See the hot spots around The Balkans In 60 Days – Stop 6 Vienna, Austria

8-9/8/2018. I left Salzburg this morning for Vienna, the capital of Austria. The train was packed full. I did not buy an allotted seat, so I sat on the floor, beneath everyone, though not beneath myself. Two and a half hours later, I arrived in Vienna. It was a little hard, but no grudge, because hardship made me.

Vienna appeared more glamorous than Salzburg—more museums, more palaces, more churches. But Vienna was not just more in a material way. Mozart grew up and lived here, while also prolific in his composition. Beethoven also lived here for many years. Then there was also Johann Strauss, the proud son of Austria, who gave the world the “Blue Danube.” So, did this place make music, or did music make this place? Undeniably, they were made for each other. A poetic symbiosis.

In Salzburg, I resisted going to the opera for 400 pieces of euro silver. That pang of betraying the arts for economic reasons hurt. So, in Vienna, I sought recompense. For a relatively small price, I enjoyed a small orchestra. When I am totally engulfed and immersed by the big sounds of an orchestra, each trying to do its own thing and yet harmonizing for a beautiful theme, I swear I could die that moment with no regret.

8-9/8/2018 今早坐火车离开萨尔茨堡，不知不觉两小时半后到维也纳。车票没买固定位子，上车后车厢挤得满满当当，只能全程坐在地上。没觉得委屈，我喜欢自讨苦吃，多尝人间百味。

维也纳气势远超萨尔茨堡。教堂，皇宫，博物馆，都更炫耀。但维也纳不仅只是物质遗产 – 莫扎特在这成长和生活，创作无数；贝多芬也在这生活多年；还有斯特劳斯，奥地利的骄子, 蓝色多瑙河为他所出。是这城市造就音乐，是音乐造就这城市？该说是诗情画意的共生，天作之美。

在萨尔茨堡时没去音乐会，心有不甘，耿耿于怀，到维也纳后弥补自己对艺术愧疚，花了点小费听了场演奏会。现场跟听光盘的体验截然不同；每次浸泡在大场音乐时，身体里仅有的零星艺术细胞都会激动不已，当场感觉死而无憾。

Sitting on the floor in the train to Vienna 坐在往维也纳火车地板上

Another famous landmark in Vienna is the Schönbrunn Palace. The first time I tried to enter, I had to wait for two to three hours, so I came back the next day. The palace building was indeed as enormous as its reputation. There were innumerable rooms, one after another, like a hotel. No idea why they had a need for so many. Many pictures hung on the walls. I surmised they needed to have room for these pictures. I saw little that knocked my socks off, but the garden did. The whole was better than the pieces. It was just so neatly groomed; everything was appropriately tucked in and aligned, not a blade of grass out of place, flowers with the right colors at the right places. There was symmetry, there was clarity. It looked simple, but on this scale, it appeared anything but. I had been used to seeing vast public squares in countries like China, Russia, and Iran, wide, open spaces mostly paved with concrete. This was a wide expanse to display what come out of the earth, the green and the colorful under the glorious sun. Etched in my memory was a beautiful picture of a beautiful picture.

In Austria, I basked in beauty—the beauty of music, of scenery, and of things man-made.

这是维也纳最出名旅游景点，美泉宫。第一天想去先睹为快，可是等入门要两到三小时，只能第二天再来。

酷热苦等是值得的。皇宫的确跟名气一样大，宫内一房又一房像酒店一样，要这么多房间干啥。每间房间除挂了不少名画外，没看到惊叹的展品，可能是这迷宫把我弄晕了。但我终于猜到这皇宫为什么造了这么多房间，原来是为了挂起这些画画。那花园倒是给人深刻印象。其实花园简单，佈局倒是简单到不简单，真是不简单的简单。一眼看下去就是舒服，没记得一花一草，就记得一幅画。

奥地利一游，尝到的就是美 – 音乐的美，风景的美，人造的美。