16-30 deg C, another beautiful day
Walk G: 8km; total: 143km
Walk W: 8km; total: 142km
Another gorgeous day on tour. First stop was our goto place for maps and info, the Vienna Tourist Information Centre. As usual they coughed up the normal array of maps and advice. We had already purchased a 7 day Vienna City Card which would give us access free to unlimited public transport and discounts on a whole lot of attractions and restaurants.
The area around the info centre is full of amazing places and buildings so while we were there we wandered and took photos. There’s a top shot around every corner so you could do that all day. While in the Museum Quarter we couldn’t resist going into the Welt (World) Museum. It mostly houses stuff from all around the world that the Austrian explorers stole from ‘primitive civilisations’ over hundreds of years. They also have a great collection of ancient stuff that they owned themselves. Greg was most impressed with the Imperial Army displays where there were more sets of armour than he’d seen in all the combined previous museums he’d ever visited! While there a West African song group put on an impromptu song/dance display in the middle of the building. It was very ‘Zulu’ and it seemed to vibrate your inner core. Everyone in the museum stopped and watched. Greg happened to be on the first floor so got a great video looking down.
From the museum we wandered some more and found a shady spot to eat our mornos. It was warming up but nowhere near as hot as previous days.
More very impressive buildings followed, one in particular, Parliament House, we were able to enter, after an airport type security check, including a passport scan. Nice inside but not a patch on ours. We would have had to join a guided tour, complete with briefings, lots of useless information, to see the chambers so we skipped that.
Walking on lead us to the Rathaus (Town Hall) Gunther knows the true story behind that name; ask him sometime. They are hosting a Film & Music Festival over the next two months. Unfortunately they have erected a lot of stuff around the Town Hall which detracts greatly from the beauty of the building.
We were getting a little tired by now so we hopped on a tram (seeing we paid for unlimited travel might as well) for a bit of a rest. Went all the way to the end of #2 and then back home for lunch.
We went out again at 5pm to catch the 6pm Youth Orchestra Concert at the Town Hall Plaza. They were all very professional, even had a group from Australia, but they had not set up any sound system. Of course being outdoors and not far from a whole stack of beer, wine and food tents, the sound didn’t travel very far. We stayed long enough to eat our dinner and see them perform some wonderful Strauss classics and then we headed home on a tram.
Good morning Vienna - view from our room
Main entrance to the Stadtpark
Didn’t look at the menu as they were just opening up
The Albertina, an art museum
The Albertina, an art museum
On the roof of a roadside cafe
One of the gates to the Castle Garden
Schmetterlinghuas - Imperial Butterfly House
History Museum, ancient Roman and Greek archeological gems
We didn’t go inside
Welt Museum, has a vast ethnographic collection of 40,000+ objects from Asia, Africa and America
Küriss
Imperial Palace
Prince Eugene - Equestrian statue
Archduke Karl - Equestrian statue
Permanent Court of Arbitration - Vienna Office
Outer Castle Gate
Those are some doors!
Art History Museum Vienna
Museum of Natural History Vienna
Bronze elephant sculpture, 2004
Parliament
Hanging mirrors in Parliament House
Stopping time: 0.30 calibre bullet piercing an apple, 1964
One of the Halls in the House
Love this guys whiskers
Vienna Rathaus, aka City Hall
They are having a film and music festival here for the next two months so couldn’t get a complete picture of the Rathaus
Burgtheatre - performing arts theatre, not to be confused with VSO
Not to be confused the Vienna State Opera, which we have on the list
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