Austria: Historic Centre of Vienna & Schönbrunn Palace

Having taken up piano lessons as a kid, I was introduced quite young to classical music. Learning Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Strauss and Brahms, all Viennese composers, and listening to the beautiful waltz An der schönen, blauen Donau (Blue Danube), I've been fascinated with the contribution of Vienna, Austria to classical music. No doubt, it deserves its title, the City of Music.

So I did not pass up on the chance to visit Vienna as we drove around Europe last year. Aside from music, Vienna is also rich in architectural heritage. The Historic Centre of Vienna and the Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn which is also in Vienna, are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Vienna was just an hour away from Bratislava, Slovakia. After our dinner in Bratislava, we drove to Vienna where we decided to spend the night. The next day was unfortunately foggy, windy and cold. But it didn't stop us from walking around Vienna's historic streets.

We spent the morning walking around and exploring the Innere Stadt or Old Town of Vienna around the area of Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) and Stephansplatz. The streets were actually being decorated for Christmas and I could imagine how charming it would look when the lights are switched on.

We walked through Michaelerplatz which is dominated by Michaelertor, the impressive neo-Baroque gate to the Hofburg Palace, the Hapsburg seat of power and currently the residence of the president of Austria. There was actually a tourism promotional campaign from Azerbaijan happening at Michaelerplatz. And we got to enjoy Azerbaijani food, drinks and cultural performances.

From Hofburg, we walked towards Maria-Theresienplatz, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) and Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Natural History of Vienna) where stalls had been set up for the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market), a street market that is held during the four weeks of advent.

One highlight of Christmas Markets are the food stalls which feature local snacks and dishes.

I enjoyed the local breads, sausages and potato dishes, plus the schinkennockerl! Really good!

Later in the afternoon, we took Vienna's underground to Schönbrunn Palace. Unfortunately, since it was autumn, the gardens were not at their best. We got to marvel at the interior of the palace. Too bad though we couldn't take photos.

It got really cold and windy that we decided to call it a day quite early and start our drive to Prague, Czech Republic where we were going to spend the night. See more Vienna, Austria photos.

How to get to Schönbrunn Palace
You can take underground line U4, tram number 10 or 58, or bus number 10A to Schönbrunn Station. The palace is walking distance from the stations.

Philippine holidays and long-weekend schedule for 2013 (Proclamation No. 459)

Hunyo 12 by Claude Tayag (1989 Fiestas Serigraph Series)

Malacanang issued Proclamation No. 459, s. 2012 declaring the regular holidays, special non-working days, and a special school holiday for 2013. Here is the list of holidays and long-weekends of the Republic of the Philippines for 2013:

• January 1 (Tue) - New Year's Day (four-day long weekend from December 29 to January 1)
• February 10 (Sun) - Chinese New Year (no holiday declaration yet, wait for possible proclamation next year, possible long-weekend if February 11 is declared)
• February 25 (Mon) - EDSA Revolution Anniversary (holiday for schools only, long-weekend for students from February 23 to 25)
• March 28 (Thu) - Holy Thursday
• March 29 (Fri) - Good Friday
• March 30 (Sat) - Black Saturday (four-day long weekend from March 28 to 31)
• April 9 (Tue) - Araw ng Kagitingan
• May 1 (Wed) - Labor Day
• June 12 (Wed) - Independence Day
• August 8 (Thu) - Eid'l Fitr (calculated date, no declaration yet, possible three-day long weekend if declaration for August 9 is made, wait for proclamation next year)
• August 21 (Wed) - Ninoy Aquino Day
• August 26 (Mon) - National Heroes Day (three-day long weekend from August 24 to 26)
• October 15 (Tue) - Eid'l Adha (calculated date, no declaration yet, wait for proclamation next year, possible three-day long weekend from October 12 to 14 if Malacanang sets holiday on October 14)
• November 1 (Fri) - All Saints Day
• November 2 (Sat) - Special Non-Working Day (three-day long weekend from November 1 to 3)
• November 30 (Sat) - Bonifacio Day
• December 24 (Tue) - Special Non-Working Day
• December 25 (Wed) - Christmas Day
• December 30 (Mon) - Rizal Day
• December 31 (Tue) - Last Day of the Year (five-day long weekend from December 28 to January 1)

Register now for heritage conservation and cultural tourism conferences this November!

There will be two heritage events organized by ICOMOS Philippines and the Heritage Conservation Society this November. I highly encourage everyone to attend both events

ICOMOS ICTC International Conference on Cultural Tourism
The International Conference on Cultural Tourism will be held in the City of Vigan, Philippines from November 7-8, 2012. The event is organized by ICOMOS Philippines and the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC). Vigan as venue for the conference is most apt as it is an example of a World Heritage Site as an emerging tourism destination.

Through this event, expert members of ICTC, ICOMOS Philippines and representatives from developing countries of Asia and the Pacific will establish association with national and local officials, government cultural agencies, tourism policy makers and stakeholders, cultural workers, educators and students to discuss present day issues on tourism and heritage. The benefits of community participation in conservation and cultural tourism programs as an essential aspect of cultural tourism and the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention will become the underlying themes of the conference.

For registration to the conference, e-mail vigan2012@icomosphilippines.com. Note that seats are limited. Participants will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Payment of conference fee confirms your slot. Conference fees: Professional (Php3,500 inclusive of lunch on both days, conference kits) and Undergraduate Student (Php600 inclusive of packed lunch on both days, conference kits). Check out the Facebook event page. Here is the list of conference papers as of August 27, 2012.

Heritage Conservation Summit 2012: Economics of Heritage
After six successful years of organizing the Philippine Towns and Cities Conference, the Heritage Conservation Society now brings you the Heritage Conservation Summit 2012 on Saturday, November 24, 2012 in Batangas City.

Heritage advocates, cultural workers and government agencies will gather in Batangas City for the Heritage Conservation Summit 2012. This year's theme is the Economics of Heritage where discussions will revolve on how to make heritage conservation economically viable and sustainable.

For registration to the conference, e-mail hcs_secretariat@yahoo.com. Conference fees: Professional (Php1,000) and Undergraduate Student (Php300). Check out the Facebook event page.