AMD 6- Vienna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyGPi-Mch5Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayIsuhRaN0E&feature=related
For my final AMD blog I decided to watch some tourism videos on Vienna, a place that I have always wanted to travel to.  After my mom graduated from grad school she took all the money that she had saved up and went backpacking by herself through Europe.  She still talks about that trip all the time and I have probably heard more stories about her time in Vienna than I have about any of her travels, it really seems like an incredible city! I took a look at two different videos, the first very informal and the second very formal.  Putting the fact that Vienna is a dream destination for any classical music lover aside, both videos touched upon many of the same tourist attractions.  One thing that seems very interesting is Vienna's "Cafe Culture." The narrator of both videos talked all about the delicious, cakes, coffee, and pastries that seem to be an important local delicacy, but neither video really explained how "Cafe Culture" is essential to  the Viennese life style.  Is it common to meet there with friends and family? Did important artists and thinkers meet in cafes to discuss their ideas? To people go to cafes to interact with strangers?  Another thing that the first video mentioned that i found to be very interesting is the wide array of international influences in Viennese cuisine, which he attributed to the Hapsburg rule over many different ethnic and cultural groups.  Both videos also mentioned that market culture is important in Vienna as well.  Finally, I really enjoyed looking at all of the amazing architecture (which is probably why my mom raves about Vienna so much).  Much of this amazing architecture was also attributed to the Hapsburg family's influence and enormous wealth.  Some places that seemed particularly interesting were the numerous Hapsburg palaces, Karlskirche, and Belvedere Schloss. Hopefully i'll get to Vienna one day, but for now it's fun to daydream!  Is it difficult to understand Austrian German?