26th of October (26.10.08)

... is the National Day in Austria. On this day, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was signed and the government declared permanent neutrality.
The main celebrations took place on Heldenplatz. Military equipment was presented, the President gave his speech and an orchestra performed, as well. The most impressive was a possibility to ride down a special line, hung 35 m above the ground, across the Heldenplatz. I really wanted to do it, but I had to give up because of the huge queue.

A lot of people took part in the celebrations and suddenly a large number of food stands appeared on the square. There were stands with Sturm, as well.
What’s the most attractive about this day are the museums. Many of them were free of charge or at reduced price. So, two weeks after the Museums’ Night we had a Museums’ Day.



We used the unique opportunity to visit the chancellor’s office, which was especially attractive because of its green room. That’s were the ministers debate. Each seat was signed with a name, so many visitors sat on the place of a famous politician and took plenty photos. We did it, too.
Then we headed towards the National Library. One of its rooms, the Prunksaal, has been very richly decorated – with columns, frescos, statues, old books. The spirit of history floats in the air. The rich decoration attracts visitors’ attention.
At the end we went to Museum of Technique. But to be honest, to visit its all rooms, you’d have to spend there at least two days. Because there’s everything. From engines of ships, vacuum cleaners, and toilets to food. Why not. It presented variety of interesting details, a lot of old machines, instruments and devices. But you really need a lot of energy to register each detail.



What struck me the most was the... chocolate show. We had a possibility to try various kinds of chocolate (e.g. with chili) and watch the complicated process of preparing sweets (e.g. truffles). Of course, there were plenty interactive exhibitions, but they were not so impressive as the ones I saw in the Museum of Science and Technique in Las Palmas. Anyway, the old telephones, cameras, coffee machines, coaches, cars and bikes alsohappen to be interesting...