While some of our tour group were at the optional tour of Schonbrunn castle, some of us decided to use that little bit of extra time to stroll through Vienna. But first, we followed our tour guide to Swarovski Crystals. This was the one and only time during the whole trip that our tour guide wanted to take us to a 'shop' where we may use a discount card to buy souvenirs.
The beautiful sidewalk flower mart was open and doing business, while the other stores were just starting to open up.
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| Sunflowers- a cheery way to start the day! |
Geoffrey was interested in seeing the Swarovski store and I did not want to let the opportunity of a 'free toilette' go to waste.
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| A beautiful elegant swan imbedded on the entrance wall |
We gathered by the display window until they took our group downstairs for a short info session about their store.
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| These mannequin heads were continuously rotating |
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| I would like this headdress for my 'Fall' look attire. |
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| kind of a futuristic look here |
I took this time to duck out and use the restroom. I was impressed with their fancy water faucets. It was quite a surprise to see the sparkling, colorfully lit water flow thru the trough shaped faucets. Since the faucets were activated to turn on by hands right in front of it and turned off rather quickly, it was a bit difficult to get a picture of it!
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| The color was actually more intense than this pic portrays. |
Once I was finished playing around in the bathroom, the info meeting was just finishing up. Geoffrey had decided that even with the discount, the merchandise was too expensive for him.
We left the others and struck out on our own. In order to not roam aimlessly like we did in Prague, Jim had a walking map/plan for us that he had spent time on the night before. His plan of walking thru some gardens and pass some places from the day before at our own pace and going into a museum of frescoes and a church sounded good to all of us.
Hotel Sacher-it is said that the ambiance of the reception area is similar to being in a bordello a hundred years ago. All the rooms have 19th century oil paintings and they have the largest private oil collection in Austria.
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| where the desert Sacher Torte originated |
Opera House- the original 1869 Renaissance style building was badly damaged from a bomb/fire in 1945 and was reconstructed in 1955.
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| On rooftop- 2 riders on horseback built in 1876; represents Erato's 2- winged horses that are led by "Harmony and the Muse of Poetry" |
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| ground floor veranda |
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| side view |
The second floor veranda is decorated with statues and frescoes.
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| The 5 statues represent (from left to right) Heroism, Tragedy, Fantasy, Comedy, and Love. |
On each side of the building are statues/fountains; this one is 'Lorelei'.
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| Lorelei, the legendary Siren is on top, statues representing sorrow, love, and revenge are below her. |
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| up close of one of the details on the building |
We pass by two statues near the entrance to Burggarten.
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| Can't remember who this is a statue of :-( |
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| Goethe is considered to be the most important writer in the German language. |
The Burggarten was formerly only for the enjoyment of the Imperial family and high ranking officials and throughout the garden are various statues and fountains. The Burggarten and the Volksgarten are enclosed by beautiful wrought iron fences.
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| Fences made in 1863-64 |
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| nice example of art metal casting |
Once we enter Jim and Justin first check out the map to make sure we are still on course....
and I check out the language-barrier free 'rules of the park' sign.
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| very self-explanatory rules....no excuses for misunderstanding! |
I don't think the 'keep off grass' and 'no playing' are enforced here:
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| I think I would prefer to do Tai chi in a more secluded part of the park...definitely not right next to and facing a group of kids! |
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| I could have watched her graceful Tai Chi for awhile- makes you feel like you could just float away :-) |
Some of the Statues:
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| Franz Josef |
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| The most photographed statue in the park; Mozart with the treble clef flower garden. |
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| Francis Stephen ( Maria Theresa's husband) |
Along one edge of the park is the east side of the Neueberg/National Library.
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| So easy to take pictures here....can almost point the camera in any direction and have a good picture! |
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| One of several 'playful kids' statues |
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| I could have used my binoculars here to see the details better :-) |
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| East entrance to the National Library?...I really should have taken the time to see if that door opened and peeked in! |
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| Hmmm...not sure what that says, but am pretty sure that I am mispronouncing/butchering the Latin language when I attempt to say it! |
We went around the building, which was rather secluded and empty of people, to get to Heldenplatz. Even though this side of the building is probably not very often seen, it still had plenty of details on it! Head sculptures above the windows and....
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| They are going to get further ahead of me as I take some Pics of all these reliefs :-) |
relief plaques of aesthetically arranged armory type items below the windows.
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| That's a disgruntled face in the middle of the shield! |
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| some pretty wrought iron on the windows |
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| The decoration on the helmet seems a little too idyllic/pastoral for battle gear! |
Around the corner of the building and we are back to where we were yesterday, Heldenplatz .The heroes represented here are on the horse statues.
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| Hero 1- Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks in the 17th century. |
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| They have a bird's eye view of Heldenplatz :-) |
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| Hero 2- Archduke Charles defeated Napoleon in 1809. |
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| This statue is remarkable in that it is balanced only on the 2 hind legs of the horse. The other statue had the extra help of the tail to balance it. |
Some of the fancy details at the base of the statue.
Next to Heldenplatz is the oldest public garden in Vienna (1820), the Volksgarten. The temple of Theseus, a copy of the Theseion in Athens, is hard to miss in the center of the garden.
The garden is in the french formal style consisting of geometric flower beds.
Most of the time I prefer to include family in my pictures...
instead of only the scenery.Because of digital with its unlimited number of pictures that can be taken; if I have the time and the opportunity- I can have both! :-)
One corner of the garden had a peaceful area as a memorial to Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria ( 'Sisi').
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| I would like this in my yard. |
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| Some 'Spring cleaning' being done at the far end. |
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| Seated statue of 'Sisi' |
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| a nearby fountain...I would like that in my yard, also! |
I added a 'spur' onto Jim's walking plan because I wanted a few photos of the Parliament building. We had driven by it while on the city tour the day before, and the architectural style of it was unique for this area.
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| Wide ramps on both the right and left lead to the central portico. There are 4 Greek historical statues on the left ramp and 4 Roman on the right ramp. |
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| On the left and the right sides are statues of 'horsebreaking' (training) |
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| The 1883 parliament building designed by Theophil Hansen has a neoclassical facade and Greek pillars. |
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| Athena Fountain- the 2 female figures below her represent the legislative and executive powers of the state. The 4 figures below them represent the 4 important rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Danube, Inn, Elbe, and the Moldau). |
A few steps from here and we have a view Vienna's City Hall. It was built in the NeoGothic style between 1872 and 1883.
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| The spire is 321 ft. tall if you include the pennant that the knight on top is holding. |
We pass through the Hofburg complex and a few more pics are snapped here.
As we leave Michaeler platz I take a few pictures that interested me. It was fun to find out later as I was reading about the area, that I actually had some pictures of what they were describing :-) and here they are:
St. Michaels Church- the Parish church of the Emperors
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| A mix of several styles; Late Romanesque/Early Gothic, Neoclassical facade, baroque porch. The tower is from the 14th century. |
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| The Baroque porch with the Fall of Angels sculpture above it. |
And the Looshaus-by Loos in 1911, a modern facade (no decorations) considered to be very groundbreaking! Work on it was stopped until a promise was made that at least balcony flower boxes would be added.
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| Franz Josef absolutely hated it, his description - 'windows without eyebrows' (lintels) |
One last look back as we left Michaelplatz.
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| This would have been a very impressive way to get to Michaelplatz...instead of leaving with our back to this incredible view! |
We are now in search of Tuchlauben street where theNiedhart Fresken museum is located. We found the street.....
but nowhere did we find the museum. We went back and forth on that street several times, took some winding 'alleys' or offshoots from that street...even asked some local shopkeepers! Along the way I took these photos instead :-)
These are kind of like frescoes/murals:
After awhile we gave up and decided to try and find our last destination-Ruprechts Kirche, the oldest church in Vienna from 740-but most of it is from the 11th century. It is named after St. Rupert, the Patron Saint of the Danube's salt merchants. The tower and nave are Romanesque, the rest is Gothic.We were relieved when we found it nicely tucked away in a back street.
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| Unusual with its simple stone wall exterior and cobbled stone street surrounding it. |
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| tour group...I should have listened in on it! |
The stained glass windows were done by Lydia Roppolf in 1993.
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| Is Justin praying or waiting for me to get out of the way? |
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| Now Geoffrey is in the way? |
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| waiting patiently for me to finish up :-) |
After a very relaxing time in the cool and quiet church, it was time to find and decide on a lunch restaurant. As we were wandering around we came upon the Anker Clock, an Art-nouveau clock made by Franz von Matsch in 1911. At noon all the figures ( ie. Josef Haydn, Maria Theresa, etc) parade by with organ music from that time period.
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| Over a 12 hour time period figures move across the clock face. |
We must have been tired because no one was able to decide or find a restaurant...so finally, I decided that the one we passed by several times (it was off the main street that we were walking on) was the place to eat! Of course it caught my eye because of all the pretty plants :-)
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| So thirsty that I ordered coke- more expensive and smaller amount received compared to beer...maybe, I need to try and get used to beer before we visit Europe again. |
Time to leave the restaurant and make our way over to the bus pick up place.
Extra pics I took throughout the morning:
While waiting for the bus, Geoffrey and I enjoyed some of Vienna's famous and delicious ice cream from one of these Ice cream salons.
