Vienna. It has got a reputation for being one of the most beautiful and most “livable” cities not just in Europe, but in the whole world. And that reputation is very well-deserved! But to me, the geopolitical angle is much more interesting that the generic wiki-tourism preamble. So, why am I saying that Vienna is the “Spy Capital of the World”? Well, I can’t take credit for this designation; it’s a “thing.” If you look it up on YouTube, you’ll find all sorts of interesting explainer videos on this (here’s a good one from Versed). I actually think this is a really good segue into explaining Vienna as it stands today, so here’s the quick version…
Located on the right (north) bank of the Seine in the center of the Paris, the Louvre is, perhaps, the most famous museum on planet earth. But it didn’t always serve this function. Originally, when it was originally constructed all the way back in 1100s, it was actually a fortress. I mean a true Medieval castle, like you see in the movies, complete with turrets and a big moat around it. Eventually, as the urban footprint of Paris began to expand, this castle transition from a military installation to a palace for the French royals. I am really resisting the urge to jump down a history worm-hole here, so but to summarize centuries of history into a a few lines… the physical structure that was this castle was altered many times for many reasons through history. In the late 1600s, when King Louis XIV relocated to the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre was repurposed to house his extensive art collection… and things have evolved from there. It was first opened to the public in 1793 with a mere 537 paintings, and that number has now grown to include a breath-taking 500,000 objects, which collectively attract almost 9 million visitors per year, making it the most visited museum in the world.
I flew into the airport of a city called Bergamo. From there, despite having the passport stamps to prove that I had been to hell and back, I breezed through customs. I changed my money and took a bus into Milan called Terra Vision. The bus took about 1 hour to reach Milan’s Stazione Centrale (Central Station) and cost 5.00 EUR (5.32 USD).
