9/20 – I departed Salzburg for Vienna arriving mid-day. Again, I had to find accomodations for a night's stay. That afternoon, I took a city tour that took me to the city centre, and finally to the Schönbrunn Palace. Vienna was the showpiece of the conquering Hapsburg dynasty, host to a string of Holy Roman Emperors for 640 yrs, and where music was the driving force of the city. This is the city that nurtured the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms and Mahler, among others.

I was only in town for half a day and thus missed exploring the Hofburg Palace (Imperial Palace) which was the residence of the Habsburg emperors until 1918; the Lipizzaner Museum, the hall in which the Lipizzan stallions of the Spanish Riding School perform; the Imperial Chapel, where the Vienna Boys' Choir sings mass on Sundays and religious holidays and the Hofburg Treasury, which contains the jewels of the empire.

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