Vienna Part 1



Horse-drawn carriage passing through the Hofburg gates.  Just like the good old days!



What I did:

• August 29, 2012 - Arrived in Vienna, went inside the Albertina art museum, explored part of the city, and wandered into a cultural festival celebrating Northern Austria in front of the old castle in the centre of the city (Hofburg Palace).
• August 30, 2012 - Free walking tour with my hostel (Wombat's), checked out the Imperial Treasury, went to the top of the spire in the cathedral at the centre of town (Stephansdom), explored the city some more, did a bit of shopping, and went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (literally art history museum).
• August 31, 2012 - Schloss Schonbrunn, Schloss Belvedere, Haus der Musik (Schloss means Palace or Castle).
• September 1, 2012 - Departed for Prague.



Beer and a local delicacy known as a "ham sandwich".



Highlights:

• Viennese coffee - Best coffee I've ever had in my life.  I tried something called a melange and it was really good.  I was in France and I'm currently writing this from Italy, and I have to say that Viennese coffee is better than French and Italian (though I'm not going to tell the Sicilian guy serving me espresso right now at this cafe).
• Palaces - This is what I used to see in my head when I thought of Europe.  Amazing palaces all over the place!  It certainly helps that Vienna was where the Habsburgs used to rule much of Europe from (back in the glory days of the Holy Roman Empire).
• Art - Wow!  So much amazing artwork in this city.  Part of it is due to the high esteem that the Habsburgs held art in.  It also helps that Vienna was where Gustav Klimpt and his contemporaries decided to base themselves after forming the Secession movement (a lot of the museums were holding special Klimpt exhibitions to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth).



One of the nails used to crucify Christ

A piece from the cross Christ was crucified on

Lowlights:

• Not that I wouldn't have done much with it, but I guess there's not much of a party scene in Vienna.  The days were long and filled with so much art & palaces & museums that I had no energy left to drink my face off...

Chocolate cake at Cafe Demel, favoured by former kings and queens (that's what the K.U.K. on their logo stands for)

This is where the magic happens at Cafe Demel


Can't Miss:  I'm Catholic so it was pretty cool for me to see all the religious relics in the Imperial Treasury.  But even from a non-religious standpoint, the Imperial Treasury was pretty sweet.  You can tell how wealthy the Holy Roman Empire used to be because some of those Habsburgs sure weren't shy about throwing their cash around and making it rain!  :)

Beef with fried onions, fried potatoes, and lots of gravy.  Hellz yeah!