Vienna, straddling the great waterway of the River DANUBE, is full of echoes of the past. Largely and magnificently rebuilt by the Hapsburg emperors in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the city is laid out on an imperial scale quite disproportionate to Austria's present size and wealth. More than 4.5 million people visit the city each year -more than twice as many as live there. Many of the tourists are from Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary, Austria's former imperial partner. The attractions are the Hofburg and the Schonbrunn palaces, the cavernous Stephansdom, the great church of Karlskirche and the lavish Opera, home of the Viennese waltz made famous by two composers, a father and a son both named Johann Strauss. This city of music inspired other composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Haydn and Mahler all lived there for long periods,
Vienna has less highbrow attractions, too: comfortable pavement cafes and coffee houses, and jovial Heurigen - small winebars, which are often in farmhouses, near the city and which specialise in selling new wines.
AUSTRIA AT A GLANCE
Area 83 853 km2 (32 375 sq miles)
Population 7 540 000
Capital Vienna
Government Parliamentary republic
Currency Schilling = 100 groschen
Languages German (99%), plus 1% Magyar and Slovene
Religion Christian (88% Roman Catholic)
Climate Temperate continental; average temperature in Vienna ranges from -4 to 1°C (25-34°F) in January to 15-25°C (59-77°F) in July
Main primary products Cattle, sheep, wheat, maize, potatoes, hay and fodder, barley, sugar beet, vines, temperate fruits, timber; oil and natural gas, lignite, iron ore, magnesite, graphite
Major industries Agriculture, iron and steel, machinery, forestry and wood products, chemicals, textiles, oil and gas production and refining, wine, beer, food processing
Main exports Iron and steel, machinery, timber and wood products, chemicals, textiles, meat and dairy produce
Annual income per head (US$) 7737
Population growth (per thous/yr) Declining Life expectancy) Male 69 Female 77
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.