Half Italy and I in Vienna

First of all, in case Mr. Berlusconi was worried last Saturday, I must bring some important news to him. Silvio, do not worry too much if the streets were empty in Rome, Milano or Neapel; half of the population of your country was that day in Vienna. It was impossible not to listen to any word in Italian while wandering through its streets. I think I saw more Italians than in the rest of my life (what does not imply anything negative, it is just a fact).

Once done the duty, I must admit that Vienna is one of my favourites cities in Europe. One feels there something special, the city tells you that it is not a city like any other, no, it is an imperial city. The Ring is simply amazing, all the buildings around it deserve a visit: the town hall, the Burgtheater, the Hofburg, the two twin museums, the Volksgarten, the Votivkirche,... Besides, in this time of the year, Vienna is full of Christmas markets, being the one in the town hall the largest one, but not necessarily the cosiest.

Everytime I take the tram in Vienna I cannot help laughing with the recorded voice announcing the stops. It is a male voice (while in the cities I visit it is usually a female voice) and has something laughable in its tone. The way it announces the stops is really remarkable, although not always understandable, believe me.

Schönbrunn palace and gardens are also a nice place to visit. They are so big, I mean, but really, really big. I always wonder in such huge buildings who is in charge of the cleaning, because he/she must have quite a tough work. In the picture below, you can see the Gloriette from the palace itself, an amazing view. And coming back to the comment in my first paragraph, half (or more) of the people you see in this picture are Italians...Ah, yeah, I went to Vienna to attend a seminar on IFRS and Basel II, but it is not so important after all.