My Divine Mercy Pilgrimage Experience (PART 4) Vienna and Johann Strauss

After visiting Amsterdams' Our Lady of All Nations, The Infant Jesus of Prague, Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Image of the Divine Mercy at the Convent of Sister Faustina in Lagiewniki, the concentration camps at Auswhitz and Birkenau we drove to Vienna. Our drive was made more pleasant when our coach driver played his collection of Vienna waltzes by Johann Strauss, and the famous Opereta about the Von Trapp Family made famous by Julie Andrews in the "Sound of Music".

I had the chance to visit the site of the Von Trapp family mansion in my previous visit to Salsburg and I could not help but feel like I was a part of the family. The group sang along as I did, since we seem to know the lyrics and the melodies by heart. With my eyes closed, I could imagine Capt. Von trapp giving his navy whistle command to his children to the consternation of the children's governess Maria. I loved the part when Maria and the Captain sang "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good". I found that scene very romantic and it made me think of my special someone who I left behind in Cebu. The music was so nice that given enough space in the coach, I would have danced to the music as it went from Blue Danube to the Vienna Waltz.

In Vienna we had a leisurely cruise along the river Danube as we passed through its famous landmarks. We visited the Schonnbrunn Palace and viewed its lavish interiors including the chamber of the Queen Maria Teresa. We also visited St. Stephen's Cathedral at the Old Town Square where we sipped Viennese coffee and where we enjoyed a bit of shopping here and there. The atmosphere in Vienna is more vibrant, and people seem to be smiling more. After dinner, we went to a Johann Strauss concert where the orchestra treated us to a wonderful world of waltzes played to perfection. Oh, what a beautiful evening it was! We all wished that it would never end. What an appropriate way to end our tour, since we had to pack our bags and leave for the airport for our flight home the following day.

Now that we are back in Cebu, we look forward to our grand reunion when we can all be together to reminice on those happy memories that we have shared together. As always, we look forward to the next tour. This time, we plan to visit the pilgrimage sites around the Philippines.

For more of our Pilgrimage tours, you can reach me at Delmar Travel & Tours, Inc., Tel. 2536561 & 2536571 or by email at: [email protected] of [email protected]