Wow! There is so much to see in Vienna. I hope that you have some time because this is going to be long!
We left Meckelfeld on Saturday morning, meeting Falk & Svenni on the ICE Train to Vienna. This is a fast train with only about 12 stops making the trip from Northern Germany to Austria in 9 hours.
Sunday we set out to explore Vienna on foot.
Votiv Church
There are so many details on these buildings - zoom in if you can, the dog(?) is holding a head/skull and presumably when it rains water comes out his mouth. How cool is that?
Volksgarten (People's Garden). This is a beautiful garden that is in the city near the Rathaus (City Hall). These roses behind the benches are all dedicated in memory or in honor of someone or to celebrate a marriage or anniversary or just LOVE!
Friends who travel together since 1991!
This was the entertainment in the garden. He was NOT a very good accordion player but he is wearing a HORSE head so what more can you ask for?!?!?!
Hofburg Imperial Palace. Located in the center of Vienna, for 700 years the Hofburg was the seat of Austrian power. Originally built in 1279 as a city fortress.
The Imperial Treasury contains some amazing items:
Crown, Orb and Scepter of Rudolph II (1602)
Tabard of Harald (1838). Look at the details (zoom in if you can) - the snake is eating a baby. What kind of dude has this on his shirt....?
Cradle for the King of Rome (1811). Wouldn't that bird at the foot of the crib be creepy to wake up to, or is it just me?
This cabinet holds the Keys to the Coffins of the Hapsburgs. It is the Coffin Key Cabinet!
This is a 2680 carat Emerald Unction Vessel (1611)
This is made of marble but what I like is the GOOGLY-EYES!
Just walking around Vienna is a treat. Everywhere you look there is a fountain, arch, statue or just a super cool building or passageway to experience..
Michaelplatz (Michael's Plaza)
Literally in the middle of the plaza is an archeological dig area where old walls dating back to the 2-4th Century are exposed.
More walking area finds - just wandering around...
That was Sunday. (12,557 steps).
Monday we went by subway (Vienna's mass transit is awesome!) to Schoenbrunn. Originally purchased in 1569 as a recreational hunting ground, the palace was added 1638-1643.
This is Schoenbrunn:
Privy Gardens (behind the Palace)
Orangery (on the Palace grounds). They cultivate citrus and many other tropical plants that would not normally be found in Austria. The building on the left is the Orangery. The plants are kept in the Orangery during the winter. The building is heated by fires under the floor that distribute heat up to keep the climate appropriate for the plants.
A view of the gardens and Glorietta (the building on top of the hill).
The view from the Glorietta in the direction of Vienna!
Walking out of the Palace grounds this was the last thing I noticed. Looks like two young lovers until you start counting legs..... I leave the rest to your imagination!
After plenty of walking at the Palace we headed back into town to the Naschmarkt (snack market - has been around since the 16th Century. So many good things to eat! We prepared our evening meal from the market - salami, several cheeses, two kinds of olives, fresh bread, hummus, and baclava for dessert!
Delicious!
The end of Monday! (over 17,000 steps)
Tuesday morning we start out to see the Spanish Riding School training exhibition and ran into a protest at the Austrian Parliament building. They were protesting Sebastian Kurz's puppet government. Kurz just resigned amidst a corruptions scandal and is depicted here as still pulling the strings of the successor who was sworn in yesterday. Protestors (and Politicians) are the same all over. A second demonstration in the same plaza was calling for better conditions for pigs (on straw rather than on concrete). The dude doing the speaking seemed to never take a breath. Kind of strange to be addressing government corruption and getting pigs onto straw in the same venue.
The Spanish Riding School has been around for over 450 years. It is believed to have been founded by the Habsburgs in 1572 to cultivate horsemanship by way of breeding and training horses from Spain. The original location of the school - the former residence of Emperor Maximilian - dates back to 1729 and has not changed much.
This is the "arena" where the horses train. We watched two sets of five horses & riders train the famous Lipizzaner horses.
The fancy stables - again if you zoom in you can see the horses peeking out...
St. Peter's Church reportedly was founded in 792 by Charlemagne.
St. Stephen's Cathedral - 700 years old.
Note the intricately patterned tiled roof.
We climbed the 445 foot tower - 343 dizzy steps.
Tonight we will go to a concert in St. Anne's Church. The music will be Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert!
We will let you know how that goes :)
Take care and GO ASTROS!!!
Sheri & Carsten
Comments
Post a Comment