Vienna, Austria

當我回想這個音樂之都時,腦中似乎又迴響起陣陣的華爾滋交響樂曲...

After the course ended in la Hulpe, I left for Vienna -- the city of music. Immediately after arriving at the airport, I fully realized the influence of music on this city. After I got in the van heading for my hotel, the chauffeur turned on the CD player, and as the van rhythimized with the concerto, my heart also became to beat with delight and excitement. It is not easy to be indifferent to the power of music -- it's just like magic!

On my flight to Vienna, I sat with a newly married Japanese couple, both of whom loved music and wanted to spend their honeymoon in Vienna. Because we all sat next to the emergency exit, the flight attendant asked us to pay some attention to the instruction cards. When I told these to the couple, we began to chat. I told them I love Japanese animation and drama, and we talked about the most popular actor Kimura Takuya and his latest drama -- Beautiful Life. It seemed that the wife spoke English better, but the husband was also eager to try his English. Quite interesting. 

後註:日本人似乎對說英語這件事本身就有著無盡的崇拜...

The night of Vienna is for one single purpose -- concert. I went to two concerts during my stay. These concerts were completely tourist oriented, and full of different programs -- opera, waltz, concert. One interesting thing about these concerts is about how the tickets are sold. The ticket salesman wear costumes and periwig acting as the musicians that the performance features. Therefore you can see a Mozart walking around and trying to sell the tickets for the concert featuring Mozart's composition. I bought one ticket from a handsome Italian from Milan at the first day, and then I met him several times in the following days. (Because I was all alone in the city, he is among the few who I can say hello to while I was in Vienna).

There are many parks in Vienna. In each park, there are statues for famous people, especially musicians. The statue of Johann Strauss is golden, and surrounded by beautiful flower bed. I found a bench in the park, and ate my lunch there. Suddenly a group of Taiwanese tourists poured in and took pictures in front of the golden statue one after one. In my heart I felt happy to see my fellowman, but I was a little ashamed by their behavior -- noisy and impolite and careless about other people in the park. After they left, the park became quite again. 

後註: 親切可愛的老太太想要傳教,無奈我已無可救藥....

Following the instructions of my guide book, I found the white statue of the graceful princess -- Sisi (Elizabeth) standing alone in the quite corner of a park. She was the queen of Austrian people, and admired by her people and her husband. She was very beautiful, and she worked very hard to keep it that way. She ate little, and exercised a lot. She might be the first princess to use a gym.

Schonbrunn was the summer palace of the Austrian royal family. Its architecture and design reminds me of the Versailles in Paris. It is said that the design of Versailles is copied from the design of Schonbrunn, on a larger scale. The major building was surrounded by the formal garden, and in the remote distance there was the Gloriette. 

The Gloriette was on a small hill, and when I reached the Gloriette after some walk, I could get a clear view of the main building, and also a view of Vienna from a distance. In the garden, there were many beautiful flower beds, and everything was arranged in a delicate fashion.

There was a Neptune Fountain. At the time of my visit, the fountain was under maintenance. Despite of that, the fountain was still very beautiful and splendid. The fountain was decorated by the sculptures of the Neptune gods.

旅館.  

我住在市中心北邊一點的 Hotel Post. 這是個Nice的三星小旅館,用的還是老式的大支鐵鑰匙,有一個電梯是那種要拉鐵門的老式電梯,然後早餐有好好吃的各式火腿切片和咖啡麵包等等. 旅館房間很小可是很乾淨,服務生伯伯也很親切,嘿..真喜歡這家旅館~

環城大道.  

環繞著維也納的這個環形大道(Ringstrasse)四週盡是建築的饗宴,有羅馬式的, 哥德式的,巴洛克式的,洛可可式的,和近代的新藝術建築. 有人說只要順著這條大道走一圏就等於上了一堂建築史的課. 我買了一張Wien-Karte (維也納卡) 內含一張三天有效可無限次坐公車的pass.

那時最常坐到的公車就是環城大道上的車.有幾次我中午找不到地方吃飯,就跳上環城大道的公車回到Post去買片薄Pizza和可樂然後就在旅館房間吃,吃完還可以休息一下,然後再坐上環城大道的車回到市區繼續旅行. 真的很方便哦!

科特納大道.  

每天早上吃完早餐後我順著科特納大道(Karntner Strasse)往維也納市中心走去,兩邊盡是精品商店,路中間偶而也有一些露天cafe. 坐在cafe裡享用香濃的咖啡,望著路旁的行人來來去去,順便讓自己的雙腿休息一下時,覺得很幸福~~

史蒂芬大教堂.  

Stephansdom. 這個教堂很大,裡面人也很多,那時我也學著別人用手指沾了點聖水然後劃了十字許了願希望一切平安. 在歐洲看的教堂很多, 大教堂似乎總有一種奢華的氣味...一種不該在神的領地存在的味道....也許這裡已經變成觀光中心了吧?

貝爾維德宮. 

Schloss Belvedere. 這是個美麗的宮殿,連名字都很美, Belvedere 是德語中"美麗的眺望"的意思, 漆黑的雕花大門, 帶翼的女神像, 巴洛克式建築的上下宫,和上下宮之間整齊有序的幾何圖樣的法式花壇. 

現在貝爾維德宮殿是奧地利美術館的家, 讓她不只具有美麗的外表, 還有更美麗的內在.

奧地利美術館.  

(Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere) 我在這裡認識了 Gustav Klimt 和 Egon Schiele 的畫作. 克林姆的畫充滿了豪華浪漫的氣息,金壁輝煌,用色大膽,描繪著女人們細膩的情緒,總是能夠深深地吸引人們的目光,久久駐足不忍離去.

金壁輝煌的 The Kiss 或許是這裡最有名的館藏, 不過其他還有很多作品也十分震撼人心...每次到一個陌生的城市,到一個美術館,都會有一些美麗浪漫的邂逅--與以前不認識的畫家們的偶遇....

音樂會.  

現在回想起來,在維也納的那一段日子真的很快樂. 走在路上會碰到穿著打扮像莫札特的古裝的售票先生小姐們在路邊兜售演唱會的票.有一個來自米蘭的義大利人都在霍夫堡前賣票,我每天都經過那裡,跟他都認識了,後來每天見面時還會彼此打招呼呢.還有一次跟一個年輕的維也那學生買票刷卡的時候,簽名時他居然唸出我的中文名字,把我嚇了一跳,馬上問他: do you speak Chinese ? 他馬上頑皮地笑著說: Sorry, I cheated. I see the English name on your card. (原來他是看到我卡上印的英文名字,真可愛)

這種在路邊推銷的人也收卡哦! 買票的錢雖不多卻也是一小筆錢,萬一現金不夠用,他們還很親切地說可以刷卡,不用擔心花不了錢呢! 

白天買了票,晚上就去聽音樂會. 那些音樂會都是為觀光客舉辦的,每天都有,演奏的內容包羅萬象有歌劇,管弦樂,舞蹈等等. 聽說來演奏的人多數是音樂學校的學生,有一定程度的水準.

我去了兩次夜晚的音樂會,一次是在霍夫堡Josefsplatz表演的 "Sounds of Vienna" 史特勞斯音樂會,還有一次是綜合了管弦樂,歌劇,和舞蹈的 Wiener Residenzorchester 表演.

卡爾教堂. 

Karlskirche. 在充滿音樂的維也納,連教堂也是隨時都有音樂.在卡爾教堂裡遇見了一場音樂會,有一群年輕人組成的合唱團在卡爾教堂裡表演了最美麗的歌曲.讓這個有著異國美麗情調的卡爾教堂裡悠揚的樂聲更加地打動人們的心.

熊布倫皇宮.

Schloss Schonbrunn. 熊布倫宮是皇室的夏宮, 聽說當時建立這個夏宮的目的是要興建一個比巴黎的凡爾賽宮還要豪華奢侈的皇宫以宣示皇室的財富和勢力. 

這裡不但有皇宮, 有海神泉(Neptune),  位在小山丘上的 Gloriette 樓閣, 有著幾何圖形花圃的法式花園, 然後(居然)還有動物園...

皇宮外有著綠意盎然的森林庭園, 園裡有許多小動物(紅松鼠,小鳥)棲息, 高低起伏的地形讓散步成了很好的運動.當我拿出登山餅乾準備補充一些熱量時,突然有個女人上前來跟我說叫我不要拿餅乾餵小松鼠(她以為我要餵在旁邊跑來跑去的小東西)我嚇了一跳,趕緊跟她解釋說,餅乾是我要吃的,不是要餵的.突然覺得很滑稽,一時間我們倆都有點尷尬,呵呵....

在庭園裡散步時遇到一個老人,當他聽說我來自台灣時,興奮地拿出幾張照片,跟我說他有朋友來自台灣的.巧合嗎?還是這個世界真的越來越小了呢?

霍夫堡皇宮.  

Hofburg. 對霍夫堡的印象是片片段段的,大概因為她沒有和維也納其他街道明顯的分界吧, 記得裡面有很大的草坪, 週末時草坪所在的廣場還有假日市集的攤位, 有著騎馬的英姿的某大公的雕像, 有可以聽到維也納少年合唱團演唱的小教堂, 西班牙騎馬學校, 有莫札特雕像的皇宮花園, 給觀光客乘坐的小馬車, 城堡門附近推銷各種門票的各路人馬...是一個很平民化的皇宮呢.

是巧合嗎?霍夫堡的入口也有一個小坡璃金字塔呢.

彌撒.  

在霍夫堡皇宫裡的小教堂裡每週日上午的禮拜後有維也納少年合唱團的演唱,那些男童的聲音很好聽,演出的水準極佳. 其中有個小男生曾獨唱一段,聲音清亮純美,仔細一看原來是個可愛的小胖子,以後有潛力成為很棒的音樂家吧!

馬術表演.  

在聽完演唱會後有人在出口推銷西班牙騎術學校的馬術表演,因為時間很緊迫,我連跑帶跳地趕去馬術學校去看"白馬跳芭蕾" 嗯,第一次看到馬兒跟著音樂節拍一步一步作出整齊劃一的動作, 滿新鮮的!

藝術史博物館.  

Kunsthistorisches Museum. 在這個博物館裡有著豐富的繪畫收藏品, 多數是哈布斯堡(Habsburger)家族時期的皇室珍藏, 為數眾多龐大, 證明了那時哈布斯堡皇室帝國的勢力之大...僅僅的一個上午無法完全吸收她的精華, 只能大略感受部分藝術作品的力量..除了繪畫以外, 這裡還有雕像, 裝飾品, 古希臘羅馬古董, 埃及和中東的收藏品等...不愧是藝術史博物館...

墓園. 

拜訪墓園是上次去巴黎時跟一個東歐女生學來的. 在維也納的中央公墓(Zentralfriedhof)裡長眠著多位著名音樂家,包括貝多芬,舒伯特,布拉姆斯,史特勞斯等等. 這裡的整體設計很寛敞,有很多樹木,每個墓的裝飾也很美, 有各種雕像和題字, 墓前常常有人帶來鮮花來看望他們.

公園.  

維也納到處有公園, 腳痠時可以進去休息一下, 公園裡常可見到一些紀念某人的雕像,像是在人民公園(Volks Garten)裡坐著莤莤公主的純白雕像,在市立公園(Stadt Park)裡有著約翰史特勞斯的金色雕像, 還有在 皇宮花園 (Burggarten) 裡的莫札特像. 這些公園裡有著茂盛的綠意和溫暖的陽光,是維也納市民休閒的去處,我在這裡野餐並小憩一會,躲開觀光客的擁擠紛擾, 享受一會兒道地的維也納味~

多瑙河.  

Donau. 每個迷人的城市都一定要有一條河做為她的護衞,維也納也不例外. 多瑙河離Post很近,過個街道就到了.我在河邊漫步探索著維也納未知的一面, 離開了市中心的維也納,似乎也回復了日常生活的瑣碎平淡...在這裡有著每個城市都有的現代化的商店..洗相片,電腦門市...也許是無法忍受見到維也納卸了妝了一面吧,我回頭了,不再繼續往北走,返回到南岸的繁華....

 i  按這裡去參觀維也納的旅遊協會網站.

Auf Wiedersehen. Wien ~

後記: 這些note是當時回來台灣一陣子後一點一點寫下來的,當時用英文寫是因為那時的網站是英文的...現在也沒力氣全部改寫...我想...以後有空時再慢慢加上去吧;-)

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更新日期: 2002/03/22