Vienna - Wien

When Vienna is mentioned, the usual clichés inevitably spring to mind: Schloss Schönbrunn and the city's vast cathedral, chocolaty Sachertorte with lashings of whipped cream, Mozart, the Vienna Boys' Choir and couples in tails and ball gowns waltzing to Johann Strauss. There are also the more general Austrian associations of snow-capped peaks against brilliantly blue skies, gingerbread churches stuffed with fat-faced Baroque cherubs and rosy-cheeked girls in dirndls running up mountains and bursting into song as in The Sound of Music.Many aspects of this postcard idyll do actually exist. Not to be disputed the charm and beauty of many areas of the former imperial capital - from the narrow medieval streets and dwellings of the centre to the elegant suburb of Spittelberg to the wine villages of Grinzing and Nussdorf. Many of the wine taverns, pubs and coffee houses here have clung to a modicum of imperial and royal Habsburg plush despite Austria being a republic for many decades. And which romantic heart doesn't beat all the faster on espying one of Vienna's many horse-drawn carriages doing its gentle rounds of the Ring?Over 350 marvellous photos show the Danube metropolis in all its glorious variety: its mighty churches and palaces, its splendid boulevards and tiny medieval streets, its sophisticated shopping malls and temples of sublime art, all of which help to create an absolutely unique atmosphere in this city hovering between the past and the present. Six specials tell of the powerful Habsburg dynasty, the city's famous musical history, its art ancient and modern, Schloss Schönbrunn, contemporary Viennese architecture and its legendary wine taverns.Ist von Wien die Rede, kommen jedem wohl zunächst unweigerlich klischeehafte Bilder in den Sinn: Schloss Schönbrunn und der Stephansdom, die Sachertorte mit Schlagobers, die weissen Lipizzaner-Pferde, die Sängerknaben und Walzerkönig Strauss. Hinzu gesellen sich mit Blick auf die Umgebung im Geiste pausbäckig-barocke