Mike Knudsen wrote:

> I have an opportunity (excuse?) to visit Vienna, Austria, late this
> summer for a family wedding, and am trying to make up my mind whether
> the trip would be worth the time and money.  From the viewpoint of
> mechanical music (and music in general, organs, architecture,
> history, and Germanic culture), how would members of this List rate
> a week in Wien?

What is "late this summer"?  ... However:

This years Vienna International MEchanical MUSIc Festival (short: MEMUSI)
takes place from 04 September until 07 September, so plan your vacancies,
business trips or family events to be at the show!

You will not forget the participation at one of the top 10 European
mechanical-music-on-the-street events!

You will have the ultimate opportunity to meet me in RL :)

> From the Web sites I know there is a music museum and a clock
> museum with a few Flotenuhren (barrel organs set off by a clock),
> but anything else of specialized interest?  I love old cities and
> Baroque architecture but after the first three palaces I might get
> tired.  Maybe a side trip (several hours' train ride) to Salzburg?

There also *IS* a Mechanical Music Museum!!!  It is to be found in the
Bohemian Prater in the south-east of Vienna (Oberlaa) at the end of the
Prater-Street.  It is quite a small museum, but worth to see for sure.
However, if you come within the MEMUSI-time, you will have far better
data provided during the tour through the museum.

I think I have been once in the Clock Museum.  I only can remember that
we did indeed found some more Ariston-Discs, not yet included in our
archive, which we were allowed to copy.

I can't remember all the music museum, but I guess it's more about all
the big composers of Vienna (well, you know them).

I don't think that you will get tired that easy. There are really
beautiful buildings standing around...  The best way to watch them is by
"Fiaker" ;)  You also might wanna taste a real "Sacher-Torte"...

To be honest: Of course Vienna knows about its touristic attractivity, so
the prices for all those typical things are quite high.

If you want to see the real Vienna at an acceptable price, then you must
visit some of the "Heurigen-Lokale", but not the overcrowded ones in
Grintzing, where tourists drop-in by bus.  Ask a taxi-driver for one of
those situated at the south border of the city! (the city, not the
center.)

Salzburg could be interesting, too.  Or you just travel around a bit
through the beautiful Wachau. (Rent a bike?) Make a trip on the "`blue'
Danube".

Well, I'd better stop now.  This is a mechanical music digest and not a
tourist information digest ;)

> All opinions gratefully received -- thanks, Mike Knudsen

greetings by(e) Ingmar Krause

ERlanger drehORGEL-Trio, Familie Krause, erorgelt@balloon.franken.de