I’m heading to Vienna on the 28th, but not for the world’s first divorce fair that will be held that weekend. (I’m just going to the airport.)
There’s a captive audience for such a gathering in the Austrian capital, to be sure. The divorce rate hit an all-time high of 50% in Austria last year, while 2/3s or all marriage in Vienna go tails up, providing a perfect setting for this inaugural trade show.
Held under the motto, ‘New Beginnings’, the BBC reports, Day 1 (27th) will be reserved for men, and Day 2 (28th) for women, “so couples can avoid awkward encounters and retain a degree of anonymity.”
Up to 20 exhibitors have registered so far, not only lawyers and mediators, but also estate agents, life-crisis experts, private detective firms and DNA laboratories offering paternity tests.
One company will offer therapeutic package holidays for newly divorced people.
There’s no mention of vow-preserving activities, so if the fair doesn’t live up to your happy ending expectations, let me suggest a few:
– True Romance: Allegories of Love from the Renaissance to the Present is at the Kunsthalle Wien through 03-Feb, an exhibit tracing “how this ‘great emotion’ is articulated in the fine arts.”
– There was a time when Klimt’s famous Kiss adorned the walls of many a girls’ dormitory room. To remember those better days, behold the original at the Belvedere Palace.
– Or, on a more practical level, get an 18 EUR family admission ticket to the Mozarthaus Vienna (a savings of up to 9 EUR).
Mozart statue, Burggarten, Vienna, originally uploaded by pirano.
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