Last week I was lucky enough to join the Royal Academy of Arts Patrons Tour of Vienna.

Whenever I think of Vienna I think of the black and white film called the Third Man based on the Graham Greene novel. I am glad to say the giant ferris wheel is still turning as a backdrop to many of the grand buildings of the city.

The Belvedere is a Baroque ensemble comprising two palaces and a large park. It contains some wonderful works of art by one of our favourite Austrian painters, namely Gustav Klimt. The collection contains his portrait of ‘Judith’ and equally memorable, ‘The Kiss’. Once seen they are never forgotten. The works of Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka who were Klimt’s contemporaries can be seen as part of the same collection.

We watched a Viennese waltz, saw contemporary works by Erwin Wurm which included a ‘fat car’ and a knitted headless man. We also ate Sachertorte, undoubtedly one of the tastiest Viennese desserts, and viewed an original Raphael drawing in the private studio at The Albertina Museum.