Art in Vienna: living in it, looking at it

"My first entrance into the marketplace brought a shock of cheerful sensation. It was like the bursting into life of a Flemish picture." - Dorothy Wordsworth, English author and poet (1771-1855)

Day #2 in Vienna turns out to be colder and windier than Day #1. Mary Ann and I begin the day with hiking a few blocks to find the noted Nachtmarkt, an open air market that stretches for several blocks near the historic center of the city. You enter the market on the "food" area of the markt which beckons with stall after stall of cheeses, olives, spices, fruits, nuts, sausages, wild game, pastas and grains. As you continue walking, you soon find yourself in the "everything else" area. What greets your eyes,ears and nostrils is a feast of color, sound, and motion as the Viennese and random, curious tourist make their way through the tableau of tables and vendors that call out to you. Flea markets of the European variety are nothing like their tackier American cousins; they proffer a veritable kaleideskope of wares that tempt and fascinate, mixing the mundane necessities of life with the uniquely collectible. I don't think I've ever been in one market where you can buy accordions and underwear, vintage mink coats and mandolins, cookware and Christmas ornaments, World War II memorabilia and music, books and beer, wurst and weapons, pearls and paintings, liederhosen and linens. Mary Ann finds her ubersouvenir, an antique ring, while I pick up some much needed gloves to guard against the cold and a traditional copper cake mold that now adorns my kitchen potrack. Like a painting come to life, the Nachtmarkt captures an important facet of Viennese life.

Warmed anew with a coffee we bought in the Nachtmarkt, we set out to see a few sights with Leo, a university student and member of the church at whose invitation we're in Vienna. We take a brisk and shivering walking tour of the city center, seeing city hall, the national library, and various government buildings, all in that ubiquitous mix of Baroque and Gothic Revival style -- gold gilt, cherubs, mythological creatures, filigreed spires, something for the eye to see at every corner in a dazzling display of granite and marble.



We spend a couple hours inside the Kunsthistorisches Museum or Austria's Museum of Art History. Ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek art as well as well known works by Raphael, Bruegel, Rembrandt, Velazquez make their home here. What began as a showplace for the collections of the Hapsburg dynasty has grown to be a national treasure trove. Like the Louvre in Paris or the Uffizi in Florence, the Kunsthistorisches building itself (a former Hapsburg palace) is worth seeing in its own right.

We end the day with a typical meal of wiener schnitzel, hot potato salad, red cabbage, and apfelstrudel at a little restaurant recommended by Leo.Wunderbar! Why do so many of my travel memories revolve around food? :-)