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Article: CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR IN OLD VIENNA
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- December 29, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Vienna is Europe's most imperial capital, and the fabled
gaiety and glitter -- the extravagance and the excess -- of the old
empire are recaptured annually in the fairy-tale grandeur of New
Year's Eve. Fireworks explode over St. Stephen's Cathedral, airy
waltzes float across palatial ballrooms, a fancy horse-drawn
carriage carrying revelers in formal dress rattles down a narrow
passageway, and all of Vienna (or so it seems) takes to the streets
of the historic city center -- some imbibing perhaps a bit too much
bubbly bought from the dozens of kiosks that sprout up for the
occasion.
And if you are lucky, as my wife and I were in Vienna last New
Year's Eve, a gentle snow will begin ...