Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Vienna, Vienna, city of my childhood, grouchy charm that makes me feel so good in some strange way. There is nothing like the feeling of walking in the streets of your home country, where everything about you makes sense, even if you feel you don’t belong completely anymore. You have chosen to split yourself in half, a part of you will always stay, the other part is on a life long journey to the heart of what is you.

Vienna has been home to many great people in history, hence the beautiful old buildings all over the city, like the Opera house (Staatsoper), which was built in 1869 and is hosting the most beautiful and world-renowned opera productions.

But not only the big, impressive buildings are what makes Vienna so gorgeous, most of all it’s the tiny streets and hidden squares, like Franziskanerplatz with its charming Kleines Café (Little Café).

Apart from eating and drinking coffee (which are the 2 most popular activities in Austria), there is lots of amazing music and literature to explore, old and new, I love spending hours in book stores … These are 2 artists that have had a huge impact on me, Thomas Bernhard and Gustav Mahler. This exhibition deals with the question of being Austrian – which has been a controversial issue for many artists, especially after WW2, where Austria was declared the first victim of the Nazi regime, while in fact most people at the time where not at all that critical towards it and happily joined in. (mostly out of extreme poverty after WW1 and hoping to find work) Many of Austria’s most influential artists, musicians, writers, thinkers and scientists were Jewish. Therefore the academic and artistic landscape changed dramatically during and after the war.

There is definitely a lot going on in the city’s nightlife, but I feel that it takes some time to find out about the right spots to go, which is hard to do when you don’t live there. There are definitely plenty of great DJs around, some of which you can experience in Museumsquartier, which is mainly a cluster of art museums, but is turning more and more into a popular hang-out spot at night as well.

But definitely one of the best things to do in Vienna in the summer is just walk around in the center (around Stephansplatz) and eat ice cream. It’s the best!

If you want to get out of the city to see some pretty nature and really old-school Austria, go to Walviertel in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria). I got a chance to visit this small village Kirchbach this time, and it was amazing. SO needed after months and months of NYC air!

This is the local, authentic grocery store:

Refreshed and recharged, just when I was getting comfortable, my return flight was awaiting me with gruesome food and corny movies … not too bad though that the movie took place in NYC … got me ready to dive back into the city life and rock on …

Hope to see you at Bar Next Door this Monday, 7/19, where I will be singing with Aaron Goldberg (keys) and Thomas Morgan (bass).

Sunny Wishes from here to there – wherever you are,
Maria

Vienna photos by Ursula Schmitz (except for Museumsquartier)