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Published: October 4th 2005
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What a city!!!
Doug here. Grab a beer and pull up a chair - I composed this one over the course of three days. I didn't realize how much I put in this one!! I'll keep them shorter in the future.
All of this history around me - especially classical composers. I have been on a Mozart run and seeing as much of his preserved past as possible. Since Mozart died in poverty, there really isn't that much. Meanwhile, in addition to Mozart, Strauss and Beethoven are buried here.
I have been walking alot around the city. Vienna is made up of 23 districts and I have wondered around mainly in districts 1 - 6. One just never knows what's just around the corner. I did, however, start using the tram, train, and bus systems today. I think Mary and I both picked up a little cold in Budapest (thanks Mom for the decongestant) and since Vienna had light rain, I decided to use the clean, efficient, and intuitive tram, train, and bus systems.
How about those pics? The first two are at Stephansdom. This cathedral is the center of Vienna. The second photo is an
18th century Baroque statue that represents the saint, Johannes Capistrano, walking over a defeated Turkish invader. The next photo of the horse was taken on the north side of Stephansdom. Some of the horses seem to be a little more trendy here with their fashion - how about that Gortex!
Next is the infamous little conservative Schönbrunn house - so conservative, I couldn't get all of the house frontage in the picture. I am not sure where the oriental lady with the hat issues came from - I guess she stepped in line of fire during click time. I will deal with her later. Schönbrunn is the former residence of the imperial family. At one time, it was a hunting lodge. After being destroyed by the Turks, Leopold I asked Johann Fischer von Erlach to build a residence. That was in 1695! I don't know if Leopold tired of the project or what because Marie Theresa finished up the project during the mid 18th century. I did go through all of the rooms that were open to the public - forty some but it seemed as though it was only the second floor. I actually stood in a room
where the young Mozart played the piano for Marie Antoinette. I did quickly visit the gardens but with the rain, my walking pace was rather fast. I would like to go back and see them...
The next two are of Michaelertrakt and the dome and facade on top. The earliest parts of this church date back to the 13th century. There are several corpse buried in the crypt of the church. You can actually see them in their open coffins - some from the 18th century!
I just happened to stumble on the contents of the next pic while walking around. Yes, it says that this was Ludwig von Beethoven's trailer in 1817. I did take a picture of the house, but I think a few amenities have been added since then. That's why I am not including it...I wouldn't want to disappoint you.
The Figarohaus was closed. I did take the next pic outside just for giggles. I was a little disappointed but I should have known as most every other place I had visited had some type of scaffolding on the outer and/or inner surfaces. Mozart lived here on the first floor from 1784 -
1787. It is rumored that out of his 11 residences here in Vienna, this was his favorite. While living here, he composed the Haydn quartets, some piano concerti, and The Marriage of Figaro; hence forth the name.
Now we move on to yet another conservative architectural wonder - The Belvedere. This tidy home was the residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy who was a military command who finally helped get rid of those Turks in 1683. There are two palaces (The Upper and The Lower) separated by a garden. The first shot is of the main gate. Then next two are closeups of the same gate. This Baroque gate is from 1728. The next shot is the front of the Upper Belvedere along with a closeup of the Facade. The Sphinx is one of many in the garden and finally, the last one is the back of the Upper Belvedere taken from the Lower Belvedere. I skipped the Lower Belvedere due to scaffolding.
Karlskirche was a promise from Emperor Karl VI once the plaque ended. It is dedicated to St. Charles Borroemo. There are a couple of pics from the outside and then one of a dome inside
the church. It is not the best pic but realize that you are seeing one dome with a hole in the center and then another dome above it. Of course I was amongst scaffolding there as well. It did, however, was to my advantage. I was allowed to go to the top of the scaffolding, take a close look at the large dome, and then climb to the very top dome. What a unique experience. I did snap a shot of a section of the fresco on the large dome area but couldn't get much of anything from the very top.
Next is Henry Moore's Hill Arches. I don't really know much about them - they were just interesting. I do know that they were given to the city as a present from the artist in 1978. They are in front of the Karlskirche.
Okay, enough of the pics already!!! The last one is a buddy I met while sitting in front of the Henry Moore Hill Arches - I was trying to read about the Karlskirche prior to entering. This fella came over, crawled upon my leg and decided to perch. He sat with me until I
left for the church. I hope he doesn't mind me putting it on the web...
Okay, for the food and beer review...
Well, it's another schnitzelville. I have not had schnitzel here yet, however. There is a lot of meat and gravy with dumplings, or some call it spetzel. I tried the veal today. It gets an "A". I will have to admit that since I am by myself, I have been hitting the quick cafes. They have continued to have fresh bread and tasty fillings.
The beer is great. Since we are in October, several cafes and bars are offering their Oktoberfest beers. From what I have seen so far, it seems that each restaurant will pick their respective Oktoberfest beer for the season. The varieties are endless. Call me a lush if you want, but I haven't found a bad one yet - I guess I have to keep trying. Beer did go up on the money scale. I am back to $3.00 for 1/2 litre - if I am lucky.
While working on my German, I like to go to public places where I can translate conversations in my mind. Cafes and bars
are the best. So, I checked one out close to my hotel. Don't get me wrong, I really didn't care about the content of the conversation, I just want to be able to translate it. It was a small crowd that became smaller as the night went on because the beers were going down easy. Once we had five or six in the bar (people, not beers - get your mind out of the gutter) some locals invited me over to join their table and their festivities. We had a few more to the point we were listening to sappy German torch singers blaring out of the jukebox. The mugs went high and were swinging back and forth. We had a good time. Either my German gets better the more I drink or I THINK my German gets better the more I drink. I guess I will have to return tonight to find out...
Tschüss!
PS. Thinking of Mary in Bratislava. Can't wait to hear her stories. We meet up again here in Vienna tomorrow (Tuesday). We fly to Athens Wednesday.
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Kelly
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Wow, thanks for taking the time to write all that out. I loved it and wouldn't want it any shorter. Keeps me entertained at work! Great pictures, yet another place I have to get to soon. Sounds like you're having a blast.