Something to Declare

(Billy Joel)

Upcoming Travels with Stan and Stef. Vienna, July 11 – 21, 2024

We were originally going to try for an alliterative title using words like “Waltz” and “Wienerschnitzel.” But then we came across an article in American Songwriter about an old Billy Joel tune, “Vienna Waits for You,” released in 1977. The backstory is that Joel was visiting his estranged father (then living in Vienna). The father drew a distinction between the U.S. (where older adults tend to be “thrown away”) and Europe (where seniors continue to have a purpose).

So, as Older Adults, it seemed like Vienna beckoned.

Actually, Vienna has always been on my bucket list. I tend to be attracted to places where cultures meet, clash and meld (or all three). Like Alsace-Lorraine, which has been German and French, French and German, and vice-versa, so many times that your head spins. Same with Sardinia and Sicily, which have been Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Vandal, Ostrogoth, Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Italian, whatever.

In my previous series of posts from Poland, “Back in the Shtetl Again,” I noted that my paternal grandmother (Yetta) claimed that she was, by birth, “Austrian.” And I noted that this was something of a stretch: When Grandma left to come to America, “Austria” was practically all of central Europe.

The red part is Austria proper, and the other colors are the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Grandma was from Galicia (the purple area), so not really “Austrian.” After the First World War, Austria lost all these disparate possessions. In 1918, as the saying goes, Austria became “a head without a body.” Austria still has the former imperial capital, Vienna, but no empire, not anymore.

Happily for us tourists, Vienna still has the old palaces of the imperial family (the Habsburgs), and the wealth of art and architectural grandeur, musical and scientific history, cuisine and gemütlichkeit (warmth, friendliness and good cheer). Reportedly, Vienna can have the look and feel of a seat of empire, and the center of multiple overlapping cultures.

So, Stef and I leave for Vienna on July 11. We’ll be renting an Airbnb apartment in the Mariahilfer District, and we’re going to try to cram in all the Vienna we can into about 10 days. So much to do; so little time. Stay tuned.