20. Vienna, Austria
After the 35 degrees heat of Thessaloniki, I arrived in Vienna at four in the morning and was welcomed by a torrential downpour. As we alighted the plane, we walked in the cold air, collected our suitcases and made our way out of the airport. I stayed in the newest hotel in Vienna. The shower was a design feature in the middle of the room. Dead posh!
I arrived the same day as the Pope. He too stayed for three days. The service was screened live, as the rain poured down. Crowds assembled in Stephanplatz and watched on three or four big screens. Each time I visited the square over the next three days they were repeating it over and over. Clearly it was meaningful to those watching, and I respect this. But as a devout atheist, it means nothing to me.
I later learned that he was condemning abortion and encouraging people in Europe to have more babies. He should check out the statistics of teenage pregnancy, the number of abandoned babies and talk to some single mums and dads. No doubt the Vatican will continue to encourage unprotected sex and thereby contribute further to the increase in number of new cases of chlamydia, HIV and syphilis...
To lighter matters... With the exception of one day, the rain poured down and I walked the streets under a cold grey sky absorbing Vienna’s breathtaking architecture - the Opera House, Parliament, the theatres and museums. The mystic and soulful Cathedral, the centre point of the city, looms high above the ground, and its spire (clad in scaffolding at the moment) fades to the distance.
I took advantage of visiting Vienna en route to Graz. It is becoming an interesting (though) not essential feature of the research to visit the capital city in addition to the cultural capital.
Here I met with Andres Beck, Artistic Director of the Schauspielhaus, Vienna’s equivalent to the Royal Court, London. We met earlier in the year and he has assisted with some of my meetings in Graz. He helped contextualise Austria’s theatre structure. The Schauspielhaus is currently being renovated. The rain had caused problems with the electricity, so I only saw the auditorium vaguely from the balcony. Below was a cool empty silence, a darkened space stripped of its seats. I hope to return to Vienna to see the theatre with lights and to see some of the work of Austria's emerging writers.
Oh, Vienna...
