Advertisement
Published: February 6th 2007
Three Musketeers at the Rathaus
some random guys we met there...When Joel said,
Mum, we're at the wrong station!
I thought he was joking! We were leaving Vienna to start our travels and were standing in Westbahnhof Train Station. Our train for Ljubljana was leaving in half an hour from Sudbahnhof Train Station way on the other side of the city. Running late for departures for the Meadows is becoming a habit, albeit unintentional!
We hurried (with our big packs) to the Ubahn (Metro) and caught a train straight away, then we changed to a tram but encountered unusually heavy traffic. We arrived at the Station two minutes before our train was to leave and I was convinced we would not make it! We sprinted for the platform - my heart was pounding - and arrived seconds before the departure time - I could hardly climb up into the carriage... We waved at Joel on the platform and set off for Slovenia (he was going to join us in about a week). Let me backtrack...
Colin joins the posse After four weeks with the boys it was great to welcome Colin to make the family complete. Michael and I felt quite the seasoned travellers by then so joined in showing Colin the sights of
Vienna!
Skating at the Rathaus (Town Hall) is an annual affair and everyone has to have a go! I think I faired better at skating than skiing! Joel and Joy had fun with the penguin helpers usually used by the kids! Let me hasten to assure you that they are good skaters.
Vienna is a fantastic city and you could spend months exploring and visiting museums. One afternoon Colin and Michael went to the Natural History Museum and I went to the Sisi Museum in the Hofburg Palace. The audio guide told a fascinating story about Elizabeth, the wife of Emporer Franz Josef (affectionately referred to as Sisi), a woman beyond her time who battled with the constraints of a life as a royal. She travelled widely, wrote amazing poetry and watched her diet and exercised rigorously. She was assasinated in Geneva and all sorts of myths have sprung up about her. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon at the museum and wandering through the Royal Apartments.
Hundertwasser We took time to visit a housing area designed by the famous artist and architect Hundertwasser. He used nature as his model and his designs are all environmentally friendly as well as
The Horse Tamer
A fantastic statue near the Museums Quartier beautiful. He abhorred the straight line and purposely made the floors in his buildings uneven, mimicing nature. I really loved his art work and ideas - you should check him out on the net.
Schonbrunn Schonbrunn was the Hapsburgs' 1440-room summer palace. Colin and I took a very interesting tour through the rooms of the place and then joined Michael for a walk through the gardens. They weren't as beautiful as in the summer but nevertheless impressive. Michael showed us the spot where he had spent the night on his memorable visit there three years earlier when he was on a
budget
tour of Europe. The bird life was
amazing, probably attracted by all the bird feeders around the park. We tried in vain to get a good photo of the cheeky little squirrels!
We also went to Belvedere one day to see Gustav Klimt's famous The Kiss and Judith, but it was unfortunately closed. We enjoyed the gardens and taking silly photos amongst the statues in the park!
That brings us back to the start as the train rattled its way to Slovenia and left Joel in Vienna for another week or so as he farwelled
Schonbrunn Palace
A different view. It had to have a horse in it! his friends and packed up.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.288s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 19; qc: 117; dbt: 0.1347s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
Jenny Goodison
non-member comment
Keep Cool
As always, great pictures, all having so much fun. Keep cool ..... I am sure that will not be a problem!!! Love xx Jenny