By Catherine Austin Fitts
This Saturday I traveled by train from Zurich through Salzburg to Vienna.
After checking into my hotel, I wandered through the Christmas market next to the Wien Museum on the Karlsplatz
On Sunday, I joined a Solari Report subscriber who lives here for brunch. After a delicious meal, we wondered over to the Altwiener Christkindlmarkt for Glühwein – hot mulled wine. We stood for hours at the outdoor tables drinking our Glühwein and talking, like thousands of other Viennese around us and throughout the city. The streets were full of people admiring the Christmas lights and partaking of the many fine foods and drink offered.
Pictures of Christmas in Vienna:
We then took off down the streets of the oldest part of the city, admiring the twinkling lights of the Christmas decorations. We visited the Vienna Opera and a particular favorite of mine, the Spanish Riding School.
[arve url=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z2DPh9zvSb4″ frameborder=”0″ width=”325″ height=”242″>
YouTube
(9 Jan 11)
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Part II.
Today was back to business with a day of meetings. As the sun set, I took a long walk through several beautiful city parks to the Danube. I was reminded of a favorite passage from Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey:
“….and this prayer I make,
Knowing that Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her; ’tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall e’er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings.”
After following the riverbanks, I circled back through the town to St. Stephen Cathedral where I lit candles for loved ones who have passed on.
I fly to Tennessee through Amsterdam early Tuesday morning, so I will have to wait until next time to take advantage of the incredible offerings of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Handel and other choral delights scheduled for Christmas season in Vienna.
Yes, all which we behold is full of blessings.
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