So kids, after all of the Africa adventures, we make a HARD right and now we're back in Vienna ;)
Some friends of mine here told me about a tour of Stephan's Cathedral and how there are catacombs there, etc...
Do ya fancy a look?
So how was that for you? Yeah, sorry...lame-o, no photos allowed in the catacombs....but here is the picture of the exit out onto the plaza...Long story short: Hapsburg's are WEIRDO's! They had their organs removed and stored under Stephan's cathedral in canisters (even Marie Theresie's organs are there). Their bodies were embalmed and then buried in a neighboring church and their hearts were removed and stored in another nearby church...are these people Christians or Egyptians?!! Makes me think 'Zeitgeist the Movie' has some truth in it....
So here is the South Tower called 'Steffel' - little Stephan...
After a MEELEEON stairs I will say that this tower is NOT so little....
After I was a sweaty mess I got to enjoy some of the views of Vienna...
The Belvedere Palace from past blog posts....
That is the Riesenrad or Ferris wheel, famous symbol of Vienna...
The 'green' church is St. Peter's or an Opus Dei church (also from past blog posts) with the Votive church in the background...
There's the Rathaus or City Hall...
The green dome there is where the Lippizaner stallions are kept (more or less)....
This is also the direction that I live...off in the distance that small hill off to the right, that is where I live...
One of the things that makes Stephan's Cathedral famous are the colored tiles on the roof. It's said to be a pattern from a Turkish blanket(?)....
The square down below....I love walking around there....so many people....
The outline down below is an old parish church that they found from the Middle Ages...
Bad image, but this is the war damage after the church caught fire (it was not bombed, but embers from neighboring fires caught the cathedral on fire)....
Fans of the blog, what do I write here? Exactly...
I HATE WAR!!!
The inside of the Cathedral...
Apparently Mozart was...I get confused cuz they don't have this in my church, but apparently in Catholicism, at least in a lot of Europe where I've been, there is a ceremony you do at the church where a man and woman are 'betrothed'...not married, yet, just betrothed to each other....
This plaque says that Mozart was betrothed to his future wife in Stephansdom...and two of their children were baptized here....
The settings on cameras are so funny...I put this on 'night' and so this is the picture I got....what my eye saw was dark and NOT bright like this picture shows...but I am actually glad to see it like this...it gives it a different feel....
This is the tomb of Emperor Frederick III who was Holy Roman Emperor and German king who died in 1493....
He was quite 'forward' thinking for his day. He had as his motto the acronym 'AEIOU' - no one knows what it means to this day...
the altar...
Like I said....they're a bunch of Egyptians!
Preaching pulpit that is quite the work of art...this photo doesn't do it justice....
So at this point I shouted 'Hallelujah' cuz there was an elevator for the other tower LOL!
Here we are at the 'North' Tower now....
There are the tiles again....
and again....
Looking out over the city....
Looking down on the coaches....
1950 when it was reconstructed....
The Ferris wheel again...
Panorama!
And that'll do it....
Thanks for coming along on our tour of Stephansdom!
