Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Vienna I thought I knew…


So this is the Vienna I thought I would see replete with Hapsburgs on horses and fantastic buildings.
   
We got a nice tour of the Schönbrunn Palace but as is usual with these places, I was not allowed to photograph the inside.  It was lovely though.  You’ll have to take my word for it.  



Then Evan and I went off to the Belvedere to see Klimt’s The Kiss.  Oh, boy!  That was a thrill!  And the Belvedere, which was once the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, is just beautiful.  After we went through the gallery and saw a few Klimts and other wonderful works of art.  We took a break in the café where I had a slice of Klimt Cake.  They wouldn’t let me take photos of the original but I got a few bites of the reproduction.  


In the Belvedere Gardens.

My Klimt cake.
We took the subway back to Stephansdom and visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral and went on a Catacomb Tour.  The parish of St. Stephen’s dates from the 1100s.  The striking thing about the interior of the building is the solid colored stained glass windows that wash the walls with mottled color.  Just beautiful!  But we found the Catacomb Tour very interesting as we got to see metal containers that held the innards of the old Hapsburgs (their hearts are in silver containers in another location) and bones from many who succumbed to the Plague piled in vaults in the walls.  


Here’s Evan at Schönbrunn Palace doing the royal wave.  I have to give him a lot of credit.  I thought he wasn’t too good with directions but I was wrong.  He can read a map with the best of them and has a way with subway systems that would rival any city dweller.  Had it not been for him, I might have taken a wrong turn somewhere and would be wandering the Russian steppes at this point.  Thanks, Evan!








13 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

such amazing architecture and statuary! i love the perspective in that first shot. and the colored light reflections in that indoor shot! wow!

RobertN said...

Wonderful photos! Best wishes!

MadSnapper said...

i love that stained glass, wow. wonderful shots, all of these including the WAVE. i went out and googled The Kiss, hummm have to think about it.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures ! Thank you for the memories traveling to this city years ago. Please have a good Thursday.

Nancy said...

It's like a fairytale! Beautiful.

Chatty Crone said...

Breathe taking. sandie

Nicki said...

Incredible shots - and the stain glass colors make the church very hip and psychedelic. Beautiful!

MEcoy said...

great architectures i loveall of your shots especially the 6th one
the cake looks cool too

Brian King said...

That's the kind of stuff I would expect to see as well! Beautiful place!

Gaia said...

Beautiful photos compliments!!! I would love to visit Vienna, its beautiful, I am a musician and this is one of the center of the best composers!!!:))) good work!!

Debbie said...

you shared some beautiful images. the cake intrigued me and i adored your ending shot!!

Love for Food and Photography said...

I loved your Vienna pictures! Beautiful composing and colours, yummy the cake :-)

Valéria Souza said...

Estas fotografias são bem sugestivas para uma bela pintura. Gostei do seu blog. Visite-me. Um abraço. valeriasouza-telas.blogspot.com