I have been meaning to write, really! I know this was a long pause, and I’ll try to do better from now on. However, I have taken enough spring impressions along the way to write this post.

There are two seasons I like best in Vienna: spring and fall. I haven’t decided which i like best, but they are perfect. When do you know it is really spring in Vienna? When the chestnuts have blossomed in the Prater:

Im Prater blühen wieder die Bäume
Es leuchtet ihr duftendes Grün
Drum küss, nur küss nicht seine
Denn Fühling ist wieder in Wien

Roughly translated this means: The trees are blossoming again in the Prater, their green is shining, therefore kiss because spring is once again in Vienna.

Well, the tree blossoms have come and gone, and to tell you the truth I have yet to visit the Prater this year. I mainly avoid it because the kid rides are a money pit and the moskitoes especially hungry this year. But if you get to Vienna, visiting the Prater is a must, riding the giant ferris wheel is a classic.

What I remember from this Vienna spring is walks in Schoenbrunn, strolls on Cobenzl and Am Himmel, a trip to Duernstein, and just watching buds explode into colors everywhere, and taking in the sun and the fresh spring smells. There are some pictures in the gallery that speak for themselves, the luxury carriage is on display in Liechtenstein Museum, where we spent one wonderful afternoon enjoying renaissance paintings and chamber music.

One more tip before you look at the pictures. Schoenbrunn is of course a main tourist attraction in Vienna, can’t really miss it. But if you go, make sure you take time for the botanical garden. My daily morning walk takes me through there and I can tell you it is wonderful in every season. Most tourists miss it because they see only the palace and the main gardens. The botanical garden is hidden, sort of on the edges of Schoenbrunn. You can reach it by taking a right in front of the main zoo entrance. There are signs of course, you just need to follow them. The walk takes you up a small hill, through small meadows and bushes, until you reach the Tiroler Garten, a little Tirol right in the middle of Vienna. There you must stop for melange and strudel and anything else your heart desires. This area is quiet, mostly known to the locals, and it will certainly be refreshing after escaping the tourist crowds. And remember, a true Viennese is never rushed when enjoying the benefits of a Schanigarten. Servus!

On Silvester (New Year’s Eve), where do you go to party if the Big Apple is too far away? Vienna of course! Say what you may about cranky Austrians, but they know how to party. New Year’s Eve is a big celebration pretty much all over Europe. In Vienna it is tradition and a grand scale event. Aside from the usuals, such as fireworks, fire crackers, champagne and food, there is the Silvesterpfad (the new year’s trail). The Viennese are not content partying at home or with friends in enclosed settings. So the entire downtown becomes the party place, literally. All the way from the Rathausplatz to the Stephansdom there are booths with everything for sale from the annoying Glücksbringer (good luck charms) in the form of pigs, horse shoes or clover leaves, to booze, to bratwurst, to cone hats, to laser lights, and many more things, too many to list here. On the Slivesterpfad you stroll from one booth to another, sipping a little Glühwein (mulled wine) here, eating some saussage or Maroni there, trying out pig shaped hats or swinging a laser light, all the while making merry with a bunch of strangers as the downtown fills up with people all the way up till midnight.

There are also stages set up along the way with various bands playing everything from classical to grunge. You can start practicing for the ball season at the Rathausplatz where they play all the Johann Strauss waltzes and you have to guess the name of the one they are just playing. In front of the Opera House is a bank of video screens showing popular operettas. Every year there are new highlights, new shows and new artists who come to entertain young and old. No less than 13 stages have been built this year. The highlight this year will be the Prater, welcoming the new year in front of the famous Viennese giant ferris wheel.

Dancing, twirling, eating, drinking or walking you finally make your way to the Stephansplatz, where you join others in throwing firecrackers and lighting diverse fireworks at midnight. If you have small children you should get out of downtown by 10pm or so, but if you don’t hold on tight to your clothes and other belongings and try and stay out of the range of fire. How they manage to not report loss of eye or limb this time of year I will never know. I have been told though that you should only wear your raggedy clothes to this event, as it is common to get them ripped off of you, depending on where you are when the clock strikes 12. As midnight approaches, the masses migrate towards Stephansdom. Just before the old year comes to an end, the music stops and the countdown begins, culminating in the booming chimes of the ‘Pummerin’ from the bell tower, to the accompaniment of Strauss’s Blue Danube as midnight passes. Then the sparkling wine corks pop and complete strangers joyfully wish each other a Happy New Year full of luck and happiness. And to get the year off to a good start, the crowds carry on partying until the early hours of the morning.

As it is fit for the world capital of music, the new year starts off with the traditional New Year’s Concert, at about 11am on January 1st. Those who have managed to get a ticket a year or two in advance (last week one ticket sold for over $1000!!) barely have time to run home and change and take in a caffeine breakfast so they don’t fall asleep to the soft rythm of the Strauss waltzes. And thus a whole new year has begun, this time it is 2006. May it bring us health and happiness and get us closer to peace! Prosit Neujahr!

We did finally manage to make it t0 a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) last weekend. And not just one, but two, just so we have something to compare. The first one was the lovely Weihnachtsmarkt in Belvedere. It is a quiet one, close to the palace gardens so that you can take a stroll once you are through with all the eating and drinking. There were some wonderful Christmas tree globes to behold, we couldn’t get enough. And the Glühwein was the best I had so far in Vienna.

Next we walked over to Karlsplatz where they have a local artists Weihnachtsmarkt. Over 10 years now the Christmas market in front of the Karlskirche is a trademark of high quality craftsmanship. With the baroque church setting in the background, many artists present their work and create a special atmosphere for this market. Coming from the Pacific NW I thought I saw everything when it comes to wood art, but let me tell you, Austrian artists KNOW wood. There were also beautiful hand-made candles, in all colors and shapes and crazy blue creatures. Colorful glass made into all kinds of light giving objects bewitched us to linger for a while. Nothing was missing from this market: old fashioned wooden toys, colorful knitted hats, crazy hats, jewerly, Christmas decorations, and of course all the yummy foods. Kids had a fun time playing in the hay, going on poney rides and the carousel. Only the freezing cold put an end to all this fun.

Back home, nice and warm, we baked cookies and listened to Charlie Brown Christmas music. Oh, it’s the most wonderful time of the year…... Two more weekends to go before Christmas, we’ll be back to report more holiday adventures from the Green Forest. Tschuess!