Today we enter the world of the Habsburg Monarchy with our first stop being Bratislava. So much of what we have learned on this journey has centred around the more recent Communist governments or the distant tentacles that clawed their way north from the Ottoman Empire and Rome. Here we become immersed in the land of Mozart and the ever changing Habsburg Monarchy.
Because the Habsburg's lost and gained territory on a regular basis we have most likely been in their area for some time. However, in Bratislava I began to turn off the Communist stories and tune in to the Habsburg history.
The day we were in Bratislava was the only day we had full on rain on the entire trip. Fitting, as I chose at the last minute to take the Communist Tour. I have had so much seemingly conflicting information thrown at me in the last week that I felt this was the opportunity to make sense of it all. So I climbed on to the bus with my note book and umbrella in hand and off I went leaving Shane to explore the city with the masses.
As the bus climbed the hill towards the war memorial the guide went to great lengths to tell us about the Jewish area of the city, it's history and the fact that the Jewish community is slowly growing again. It seems most of the tours in the last few days have made a point of showing us the local Synagogue and letting us know that they do have Jews living in their cities. Shane and I both noticed that the guides spoke about this part of their history with a deep regret and a kind of apology.
Since the 15th Century the Jews of Slovakia have been persecuted, expelled even burned at the stake. Slowly they returned only to have this history repeated. During WW II 15,000 Jews were taken from Bratislava to the camps. The numbers are not clear for all of Slovakia but it appears there were over 75,000. The deportation stopped for two years (1942-44) when a coalition of Jewish citizens, the local government and Vatican officials intervened. They had heard rumours that the mass deportations were not to provide a work force for factories. 
However, the deportations resumed in 1944 when the Soviet army reached Slovakia.  
On this grey, rainy day this reality weighs heavy on my heart as the tour slowly passes what was once a vibrant Jewish area of Bratislava.
Our guide made a number of off the cuff remarks that said a lot. As we passed the Parliament Buildings she was surprised to see the flag up. When the president is in the country the flag is up.... she said:  "Usually he travels a LOT on my money!"  
When asked about all the pigeons she said they were once told to "Eat a pigeon a day and clean up your city" ... in response to the citizens concern over the ever increasing numbers of the birds ("it didn't work!"). When asked about the court system we were told: "There are only suspicious bad lawyers". Suffice to say she isn't very happy with the present Government.
The rest of the tour took us to the War Memorial and then a View over the city from the Castle. I listened to the statistics regarding unemployment, medical care, taxes, monthly income, corruption, what life was really like under the Communists and decided that it was time to immerse myself in the beauty of this area instead.  
When I got back to the ship Shane and I compared notes. He had a great tour of the city. Almost all the city centre is a pedestrian zone with colourful buildings restored and painted after the grey of Communism left. Check out the pictures of some of the statues that pop up in the most unexpected places. And, yes, Mozart gave a concert here in 1762 at the request of the Hungarian nobility. Enough to earn him a plaque on the concert hall.  
All in all it was a good visit.... if we ever get back this way I will be sure to spend a night or two in this lovely town to see what I missed.  
Then we were off to fall in love with the city of Vienna cruising along the Danube all afternoon listening to the wonderful compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 
Mozart's career began at the age of 5 when he and his older sister performed as child prodigies. Mozart was already composing and soon his father, a minor composer and experienced teacher, realized his little boy was better than he could ever be. Mozart made several European journeys before settling in Vienna in 1781. There he realized he was little more than a slave to Archbishop Colloredo which didn't make him very happy especially considering the success he had experienced on tour. When the Archbishop forbade him the opportunity to perform for the Emperor (for a fee equal to half a year's salary) he decided to pretty much go on strike. His father tried to force him not to leave which didn't help matters. It all ended with a literal "kick in the arse" which was administered by the archbishop's steward thus freeing Mozart to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer. Well done!
Mozart wasn't the only musical prodigy to live in Vienna. Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Gustav Mahler were just a few of the others to call the place home. I suppose it's a little like today's artists wanting to move to New York or London to be able to share and learn from other artists. Though not all these composers were alive at the same time there would have been a thriving musical community in Vienna. Can you imagine the vibrancy of this beautiful city at that time in history?
Today, as we stand in front of the Cathedral, we can get a glimpse of the past as hawkers try to sell you concert tickets while dressed in period costume. I know it's not the same but what with the sun shine and the colourful costumes it just gets you in the mood.
The four of us decided to break away from the norm and take the 'Hidden Vienna" tour. We wandered down back alleys, visited Churches (including a chapel where Mozart played for the Archbishop), took secret passageways, saw Turkish canon balls still embedded in the wall of a pub, passed art galleries and even peeked in to a church during a wedding ceremony all the while listening to interesting little stories about Vienna's past. Nice change from previous tours though we still had to follow the 'lollypop'.
In the afternoon we took part in our favourite activity... getting lost. We did a great job of it this time as the ship and the river was a metro ride away from the city centre. At the end of the day we had fallen completely in love with Vienna and put at least 20 kilometres worth of wear on our shoes.
We began the day with a visit to St. Stephan's Cathedral in the main square. So many of these intricately carved buildings are made of limestone which makes them difficult to keep clean leaving them with a dark interesting looking facade.  
From the Cathedral we wandered down Kartner Street (the main shopping street...still looking for that nice cozy sweater) on our way to find Belvedere Palace. Of course we had to stop off for a delicious Wurstl (Vienna sausage) on the way. With maps turned this way and that we finally found the Palace. What a place and what a day!
Now the Archduchess of Austria, Maria Theresa, had 16 children (one of whom was Marie Antoinette - the future Queen of France) which is probably why she had to have such a huge yard for them to play in. She is such an interesting member of the Habsburg family. Her father actually allowed her to marry for love instead of for political gain though rumour has it that she had a number of lovers. At the age of 23, with no training other than useful things like needlework, she became Empress and did a pretty good job by all accounts. We didn't take the time to go through the palace because today was a day for wandering around in the sunshine.  
There seemed to be so much going on! Weddings (lots of pictures being taken on the Palace grounds), musical concerts in the park, a parade, horse drawn carriages and more families than tourists out enjoying the day.  
By the time we got back to the ship (having successfully made our way by underground) we had wandered past the Parliament Buildings, the Spanish Riding School, the National Library, the Opera House and various side streets as we attempted to find our way. Some of these places we went by more than once.
This is a city that we would both love to come back and spend time enjoying. If we could get a self catering unit for a week or two I think it would be every bit as enjoyable as our time in Paris.
At midnight our ship sets sail for Durnstein - the Pearl of the Wachau Valley.