Vienna is a wonderful  place! Maybe it’s because a family I love very much lives here but there really is something special about Austria. There is something kindly about the beautiful old architecture in the city centre. You know the buildings have stories to tell and nothing has been built by chance. There is something graceful and purposeful about the guilt decorations on window ledges and the large statues and monuments in the squares and thoroughfares. Margret was telling me that one of the statues was built after so much of the cities population had been decimated by a plague many centuries ago. It was built to represent hope for the future.

We had a walk this evening around the Stephansplatz where St Stephens cathedral dominates the square. The square was crowded with tourists and filled with open air cafes, spriukers in period costumes and souvenir shops. It was the cathedral I was interested in however, and it is truly a wondrous and beautiful example of Gothic and Romanesque architecture. The main spire soars high into the sky where the fading sunlight catches it and illuminates the intricacies of its stonework. Inside its cavernous interior is broken up into side chapels and alcoves adorned with pious statues and gold ornamentation. The main altar is grand and glittering and closed off to the public. Margret and I entered a small enclosed side chapel that was dedicated to silent prayer. She wanted to show me the stain glass window in there that had been designed and made by her friend’s father.  It was truly magnificant! There was a lovely sense of reverance in this space and we both paused for a spot of silence.

I am always in awe of these grand old cathedrals and wonder how they could have been built all those centuries ago without the modern construction equipment of today. More than that though, is the amazing vision of the architects of long ago. It blows me away that they could envision such large grandiose buildings and all in the name of praise to God!

By contrast, the day before, Margret took me for a lovely drive out into the countryside. We travelled for about an hour out of the city and headed along the great Danube river to one of the largest monasteries I’ve ever seen. The Gottweig Abbey is an imposing structure atop a mountain and can be seen from miles around. It was built in 1083 and is a Benedictine monastry. It is made up of many buildings, churches and chapels. We only explored a small selection of areas as there were many stairs and my knees began to protest! There’s no way I  would have coped as a novitiate with all the kneeling and prostration expected back in those days!

We “retired” to the monastry’s restaurant for lunch, where we met up with Margret’s parents. They were going to attend a concert in one of the chapels later that afternoon and were dressed in Austrian national dress for the occasion. I  love the simplicity of the “dirndle” and think the Austrian traditional costume is delightful!

After lunch we drove through pretty countryside littered with vineyards and orchards, to a friend of Margarets.  She is an artist and lives in a small quaint village of narrow roads with picture book, stone houses on either side. All of the houses were adorned with window boxes filled with colouful blooming flowers. Claudia’s house distinguished itself by two of her sculptures at its front door. Her house was a multi level warren of thick, stone walled, rooms. Every wall and surface was adorned with her artworks or sculptures. I was in a real artist’s house!

We sat in her backyard that had no boundary between her garden and the surrounding vineyards. In the distance were the mountains and the nearby cliffs of the Danube river. She showed us the huge misshapen apples she had picked from her tree that morning and then served us apple cake she had made with some of them. It was delicious! Margret and Claudia started discussing a project they are working on together. Claudia saw that I was looking a bit sleepy and offered for me to have a nap if I  wished, since they would be preoccupied with their project and I might be bored. I took her up on her offer and she led me to a room that had both a bed and couch in it and told me to make myself at home. After looking at all the artworks in the room I did actually doze off. I was after all in a real artist’s house (my idea of heaven) and artists ( well this one at least) are very laid back!

One last little story before I  finish for now… I was walking down the road to Margret’s house the other night to have dinner with them. Most shops were closed but a small Apotheke (chemist) was still open. I went in looking to buy tissues. Near the end of the counter was a woman holding her baby. She looked like she belonged to the place so I asked her if they had tissues. She called out to her husband who was out the back, but the reply came back that they didn’t have any. “Never mind” I said and as I did I smiled and said hello to her baby who was looking at me. The baby immediately  went into a fit of giggles! I laughed back and told her how beautiful her baby was and the baby giggled at me again. For a full 5 minutes we just stood there all giggling at each other, mother, baby and me! Such a beautiful  precious moment of pure shared joy! Ahhh, I  do love Vienna!