Vienna Visitors Guide

Vienna is the music capital of the world. No other city evokes such immediate associations with the great classical composers and the king of waltz. The House of Music was opened in the First District, in 2000 as a museum of the 21st century. The building is a former Habsburg palace where Otto Nicolai, founder of the Vienna Philharmonic, once lived. The creative concept of the museum combines futuristic new media applications with a strong didactic element. Here visitors can

For me, the best way to build up an openings repertoire is the old-fashioned way: study a book of chess openings and learn them one at a time! There are many books available, so go to Amazon.com or any other online book store and search for “chess openings”, and you’ll find many books to choose from.

Why are chess openings so important that dozens (perhaps hundreds) of books have been written about them? Because the opening often sets you up to

The origin of the Vienna Opera goes back to the beginning of the 18th century. It is the oldest theatrical institution with an unbroken record of performing in the German-speaking world,. A number of new operas were performed in Vienna during the 47-year-long reign of Emperor Leopold I, who was a composer as well a ruler.

With a handwritten letter to the Minister of the Interior dated 20 December 1857, the 27-year-old Emperor Franz Josef confirmed his already discussed decision to

A gourmet gift basket for delivery sir? We will make one up for you. First of all we will need a large wooden-framed wicker basket. Now for the contents

Refreshment: Two bottles of Moet & Chandon. Two bottles of our finest chardonnays. Two bottles of fine red wine. Napoleon Brandy.

Tequila (White) Perrier water. Brazilian coffee beans and Earl Grey tea (fine leaves of course).

Aperitifs: Olives. Chilli’s. Almonds. Dipping sauces.

Starters: Tin of Russian caviar. Sardines in oil. White

Gay Faith Reaches “Whosoever Will”

GLBT churches following the path of love paving the way with gold refined in heaven.

Do we have God in a box

Or stuffed into some sox

Is He’s assigned to a pew

Or maybe hiding in a shoe

Perhaps they’re possessed by devils; trying to worship God like that? 43,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) people and their supporters sustain 300 churches of their own denomination every week. Thousands more attend independent churches organized by

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December the 16th, 1770, we think, in Bonn, which is in modern day Germany. In fact, his birthday may have been another day. We do not know for sure, but his family celebrated his birthday on that day. His parents were Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich. Beethoven was named after his grandfather, who was also a musician and died in 1773. Only he and two other brothers survived infancy, though

Courage is often said to be feeling the fear and doing it anyway, whatever “it” is. In my case, “it” was everything from walking back up my stairs in the morning to shower, to stepping outside my door and picking up a delivered package. One day I was a fairly normal person, then within just 24 hours I turned into the muscle and bone of fear. The fear grew to panic, the panic grew to agoraphobia, and

Vienna must be the most Christmassy place on earth and a wonderful choice if you are thinking about spending the holidays away from home.

Christkindlmarkte, which are temporary markets designed to sell Christmas fare, ranging from specialty foods to toys and gifts, are found everywhere throughout the city from the end of November until Christmas Day. Sweet, hot wine (Gluhwein) is sold, to fortify you for further spending and there is certainly plenty to spend on.

If you’re looking for a culture and art holiday, Europe is a fine choice. The continent has an impressive array of galleries, museums and exhibitions meaning that you’re likely to find something of interest in almost every major city you visit. Yet with this much choice comes a new problem, how do you pick which European art city to prioritise? Hopefully this top 5 European art cities should help you decide which place to start your art history holiday in…

Vienna’s complex and imposing Imperial Palace, the Hofburg was the first residence and grew with the family empire from the 13th century until 1913, when the new wing was opened. The winter abode of the Hapsburg rulers until 1918; it is till now the home of the Spanish Riding School (with the famous Lipizzaner stallions), the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the Austrian president’s office, 5,000 government workers, and several important museums.

The Imperial Apartments of the palace are lavish, Versailles-type “wish-I-were-God” royal