By Peter Bills
Mention Vienna and I'll cite you a cliché: A Strauss waltz, piece of coffee cake or a regal palace of the former Habsburgs, rulers of the old Austrian Empire. Vienna exudes music, as Venice rides on water. It hardly merits the word cliché.
On a mild late summer's evening recently, I emerged from a restaurant in Vienna's city centre. The warmth of the day had dissipated, yet only a light sweater was needed, draped around the shoulders. And as my companion and I strolled through a park, we caught the unmistakable sounds of the violin... and the music of waltz.
As we threaded our way across the grass, beneath the trees, it got progressively louder. By the time we had discovered its source, we had stumbled into an impromptu open air concert with a couple of thousand people sitting around relaxing, drinking a glass of wine or beer sold by the drink stalls.
The city hall was lit for the occasion - its splendid columns catching the spotlights from the ground. A giant screen replayed the concert from inside, and to stand there listening to the music of Strauss, Wager, Mozart or Lehar was to understand the quintessential Vienna.
Cities like this don't do modern, apart from in the shopping areas. There, you can find a multitude of international stores, intermingled with Viennese cafés and restaurants. But you simply don't go to the Austrian capital for shopping.
If that is your intent, head for Paris, London or New York.
Not without reason is Vienna known as the music capital of the world. Within its comparatively small acreage, you can hear any number of orchestras, such as the Vienna Mozart Orchestra, the Vienna Hofburg Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonia, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Imperial Orchestra and the Vienna Residence Orchestra.
And if concerts start to pall, try an opera such as Don Giovanni, La Boheme or Richard Wagner's Lohengrin performed in equal splendour at the imposing Staatsopera beside the ring road. And finally, try to catch a concert by the famous Vienna Boys Choir, a heavenly harmony of sounds.
For that is the point about Vienna. Other cities have dumbed down to accommodate the whims and trends of the 21st century. Clothes are casual, indeed more often scruffy, and decorum is no more. But not in Vienna.
If you yearn for a glimpse of a bygone age, an era when elegance was and still is assumed, then the Austrian capital is the place for you.
Throughout the year, music is the lifeblood of this city and one thing is clear - a growing number of visitors want to witness this uniquely elegant place.
A huge new terminal is currently under construction at Vienna airport, due for completion at the end of 2008. It will be able to cater for the largest jets in the world, like the giant Airbus A380.
Furthermore, a third runway will also be built, starting in 2009. And the CAT, the convenient City Airport Train that whisks you from airline terminal to city centre in just 16 smooth minutes, will have a new underground station.
But you go to Vienna for the old, not the new.
For visits to architectural gems like the Schoenbrunn and Belvedere Palaces, where members of the Habsburg Monarchy resided from 1814 to 1918 until the outcome of the First World War consigned the monarchy to history.
You go, too, to see places like the apartment where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived from 1784 to 1787, at No 5 Domgasse, right in the heart of the city and a couple of short alleyways from Stephansplatz and the magnificent cathedral.
When the music stops and you want something different, take a tour of this quaint, tiny house in which you can see the room where Mozart composed and played.
Admission, at just €9 (R83), includes a highly informative, clear and concise audio guide. It's one of the best deals you'll find in the city.
The Schoenbrunn Palace, where you can hear the music of Johann Strauss each day in the Orangery, is a short drive from the city but worthy of the effort.
The palace itself is sumptuous, and the gardens vast and delightful. To sit in a room where Mozart performed as a seven year-old and hear his music is a delight.
You won't find Vienna cheap. Expect to pay between R1 000 and R1 300 a night in a decent, four star hotel. But the number of cafés and small restaurants mean that you can find good value and cheaper menus, especially if you avoid the obvious tourist traps.
If the Japanese go one way, take the opposite direction and you should be rewarded!
A lovely trip out of the city is on the No 37 tram to Grinling, a little village full of restaurants, cafés and interesting shops. It is a mite touristy, but worth visiting, nevertheless.
But don't let either price or a surfeit of music put you off Vienna. Beautiful in summer with its outdoor concerts and parks, enchanting in winter amid snowfall, this city that straddles east and western Europe offers a timeless pleasure the year round.
- This article was originally published on page 10 of The Star on September 23, 2006