What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0253

12601.  The soups on Viking cruises are great . . . and I’m not a (big) soup person;

12602.  There are McDonalds, Burger Kings, Starbucks and Subways in Vienna(, Austria);

12603.  There are a lot of hot dog/sausage stands in Vienna;

12604.  “Wien” is “Vienna” in German;

12605.  Austrians speak German;

12606.  “The Sound of Music” is not popular in Austria;

12607.  Austria is made of 9 provinces with Vienna as the capital;

12608.  Austria has a population of 9 million people;

12609.  The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the home of the Lipizzaner stallions;

12610.  Lipizzaner stallions are born dark and turn white with age;

12611.  There are 74 (Lipizzaner) stallions in Vienna.  The stallions spend 3 weeks in the countryside and then 3 weeks in the city;

12612.  Lipizzaner stallions get 8 weeks of rest/vacation a year;

12613.  The Austrian National Library in the Hofburg Palace complex in Vienna is the largest library in Austria with more than 12 million items;

12614.  There are 9 public and 5 private universities in Vienna;

12615.  Vienna is big into café culture.  There are over 1,200 cafés in the city;

12616.  The Austrians seem to like their sweets;

12617.  At the Swarovski flagship store in Vienna (at Kärntner Straße 24, 1010 Wien, Austria), there’s complementary (Moët & Chandon) champagne, coffee and water on the top floor.  And the restrooms (in the basement) are free too;

12618.  Swarovski makes more than (just) jewelry and watches, they make tableware, glasses, decorative accessories, picture frames, ornaments and figurines too;

12619.  (I can say) I've had a Vienna sausage in Vienna;

12620.  You can return plastic bottles and aluminum cans for a deposit at (some) grocery stores in Vienna;

12621.  “Sacher-torte” is a sponge cake that combines chocolate sponge and apricot jam with a chocolate glaze.  It was invented by the Austrian confectioner, Franz Sacher, in the mid-19th century;

12622.  (I can say) I’ve had (the original) “Sacher-torte” at the Sacher Café (Sacher.com/en/Restaurants/Cafe-Sacher-Wien) in the Sacher Hotel in Vienna;

12623.  Besides Rome and Vatican City, Vienna and Bratislava are the 2 closest capitals to one another in Europe.  They’re about 50 miles apart;

12624.  “Wiener” means “Viennese” in German;

12625.  Vienna has city greenhouses heated by trash incinerators.  People can buy produce and flowers from the city greenhouses in the local markets;

12626.  Vienna has the largest cemetery in Europe based on internment with 330,000 people;

12627.  Vienna has a larger airport than Bratislava.  Apparently, people will fly into Vienna and then drive to Bratislava;

12628.  There are no working nuclear power plants in Austria.  Austria built the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant, but a referendum passed (in November 1978) banning nuclear fission before the plant could start operating;

12629.  There are over 1,400 wind turbines in Austria;

12630.  Austria generates power from dams and hydroelectric plants;

12631.  Austria has no active coal-fired power plants.  They phased out coal power in 2020;

12632.  Wind turbine blades can’t be recycled.  They last for 25 years and then they’re buried;

12633.  (I can say) I've been to Slovakia;

12634.  The Danube flows through 10 countries (i.e., Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova & Ukraine) and connects 4 capitals (i.e., Vienna, Austria, Bratislava, Slovakia, Budapest, Hungary & Belgrade, Serbia);

12635.  Bratislava is the only (Slovak) city south of the Danube;

12636.  The buildings in Bratislava south of the Danube were largely built during the Communist era;

12637.  Bratislava has 470,000 residents, 56,000 students and 660,000 people living in the city including people who haven’t (officially) changed their residency to the city;

12638.  Slovakia has a population of 5.4 million people;

12639.  Bratislava has 5 districts;

12640.  The president in Slovakia is largely ceremonial.  S/he serves as the international representative.  The president does nominate and appoint the prime minister.  The prime minister is the head of the government and holds the most executive power;

12641.  Houses are gated in Bratislava;

12642.  Slovakia’s main industry is automobile manufacturing;

12643.  There are 4 automobile manufacturing plants in Slovakia;

12644.  Slovakia produces Volkswagens, Audis, Porsche Cayennes, Skodas, Peugeots, Citroens, Kias, Land Rovers and the Lamborghini Urus;

12645.  Hyundai and Volvo have automobile plants under construction in Slovakia;

12646.  Tourism is only about 3% of Slovakia’s GDP;

12647.  Trams have the right of way over pedestrians in Bratislava;

12648.  Bratislava has Bolt and Uber;

12649.  Maria Theresa Habsburg had 16 children in 19 years( from 1737-1756).  13 survived infancy and 10 survived to adulthood.  She married them off into other royal families.  Her 15th child was Marie Antoinette;

12650.  Maria Theresa (Habsburg) took the (masculine) titles of archduke and king;