Sunday
Oct182009
City of Cakes and Culture
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 3:48 PM 
It’s exactly a week since I walked into the Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) in Vienna, thinking only to gaze at the magnificent building…….to be greeted, instead, by the most sublime music filling the soaring space. A Haydn mass was in progress, being offered up by the cathedral’s own orchestra and singers. Visitor after visitor was stopped in their tracks - not by some official, regulating the traffic flow; but by the sheer beauty of the sounds flowing up and around us.
Vienna is still every inch a city of music and of culture. It must also be one of the only cities in the world where no-one bats an eyelid if you walk down the street in 18th century costume. Take a stroll through Austria’s capital and music will greet you at every turn, drifting from churches or the opera house, advertised by posters and by bewigged musicians…….earning a living in the same streets where generations of their kind have before them.
Vienna is also a city of cakes. Exquisite, exquisite cakes. Austrians are famous for their tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cakes) and the patisserie in this grandest of cities is as much a work of art as the imposing and stately buildings are. Coffee houses abound; the too-good-to-eat cakes tempt continually.
But it’s the Haydn mass that arrested me last Sunday morning that will stay with me for the longest. Unexpected, unplanned for, yet touching my soul in a profound way. How incredible! - to write something that can go on moving people in such an extraordinary manner for so many years after you’ve departed this earth. I’m grateful to Herr Haydn and to the musicians of Vienna who keep his music alive. I’m grateful to the architects and builders and maintainers of the Stephansdom for creating a sanctuary where the music can take flight.
Reader Comments (5)
Hi Nell,
I continue to enjoy every blog of yours. I wonder if there is some way of having an RSS feed so I know when you have a new blog.
I love your Vienna collage!
You mean you actually *resisted* the kunchen?? I am impressed.
Hi Rosanna,
I'm afraid the blogging platform I'm using (Freeola.com) doesn't offer the facility of an RSS feed. It may do in the future. In fact, it might help if you wrote to Freeola telling them you need one and why! In the meantime, the best I can do is to tell you that I'm currently posting 3 times a week - usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. That should help you know when to check in on me!
Helen.
Ha! I have a cunning idea! If you click on the link to the left which takes you to my Twitter page, then you can subscribe to the RSS feed on that page. I always send out a tweet with accompanying link when I update the blog....and I promise you won't be bombarded with too many tweets in between postings!
Vienna is just sooo beautiful...thanks for sharing with us! I really enjoy your collage and hope one day i could visit Vienna! Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!
Hello!
Just got your Fishes email and I'm now following you on Twitter :)
Looks like your trip to Vienna was wonderful!
x Em