EUROPE 02-Austria-Vienna 1 (10/08/02)

I went to Europe in 2002 for my honeymoon, 10 years after backpacking Europe in 1992. On balance, it was my best trip to-date, not only because it was my honeymoon, but also the whole trip went on smoothly except for some minor hiccups, such as the train delay due to flooding in Austria, and walking round Paris streets to find the hotel when it was just beside the train station. Except for the first few days in Vienna, the weather was great throughout the rest of the trip. The excursion to Jungfraujoch still ranked as the best moment of all my trips. We covered Austria, South Germany, Switzerland and Paris, places I considered Europe's best during my previous backpacking trip.

Our first destination was Vienna, the capital of Austria.

The Vienna Musikverein, one of the most important concert hall in the world.

The Church of St Charles, Vienna's most important spiritual building of the Baroque style. The spiral reliefs relate the life of St Charles Borromaus.

An interesting door, but can't remember where was this photo taken.

The secession building at Vienna, built in 1897 for exhibitions of the secession group, a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists.

The St. Stephen's Cathedral is located in the center of Vienna old city. The south tower is 136m and a dominent feature of the Vienna skyline.

The St Joseph Column, depicting the marriage of Emperor Josef I

The "Anker" clock. Everyday at noon 12 figures parade past the old coat of arms of the city.