My first visit to Vienna was indecently short. During my Grand European Tour with Viking River Cruises last year, I spent a day getting to know the city. Following a walking tour of the most important sites, I met up with the ship’s chef for a gastronomic discovery of the Naschmarkt, the city’s 16th-century fresh … Read more
The view down Graben Street in Vienna, Austria. This avenue dates back to an old Roman settlement, when it was a trench running in front of the medieval city walls. During the 12th century, the trench was filled in and became one of the city’s first residential streets. Over the centuries Graben Street has been … Read more
The Vienna State Opera is perhaps the most iconic building in the Austrian capital. The Neo-Renaissance Opera House was the first major structure on Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Construction began in 1861 and was completed in 1869. Interestingly, the building was not initially popular with Viennese. Sentiment changed, however, when it suffered substantial damage from Allied bombing … Read more
Feldkirch, Austria. I’d never heard of it and had no plans to visit. I ended up in this sub-Alpine village for one reason only; it was the easiest and least expensive way to visit Liechtenstein. Not knowing how long that would take I booked two nights, but by the end of the first day, I’d … Read more
Just a short walk from the historic center of Feldkirch, the Heiligkreuz Bridge leads to these “Im Kehr” listed houses. Built atop a rocky outcropping, they perch precariously over the torrential River Ill. Lest you think I exaggerate, one of the houses plunged into the river on Easter Sunday in 1965. Fortunately, no one was … Read more
