Thursday, March 22, 2012

Around the World: Vienna

March 22, 1992

It's Sunday and nothing is open today except the museums, which Vienna has a variety to offer.  I spent the day exploring as many as I could.  The clown and circus museum has pictures and miniature circus figures.  The doll and toy museum has teddy bears, trains and handmade dolls that date back to 1740.

The Anker clock marks each hour with a historical figure marching across the clock's face.  At noon, all the figures appear in a sort of parade, each with their own unique music from their respective time.  When the parade began at noon, a person appeared from within the crowd draped in a white bed sheet holding his hands in the air, one hand displaying a peace sign, the other thumbs down.  I wonder if this is part of the show or one individual's protest on the passage of time.




Figaro house was once the residence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart where it is believed he composed The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro.  Most of the furniture from that period has been destroyed or lost, but the museum does boast a desk where Mozart sat to compose his music.

Back at Uwe and Elisabeth's flat, friends of theirs are listening to Uwe's tales of India.  After some Campari with orange juice (tastes like cold tea mixed with rye), we head out for dinner and later to a nightclub.  Nobody likes the music playing so we go to the nearby flat of one of Uwe's friend's and listen to their stereo and talk over a few glasses of wine.

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“Music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.”
~Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart