Christmas is the best time to discover Vienna and the magic of its feast. For Christmas, Viennese streets are dressed up in their best garments and adornments. Joy and the feeling of an approaching miracle in the air makes you think that you are in a beautiful dream.
Suzanna Fatyan │susanna202001@yahoo.com
The splendid Christmas feast is approaching! If you plan a trip for the Christmas holidays, you should visit a city where you will feel the true magic of this moment, and such a city is Vienna!
Vienna is the place associated with Habsburg’s palaces, amazing balls, the aroma from splendid coffee houses, sophisticated desserts, and a feeling of everlasting feast. In Vienna you discover Schiele, Kokoschka, Klimt – artists that completely change your perception and vision of art. You listen to the music of Mozart, Haydn, Strauss, Beethoven… and suddenly find yourself in another, absolutely magnificent world. You get lost in the Viennese streets and understand that only the special spirit of this city could give birth to so many genius people, philosophical ideas, and charming melodies. Only in Vienna could it be possible to accumulate and create an incredible number of masterpieces in all of the existing arts.
Vienna might be visited four seasons of the year; however, Christmas is the best time to discover this magnificent city and magic of its feast. For Christmas, Viennese streets are dressed up in their best garments and adornments. Joy and the feeling of an approaching miracle in the air makes you think that you are in a beautiful dream.
Christmas markets invite you to try flavoured mulled wine, punch, traditional sausages, colourful ginger bread, sugar glazed nuts, sweet pancakes… They also attract your attention with beautiful stained glass candleholders, Christmas tree decorations, cute angels and other attributes of Christmas. When you look at this splendour you realise that everything Viennese people create and touch is marked with the love, care and warmth of their hands and hearts, that traditions were grown and preserved here for centuries.
Viennese museums and palaces require several visits to absorb their numerous treasures. The Belvedere will impress you with the unforgettable and passionate “Kiss” by Gustav Klimt and other major works of the great artist. The Leopold Museum will amaze you with most famous works by Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka. The Kunsthistorisches Museum will introduce you to masterpieces of Veronese, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens. Moreover, the Museum has one the world’s major collection of Egyptian artefacts and an interesting collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. In the Hofburg Palace you can learn about Empress Sisi, visit the Imperial Apartments and learn about the amazing Imperial receptions. The Schönbrunn Palace will attract you not only with its rich ornamentation but also with its master class in baking the fabulous apple strudel, and the Christmas Market in its surroundings. Gifted architects with amazing projects were always welcomed in Vienna, the house of Hundertwasser is an example of Viennese openness to innovative ideas.
Names of genius musicians are synonymous with Vienna. Mozart is the greatest among them. Hermann Hesse even wrote that with the name of Mozart it is possible to replace the sun in the sky. Mozart is a symbol of absolute beauty and spirituality. We are used to hearing him in concert halls, but in Vienna he is everywhere, even in the most modest of places. This does not make him simple and casual, rather it raises everything in Vienna to a height set by the composer. Visiting Viennese Opera and famous Viennese balls is affordable for everyone! However, the last are usually held in February. At Christmas, enjoying music of the great composers, you experience emotions that completely change your inside world and make you more sensitive and delicate to everything happening around you.On Christmas Eve, an unforgettable impression leaves Stephansdom (St.Stephen’s Cathedral). Christmas Mass and classical music in the monumental gothic Cathedral inspire people to visit Vienna every winter.Coffee houses have a special role in the atmosphere of splendid Vienna. Writers, philosophers, artists never left them without attention. They visited coffee
houses to meet people, debate, discuss events of the artistic world like, for example, in the legendary Café Central. At Christmas, Viennese coffee houses become even more attractive. They display unbelievable desserts in their windows in a way that never leaves you indifferent.Sachertorte, apple strudel, hazelnut torte, marzipan are only few among well-known specialties of Vienna. Viennese chocolatiers and confectioners are so skilful that even if you visit coffee house every day, you can still find something special and unknown.
The coffees you discover in Vienna transform you into the greatest admirer of the fragrant drink. Already after a few hours spent in this city you realise that there is a true cult of coffee in Viennese culture!
Famous Aida, Café Central, Café Sacher, Café Havelka and even the modest bakeries and coffee spots in subways will make your ‘coffee ceremony’ memorable.
I could describe the delights and highlights of Vienna for hours. But I am sure that if you visit this exquisite city, you can try, hear and discover everything for yourself. I imagine your excitement at Christmas Eve, from the brilliance above your heads, crowds rushing to Stephansdom and eternal music.
Thank you, Vienna! I will dream about you!
Suzanna Fatyan, Contributing writer
Suzanna is from a city of Oriental fairy tales – Samarkand in Uzbekistan. She studied English language and literature in Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages for BA. In 2008, Suzanna graduated MA Euroculture from Jagiellonian University in Krakow and Deusto University, San Sebastian. Suzanna works as tour guide in Samarkand, writes blog for Uzbek Journeys in Australia and travels as much as possible.
The Euroculturer 