On December 9, 2006, a group of ELKA’s employees, all in a very good mood, started for a one-day trip to the one of the most beautiful capitals in the world.
In spite of the announced rain for that weekend, the weather in Vienna was quite clear and chilly the morning we arrived. The first stop was in front of the castle Schönbrunn. The professional guide from the angency Aurora gave us a short history of that wonderful castle, a baroque building with more than 1400 rooms, which had existed for many years before the empress Maria Theresa turned into a residency for her family. The hunting park with a beautiful spring was designed by a renowned Vienna architect who has also constructed a magnificent St.Charles Boromeus church situated in the center of Vienna.
As our guide explained to us, the city of Vienna has developed along the banks of the river Viena, and has now around one million and six hundred of inhabitants. The largest composers in the world, like Strauss, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert created their masterpieces in that city.
A large number of magnificent historical buildings, museums, operas and theaters attracts the tourists from all around the world. One of the most beautiful buildings in Vienna is Hofburg – the imperial palace of the family Habsburg, where nowadays are located the National library, the royal apartments and the imperial treasury.
The St. Stephen’s cathedral, the most famous Austrian gothic church with the biggest bell in Austria, is also situated in the city center. After a sightseeing tour in the company of our guide, we could choose how to spend the free afternoon before the departure of the bus. Some of us decided to have a coffee at the Café Central and to resume the sightseeing after a short break. The guide informed us that we could also visit the picture exhibition of the famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso at the Albertina museum, and the picture exhibition of Marc Chagall at the Kunstforum.
Some members of the group went to the traditional Christmas fair and the inevitable shopping in the Mariahilfer Strasse. When we finally got out of the indescribable traffic jam and started for Zagreb, we realized that it is impossible to see much in such a short time, and that it should be repeated on some other occasion. I can already imagine the picture of us sitting in bright sunshine and having coffee, a Sacher cake or the Mozart Kugeln in one of the famous Vienna cafes.
Auf Wiedersehen Wien!
