Hidden beauty and charm of Austria

Innsbruck, Austria. — We only remember Austria because of Julie Andrews' most successful musicale, The Sound Of Music, but having come back to this country the third time around ( first in 1998, then in 2004), I can judge without fear of reversal, that indeed, the hills are alive in this truly charming and impressive country.

If we have to adjudge Switzerland as the cleanest and greenest country in the world, Austria should not be far behind as the next healthiest nation in the world. A parliamentary representative democracy, composed of nine federated states (former kingdoms in the ancient and medieval times), it is a small country compared to its neighbors, with an area of only 83.8 square kilometers consisting of mountains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls and lakes. With a population of less than 9 million people, it is a member of EU since 1995 and the UN since 1955. But Austria had made a declaration of its perpetual neutrality, just like Switzerland, and the tiny Vatican. In the north, it is bounded by Germany and the Czech Republic, in east by Hungary and Slovakia, in the south by Italy and Slovenia and in the west by Switzerland and the tiny Liechtenstein.

I love Austria because of its hidden tourist destinations, like Innsbruck, where we are now billeted, in this romantic small castle, perched on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake and waterfalls; I can say we are in Paradise. The old castle, summer residence of the Hapsburgs was transformed into an 800-room hotel, with history, Renaissance arts and medieval tapestry of carvings gilded with silver, bronze and gold. And also with rumors of spirits of the royalty, roaming around with eerie and strange noises of armors and swords in the middle of the night. But the wines are too powerful to give us opportunity to be afraid. The ambiance is captivating and the climate romantic, suited for honeymoons and escapades for couples, lovers and friends.

I love Austria because of the 1,441-room palace called the Schonbrunn Castle in Vienna, baroque in style built in the 1600's and completed in the 1700's and intended to be the summer residence of Empress Maria Theresa. It is standing in the middle of a 500 acre royal property, too big and ostentatious for a small country. But the best of them all, the most impressive and the biggest is Vienna's Imperial Palace, official residence of the royal family with 2,600 rooms. The style is a combination of Gothic, Renaissance, Romanesque, Baroque, Rococo and Classicism. Its imperial silver collection of kitchen wares, cups, saucers, plates and table napkins laced in gold and silver are never seen anywhere else in the whole world.

I am awed by Austria because of the Melk Abbey in the Danube Valley (ever heard of the Blue Danube?).  Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is touted as the world's most beautiful and biggest monastery with a 325 meter long complex of medieval buildings built with ancient marble and granite. The remains of the royal families were buried there. I am also impressed by the Salzburg Altstadt, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, which used to be the official residence of princes and archbishops. One of its sub structures was once used as a Benedictine Abbey. Its cemetery was the same one seen in the Sound of Music when the family was escaping from the pursuing military guards.