Vienna: music and fine arts: August 18-23, 2026

 

Vienna is known as the "City of Music" and is also famous as a city of fine art. During my stay in Vienna, I enjoy music, fine art and other cultures.

Statues of famous musicians stand throughout the city. In the Stadtpark (City Park) on the eastern side of the Old Town, I found statues of Johann Strauss II, Schubert, and Bruckner. 

A statue of Mozart stands in the Burggarten near the Hofburg Palace (2nd photo), while a statue of Beethoven stands in a small park near the Stadtpark.

 

The Vienna State Opera (Staatsoper) is one of Europe's three great opera houses (others are in Paris and Milan). It opened in 1869 and is a massive venue with a seating capacity of over 1700. The seating includes central stalls, box seats, and balconies.

 

I visited the opera house and had the chance to hear a performance by the Vienna Mozart Orchestra. The venue had excellent acoustics.

 

Concerts are frequently held at the church. I listened to a string quartet performance at St. Peter's Church.

 

The Musikverein (Society of Friends of Music) is famous as the venue for the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert.

The Konzerthaus is the home base of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Wiener Symphoniker).

 

Near the western section of the Ring — the boulevard that encircles the Old Town on the site of the former city walls — stands the Pasqualati House, where Beethoven lived from 1804 to 1815. He composed works such as his Symphony No. 5 there.

 

Vienna is home to several world-class art museums. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) is located near the Hofburg Palace and displays masterpieces collected from regions including the Netherlands, Flanders, Germany, Italy, and Spain. These countries were associated with the history of Habsburg rule.

 

The photo shows Bruegel's “The Tower of Babel”, painted around 1563.

 

Masterpieces were gathered in the Bruegel room.

 

Vermeer's “The Art of Painting” was drawn around 1665.

The series of paintings by Velázquez drawing Princess Margarita were also displayed. (Se the 3rd photo)

 

The Belvedere Palace is famous for its collection of works by Gustav Klimt. It features masterpieces such as “The Kiss” and “Judith I”. (See also the top photo)

 

The University of Vienna has produced many figures who contributed to the advancement of natural and social sciences. They include Freud, Mendel, and Hayek.

Some point out that cities like New York, Paris, and London now possess greater influence in culture today. Yet, I was strongly impressed by its cultural power in Vienna.

 

Vienna: history and society: August 17-23, 2026

 

 

I visited Vienna, Austria. The city once flourished as a capital of the Habsburg Empire. Now, it prospers as a global cultural city which attracts many tourists and as a city which plays a vital role in international politics and economics.

Within the city, there are many attractions, including the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace (both former Habsburg royal residences), and St. Stephen's Church. Horse-drawn carriages were carrying tourists in the old towns, which hold the atmosphere of the Habsburg era.

 

The Danube River flows about 2 kilometers from the city center. The IAEA and other UN institutes have their headquarters in that area. During my stay, I had many thrilling and interesting experiences.

 

◆The Origins of Vienna

Vienna's origins date back approximately 2000 years to a Roman encampment. Emperor Marcus Aurelius, famous as one of the Five Good Emperors, died in what is now Vienna.

Several Roman-era ruins exist within Vienna. In Michaelerplatz, in front of the Hofburg Palace, remans of the Roman era and later are displayed.

◆The Habsburg Dynasty

The Habsburg family ruled this region for 600 years, from the 13th to the 20th centuries. During this time, they produced Holy Roman Emperors and built a vast, multi-ethnic empire in Central Europe. Among the Habsburg emperors and empresses, Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and Franz Joseph (1830-1916) are particularly famous.

The Hofburg Palace, located in the center of Vienna, was the residence of the Habsburg family for over 600 years. It underwent repeated renovations and expansions, resulting in a complex network of 18 buildings. The top photograph in this post shows the palace viewed from Kohlmarkt street across Michaelplatz.

Some rooms are open to the public as a museum. They include where Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth lived and conducted state affairs.

 A statue of Maria Theresa stands in the square adjacent to the palace.

 

Schönbrunn Palace is large building with 1441 rooms. The construction was fully undertaken by Maria Theresa in the 18th century. It was used as the summer palace of the Habsburg family. It is also famous as the venue for the Congress of Vienna in 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars. (See also the 2nd photo)

 

In 1961, a summit meeting between US President Kennedy and Soviet Communist Party First Secretary Khrushchev took place in the Grand Gallery.

 

◆St. Stephen's Church, The Ringstrasse 

St. Stephen's Church was originally built as a Romanesque church in the 12th century and later remodeled in the Gothic style. The south tower was completed in 1359 and stands 137 meters tall. (See the 4th photo)

 

Vienna was originally surrounded by city walls, but these were removed by the order of Emperor Franz Joseph by 1860. The sites of former walls have converted into a “Ring” roads. It is now used by trams and cars. In recent years, bicycle paths have also been developed, and many cyclists use them.

 

◆History

One of the notable events in Vienna's history is the siege by the Ottoman Empire. Vienna endured two sieges, in 1529 and 1683. A cannonball fired during the 1683 siege, painted gold, hangs from a building in Am Hofplatz.

 

The plague epidemic is also a significant event in Vienna's history. Vienna experienced several plague outbreaks after 1348, including one in 1679. A monument commemorating the end of the 1679 epidemic stands on Grabenstrasse in the city center. (See also the 3rd photo)

 

Vienna is also the birthplace of Zionism. Zionism was a movement to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, and it developed in the end of the 19th century when anti-Semitism rose in Europe and Russia. The movement was popularized by Theodor Herzl, a Hungarian journalist who was active in Vienna. A small place called Theodor Herzl-Platz exists in the district east of the Ringstrasse.

 

The Habsburg Empire collapsed in World War I, and the country was fragmented into many nations. Amidst this turmoil, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi launched the Pan-European Movement from the 1920s onward. A plaque commemorating him is displayed in the Heiligenkreuzerhof in the city.

 

◆UN Agencies and Business Activities

The Danube River flows northeast of central Vienna, and UN agencies such as the IAEA and UNIDO are concentrated on the opposite bank. 

The surrounding area has become a new business district, with numerous skyscrapers.

In a corner near the western side of the Ringstrasse in the old town, OPEC has its headquarters. Currently, many important OPEC meetings are held here.

 

◆The Danube River

I traveled the Danube River round trip from Vienna to Bratislava in Slovakia. The river flowed majestically, but the water level had dropped due to the heatwave that hit Europe. The riverbanks, normally submerged, were exposed. According to the research institutions, water levels near Vienna are several tens of centimeters to one meter lower than normal.

The Danube Canal flows through Vienna's old town. At night, the surrounding scenery is reflected in the canal.

Extremely hot days: July 10-25, 2026

  

Heatwaves and wildfires in Europe are making headlines of international news these days. Japan also has been experiencing an extraordinary hot weather since the beginning of July.

In Tokyo, temperatures have exceeded 30°C almost every day since July 8. From July 20 to 25, the temperature went up over 35°C for six consecutive days.

 

On many days in July, the sky over Tokyo was clear, and strong sunlight streamed down.

Japan recorded temperatures of 40°C or higher for five straight days between July 21 and 25.

 

To avoid heatstroke, I limit my daytime walks to very short periods.

The photos in this post were taken during walks between July 10 and 26. 

At Hanegi Park, the leaves of trees such as ginkgo is lush and green, creating a midsummer landscape.

 

The leaves of the tulip trees along the greenway are also deep green.

There were fewer people in the daytime than usual in the park, along the promenade, and near the station. (See also the top photo)

There are fewer cicadas chirping this year compared to usual.

Lake Gando and Shibutami in Iwate: June 27-28, 2026

 

I make regular visits to Iwate Prefecture every year. I visited the area around Lake Gando and Shibutami district, both are located around the outskirts of Morioka City.

Lake Gando is a man-made lake situated about 30 kilometers northeast of central Morioka. The place is Known as the coldest place on Honshu, the main island of Japan. It once recorded a temperature of minus 35 degrees Celsius before World War II.

Surrounded by Japanese red pine and white birch trees, Lake Gando offered a beautiful landscape. In the morning, the air was filled with the singing of wild birds.

I joined an activity to collect wild grape bark in the mountains near the lake. The material is used to make craft items such as bags. This activity is one of projects run by "Save Iwate," an NGO that has been engaged in local recovery efforts since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

 

In recent years, encounters with bears have been increasing in Japan's mountainous regions (bears have even appeared in urban areas, making headlines). The risk of encountering a bear during this particular activity was not high, as a large group of people was working together and making plenty of noise. Even so, we remained cautious while we worked.

 

I also visited the Shibutami district, located about 20 kilometers north of central Morioka. A roadside station (michi-no-eki) named "Tamitto" opened along National Route 4 in 2025, offering local agricultural produce and handicrafts for sale. The views of Mont Iwate (west from Tamitt, see the 2nd photo in this post) and Mount Himekami (East) were so beautiful.

 

Shibutami is the place where the Meiji-era poet Takuboku Ishikawa grew up, and a memorial museum dedicated to him stands there. 

His natal house and the elementary school where he once taught are preserved there.