was thronged with people and their children enjoying the Christmas spirit.
On Saturday some people decided to go shopping, while others took a boat trip on the Danube. Saturday night we dined at the Restaurant Donauturm (The Danube Tower). It is a rotating restaurant 152 meters high, giving us a clear night view of the city with its magnificent buildings and the great Danube River.
Our special event on Sunday morning was to attend the Church of St. Augustin to hear Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem. After Count Walsegg's wife died, he wanted to have two special memorials in her honour. One was a sculpture. The other was the Requiem, which was to be played annually on the anniversary of his wife's death. The Requiem was first performed in a memorial for the Count's wife on December 14, 1793. What a treat – this concelebrated Mass with a great choir was very moving. Mozart was born in 1756 and as this is his 250th Anniversary the shops were full of memorabilia in his honour.
Our trip included a visit to “Flanagan’s” Irish Bar and why not, especially as Ireland was playing in the Rugby match – with all eyes glued to the giant screen. After visiting many places of interest, the highlight was our evening of music at the Kursalon Wien. This elegant Italian renaissance style Theatre was built in 1865 by Johann Garben on the edge of the City Park. The concert consisted of Viennese classical music by Mozart & Strauss and included ballet and some superb opera singers- this was magnificent!
Our special thanks to Charlie and Bernie for organising such a wonderful, trouble free and enjoyable trip to Vienna and a reminder to Andrew & Cathy who are the elected organisers of our 2007 end of season trip – the standard is very high!
© Bernadette Quinn
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