Kim: One of my favorite things about Vienna, other than the abundance of concert halls and theatres, is the amazing architecture. The buildings were all so ornate. Even simple apartments buildings had statues on top and intricately carved walls and window frames. The Vienna Opera House, or Staatsoper, was beautiful with its glimmering chandeliers and other tasteful décor. We learned that only one wing survived after the bombing of WWII. So sad. We toured the Hofburg Palace, the first residence of the Hapsburg family (used from the 13th century to 1913). The Imperial Apartments were definitely impressive. We spent part of an afternoon walking through luxurious royal bedrooms, drawing rooms, conference rooms, dining rooms, etc. We also walked through the collection of silver, dinnerware, etc. Crazy how many place settings are needed for dinner in a palace.
One night we attended a concert at the Imperial Winter Palace, Festsaal, (part of the Hofburg Palace). Music from Mozart and Strauss was performed by the Wiener Hofburg Orchestra. We sat by an older friendly Australian couple who talked to us about family history and Australian politics. We got to know them pretty well throughout the concert and by the end of the night we mentioned, “well if you’re ever in Arizona feel free to stop by and say hi.” He responded, “Be careful what you say. The last time a couple said that we ended up flying to Washington for their son’s wedding.” We laughed and said, “Ah. No problem. We’ll let you know when we have a kid and you can come for the blessing.” Ha-ha. J So if at our baby’s blessing someday you see a random Australian couple sitting in the back, go up and say hi. :o)
We saw a few statues in one square that are part of “The Monument Against War and Fascism.” This split white monument, The Gates of Violence, remembers victims of all wars and violence, including the Nazi rule of Austria. On the monument we saw a montage of wartime images: clubs and WWI gas masks, a dying woman birthing a future soldier, and chained slave laborers sitting on a slab of granite cut from the infamous quarry of Mauthausen Concentration Camp. The hunched over figure on the ground symbolizes a Jew forced to scrub anti-Nazi graffiti off the street with a tooth brush. The last one is a monument with the Austrian human rights etched into it. This monument marks the spot where several hundred people were buried alive when the cellar they were hiding in was demolished during a WWII bombing attack. Quite a message.
We walked down the street called Karntner Strasse where we bought some English paperbacks from a bookstore called Frick. We found that a somewhat comical name for a bookstore. This shop-lined street was once the street Crusaders marched down as they headed off for the Holy Land in the 12th century. In the Middle Ages, people figured plagues were punishments from God, so it was common for survivors to bribe or thank God with a monument, thus the plague monument or the Trinity Column. This statue shows Emperor Leopold with Faith below him tossing an old naked woman-symbolizing the plague-into the abyss.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) is a massive Gothic needle in the middle of the city. It was under construction while we were there (but what cathedral wasn’t on our trip) but we could still see the crazy cool gothic architecture exhibited on its inside and outside.
The Belvedere Palace was the residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the much appreciated conqueror of the Ottomans, but is now one of Vienna’s art galleries . While we didn’t tour the inside, we enjoyed the sweeping views of the city and the Baroque gardens around the palace.
We didn’t see as much as we wanted to in Vienna due to lack of time and a rainy day, but that just gives us an excuse to go back. :)
Darren: Vienna was great, but way too much to see and do for one trip, it’s true. I really think at this point of our journey we needed a bit of a breather. We stayed in one rainy day and watched some movies on our computer and made burritos.
But once back outside, I was impressed as well with the buildings in Vienna. So majestic! I think my favorite spot in Vienna was The Heroes’ Square. It’s just outside the Hofburg Palace and right where we went to the concert and met our Australian friends. From the square you can see the Palace (obviously) up close, and horse-drawn carriages passing by on cobblestone streets. In the distance you can see the massive gothic City Hall. And in another direction you can see two large museums across the street, both were great examples of the architecture we’ve already raved about. Just a great spot, ya know?
Other things I remember about Vienna was the amazing tour inside of the Opera House and getting to see backstage. We also got some awesome cake one day and ate a piece or two in the square on a bench. More shameful than that was when we decided to buy a Vienna sized hotdog to share. Can’t remember which we got but it was really good. There are little street vendors that sell them and have at least 5 different kinds. We’d read a little about them in advance to avoid anything really nasty.
Kim: Admittedly, the hot dog was pretty good, although I was a little scared to eat it from a street vendor. To try and counteract the effects, I talked Darren into trying some banana milk. He sure did like it :) ha-ha
P.S. Click HERE for a look at our cute apartment (#3). I loved the red walls and sink in the bathroom. The faucet was a round disk that once turned on created a waterfall into the sink. So cool!
One night we attended a concert at the Imperial Winter Palace, Festsaal, (part of the Hofburg Palace). Music from Mozart and Strauss was performed by the Wiener Hofburg Orchestra. We sat by an older friendly Australian couple who talked to us about family history and Australian politics. We got to know them pretty well throughout the concert and by the end of the night we mentioned, “well if you’re ever in Arizona feel free to stop by and say hi.” He responded, “Be careful what you say. The last time a couple said that we ended up flying to Washington for their son’s wedding.” We laughed and said, “Ah. No problem. We’ll let you know when we have a kid and you can come for the blessing.” Ha-ha. J So if at our baby’s blessing someday you see a random Australian couple sitting in the back, go up and say hi. :o)
We saw a few statues in one square that are part of “The Monument Against War and Fascism.” This split white monument, The Gates of Violence, remembers victims of all wars and violence, including the Nazi rule of Austria. On the monument we saw a montage of wartime images: clubs and WWI gas masks, a dying woman birthing a future soldier, and chained slave laborers sitting on a slab of granite cut from the infamous quarry of Mauthausen Concentration Camp. The hunched over figure on the ground symbolizes a Jew forced to scrub anti-Nazi graffiti off the street with a tooth brush. The last one is a monument with the Austrian human rights etched into it. This monument marks the spot where several hundred people were buried alive when the cellar they were hiding in was demolished during a WWII bombing attack. Quite a message.
We walked down the street called Karntner Strasse where we bought some English paperbacks from a bookstore called Frick. We found that a somewhat comical name for a bookstore. This shop-lined street was once the street Crusaders marched down as they headed off for the Holy Land in the 12th century. In the Middle Ages, people figured plagues were punishments from God, so it was common for survivors to bribe or thank God with a monument, thus the plague monument or the Trinity Column. This statue shows Emperor Leopold with Faith below him tossing an old naked woman-symbolizing the plague-into the abyss.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) is a massive Gothic needle in the middle of the city. It was under construction while we were there (but what cathedral wasn’t on our trip) but we could still see the crazy cool gothic architecture exhibited on its inside and outside.
The Belvedere Palace was the residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the much appreciated conqueror of the Ottomans, but is now one of Vienna’s art galleries . While we didn’t tour the inside, we enjoyed the sweeping views of the city and the Baroque gardens around the palace.
We didn’t see as much as we wanted to in Vienna due to lack of time and a rainy day, but that just gives us an excuse to go back. :)
Darren: Vienna was great, but way too much to see and do for one trip, it’s true. I really think at this point of our journey we needed a bit of a breather. We stayed in one rainy day and watched some movies on our computer and made burritos.
But once back outside, I was impressed as well with the buildings in Vienna. So majestic! I think my favorite spot in Vienna was The Heroes’ Square. It’s just outside the Hofburg Palace and right where we went to the concert and met our Australian friends. From the square you can see the Palace (obviously) up close, and horse-drawn carriages passing by on cobblestone streets. In the distance you can see the massive gothic City Hall. And in another direction you can see two large museums across the street, both were great examples of the architecture we’ve already raved about. Just a great spot, ya know?
Other things I remember about Vienna was the amazing tour inside of the Opera House and getting to see backstage. We also got some awesome cake one day and ate a piece or two in the square on a bench. More shameful than that was when we decided to buy a Vienna sized hotdog to share. Can’t remember which we got but it was really good. There are little street vendors that sell them and have at least 5 different kinds. We’d read a little about them in advance to avoid anything really nasty.
Kim: Admittedly, the hot dog was pretty good, although I was a little scared to eat it from a street vendor. To try and counteract the effects, I talked Darren into trying some banana milk. He sure did like it :) ha-ha
P.S. Click HERE for a look at our cute apartment (#3). I loved the red walls and sink in the bathroom. The faucet was a round disk that once turned on created a waterfall into the sink. So cool!
