I think it's funny how the blog has changed my life, I am constantly thinking of or looking for 'great blog pix' opportunities! :) I think I focus less on experiencing the moment rather than 'this will make a great blog pic!' Oh well...
So, in wanting to keep the fans happy, I decided to go on a tour of Vienna. It was a miracle, we had 2 days of 70+ weather (rainy days on both sides of it), so I went off and tried to snap the best shots of Vienna that I could...
The day begins at the Vienna State Opera. Wunder-looking building from 1869, but more importantly the meeting for....OUR SEGWAY-TOUR OF VIENNA!
I saw the Segway tour in Berlin and when I saw that they did one in Vienna as well, I jumped at the opportunity!
Here are our Segways all lined up - mine was named Prince Eugen...you shall see more of him later...
Here I am on my Segway! I have got to say...it was one of the coolest things I have ever done! It is amazing how it simply reacts to your body's movements and acts accordingly...even reverse!
Our tour guide brought us to this little platz to practice for a few minutes...it takes about 5-10 minutes to get a 'feel' for it, but afterwards, you just go! SO MUCH FUN!
Here we are on Karlsplatz (Charles's Square) with its train station pavillions designed by Otto Wagner. These are very famous for being examples of a 'Jugendstil' design movement.
Turn around and there is...well yeah, 'that guy' again, but in the background is Karlskirche (Charles's Church). One year after the last great plague the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, decided to build this church to his patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was known as a healer for plague sufferers. It was completed in 1737.
I took this pic of our group riding along the Danube-Canal - SO MUCH FUN!
Our tour guide brought us to Hundertwasser Haus (you can see pix of another house he designed in the German blog, in the city of Magdeburg). He was a self-taught artist that designed various houses and other artistic projects throughout the world, is very famous...I don't know....it's ok, but I wouldn't want to live there...
We went to 'the Prater' - a HUGE park along the Danube...
One more time: SEGWAY = PHUN!
This is the Prater's 'Riesenrad' (HUGE Wheel) built in 1897 for the Emperor's golden jubilee and is the last of its kind in Europe. It is seen by some as the 'symbol' for Vienna...
This is the Danube-Canal again, but if you can see it, there is a boat that is a swimming pool. When I passed by it on the tram I couldn't see the boat, so the name 'Badeschiff' (Bath Boat), I just thought it the name of a restaurant boat on the canal....little did I know, it literally meant that the boat has a swimming pool! Hmm....
Here is a tram with the old Austrian War Ministry building behind it. It's now several other government departments.
This was originally the Reichsrat (just think Reichstag in Berlin), i.e. old imperial parliament building (1861) that is now the Austrian Parliament. It is very pretty...but I found it TOO ancient Greece...ya know? It's like....there's nothing Austrian about it! It truly belongs more so in ancient Athens rather than Vienna....
Our tour guide let us loose and said go up the ramp and come on down it - fun times! I don't think we could get away with this in D.C.! LOL
The view from the top of the Parliament building's ramp - all of those are government bulidings/offices, Prime Minister's office, etc., in the background...
The Natural History Museum (and to follow) and its twin, the Art History Museum, were opened to the public in 1889 to display Habsburg collections.
The Art History museum with the statue of Maria-Theresa, last of the 'House of Habsburg' rulers of Austria - uberfamous over here, especially for having ton o' kids (which then went on to rule Europe! ;)
Here is a statue of Mozart - I was more impressed with the flower arrangement ;)
This is, for me, probably one of the coolest and most impressive buildings in Vienna, the Neue Burg (new fortress/castle) is right across the way from the Hofburg (Court Fortress/Castle) where the Habsburg's lived, ruled and died. This building was built between 1881 and 1913 and was always meant to be a library.
Today it is the National Library of Austria....WHAT A PLACE TO READ!!
Coachman and clients in the 'old' Burg - today these are numerous government departments/ministries...
Ceiling near the entrance to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (pretty much home to the Lipizzaner stallions) right next to the Hofburg...
The other side and 'last of' the Hofburg...
This is a pedestrian area of 'old' downtown Vienna called 'the Graben' (trench). The Romans had made a trench outside the walls of their encampment 'Vindobona'. This 'Graben' or trench was filled in during the Middle Ages and became the street called 'Trench', funny eh?
This is my bank Erste's 'presence' on the Trench - gotta be cool, gotta be cool...
Graben, shopping district and ice cream parlor-land ;)
This is St. Stephan's Cathedral. A church has been on this site since 1147 and this is the 'mother church' of the Archdiocese of Vienna and seen by some as a symbol of the city.
Even though my day didn't end here, I am going to end this post here with dinner in a Viennese cafe.
What shall we have?
An Austrian 'back in the day' brought back the 'milanese' (breaded cutlet) from Milan, Italy to Vienna. The Viennese did 'this and that' to it and made it their own - prepare yourselves for a Wienerschnitzel (Viennese schnitzel)!!
Wasn't that good?
