Austria’s capitol Vienna is a cushy one. If you are looking for a speedy, fast changing mega-city, this is not the place for you. The Viennese somehow manage to keep one foot in the past while stepping ahead with the other one. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the Emperor’s “Kammerorchestor” and see Sisi wander the streets. Pure luck during WWII saved a large part of Vienna’s infrastructure. To this day you can find retailers and storefronts which date back decades.

Beyond a quite grumpy shell, a charming and humorous core can be found and is typical for the Viennese, who are a vivid mix of Hungarians, Czechs, Yugoslavians, Poles, Turks and Austrians. In 1923 Vienna was the third largest Jewish community in Europe and counted some 200.000 people of which 65.000 were then deported by the Nazis. Approximately 130.000 fled the city and Austria for good.