St. Peculiar’s Day
I’ve been going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Vienna nearly every year for as long as I can remember. It takes place on the Saturday closest to the 17th of March and is always a fun and joyful event, starting with a performance by a Viennese Brass Band, followed by the Vienna Pipes and Drums who proceed to march from the Schottenstift church to the Burgtheater through the streets of Vienna’s 1st district. After the parade, musicians, family and friends usually come together in an Irish pub to watch a rugby game and have a pint or four. The story would normally end here, but this year’s events shaped the day differently for me.
Halfway through the parade, as the band was playing and marching through a narrow street followed by a crowd, one of the horses pulling carriages that take tourists around the city centre panicked and bolted, dragging the second horse and the carriage with itself, violently hit a wall and got stuck between a building and a street sign. People panicked and ran out of the way, while the band continued their march but stopped playing, only resuming after they had reached the next street. The event ended peacefully, but blood had been spilled with one injured, and other traumatised animals in the process.
I didn’t feel like joining the band for a beer after the performance and asked my partner to meet me at MuseumsQuatier, a central, convenient meeting spot just 10 minutes walk away. I got there early and sat on a bench to wait. A couple of vans pulled up, from which loudspeakers and Palestinian flags started to emerge. I was expecting a Free Palestine demonstration to take place, when Iranian (Islamic Republic) flags followed suit, with people holding up pictures of Khamenei and figures of the IRGC that had been killed by Israel and the US. Looking the other way, the beginning of a counter-demonstration started to form, with Pahlavi-supporters holding up US, Israeli and the “Shir o Khorshid” (Lion and Sun) flag, symbol of the Pahlavi monarchy. The latter group had obviously not declared any demonstration and had to leave shortly afterwards, as they were also blocking a fast food restaurant’s business. A while later, to top it all off, the followers of the Islamic Republic played Irish revolutionary songs in front of the Austrian Parliament.
What strange, messed up times we’re living in.
