Vienna to Trieste

After spending some ten days or more very pleasantly, we took a carriage to ourselves, not being able to obtain the Courier, and started on the evening of the 10th of Nov for Trieste.  The journey which had we not had a carriage to ourselves would have been very fatiguing, was accomplished comparatively easily by us in some 70 hours. The posting regulations in Germany generally are admirably arranged--you pay before hand for every thing, horses, postillions &c., and have no further trouble. a paper is given you mentioning the time that each post must be performed in, and if any complaints they must be written on the paper and you obtain redress.  The route is very hilly, and very beautiful in scenery, the road in many parts made at great expense and sometimes almost equalling that over the Simplon.

Strauss at the Volksgarten

Another Evening I spent in listening to Strauss & his band in the Volksgarten. there was no dancing, and only a promenade. He performed all his newest pieces and was of course most enchanting.  His hair & eyes are very black and his face in parts deeply wrinkled from the movement of the muscles caused when he is executing some part of his pieces[.] at other times he is looking carelessly around nodding to acquaintances that he recognizes in the company, and apparently not attending to his music at all but his bow is always at work, and "discourses most excellent music."-----[84]

Handel in Vienna

Spanish Riding School (Spanische Reitschule), Wien

One morning I went to a musical festival at which there were 1100 performers. I counted myself over 300 violins! The Emperor & Royal family were all present and I should say at least 6000 spectators! It surpassed anything I have ever heard. The piece performed was Timotheus, can hardly be called [83] Opera or Oratorio, by Handel.* I shall never forget the sensation I had that morning. I did not think it possible for that number of persons to officiate at once – and everything went off most admirably.

*Actually, Alexander's Feast. This was a performance by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music) at the Spanish Riding School, home of the famed Lippizaner Stallions.

Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Funeral Vault of Imperial Family

The actual city of Vienna is comparatively small and encircled by walls and high ramparts, but the whole city is completely surrounded by suburbs some 34 in number all very regularly built, of great extent and containing some fine buildings. These suburbs are separated from the city by very broad boulevard or open space some quarter of a mile or less from the gates – making the whole more healthful, & more beautiful and at the same time making the delightful promenade. On leaving Vienna the view is most delightful – particularly in a fine moonlit night as we had. The Cathedral of Saint Stephen's is remarkably fine old Gothic building of great antiquity and having the finest tower I think I ever saw./^{465 ft} none of the other churches have anything particularly remarkable about them with the exception of one the church of the [80] Capuchins containing the tombs of the Royal family and among them the heart of the Duke of Reichstadt being a simple coffin only, with the inscription in Latin of "the son of Napoleon Emperor of Gallia." His grandfather's tomb is immediately next with. One other church contains a very fine monument by Canova to the memory of an Austrian Archduchess. Tis somewhat singular that Canova's own monument at Venice is very similar to this one here, being a pyramid of marble representing a two and a procession of figures going up the steps toward the open door of the sarcophagus – allegorical of course_____

Vienna

Left early on Friday morning for Vienna which city we reached on Saturday Evening 31^st Oct. after a ride of some 36 hours to a country which from its appearance seemed to say that it's inhabitants were well-to-do in the world. Made enquiries respecting the Danube and found it to be impracticable to go by that route to Constantinople, so concluded to remain in Vienna as long as possible so to do, before sailing from Trieste for Greece.

Vienna is said to be one of the gayest cities in Europe and by many preferred to Paris, myself however not among the number. There is very little architectural beauty of the city, and few statues and fountains of merit in the streets – though its galleries &c. are very rich. [79]