Yeah good point. Now I need to find a different commonality
I think "Habsburg" is a good enough descriptor. It encompasses the Catholic, northern-influenced culture (if not actually in the north like Trieste) as well as the baroque, counter Reformation-derived artistic styles.
They had a couple of notable 20th century leaders.
see the movie The Sound of Music
LOL good point but I don't think that's it, although maybe whatever reason why I like these places is part of the reason Nazis wanted them :)
I think Stalin ruled them all briefly too.
I have been to Vienna, and it’s an amazing city, despite some of its awful rulers.