17-23 deg C, a bit wet and cooler today until after lunch, clearing to a very fine afternoon
Walk G: 12km; total: 162km
Walk W: 7km; total: 159km
A slow start to the day due to rain, but it eased off enough for Greg to don his rain jacket and head off to the Albertina Museum/Art Gallery. The Albertina is a world renowned cultural gem, housed in a former grand Habsburg palace. The staterooms are about as OTT as you can get and it’s no wonder most of the monarchy in this part of Europe got the flick. He spent a little more than two hours just wandering and admiring the art from some of the greats. It was time for lunch when he left so Wendy joined him at Maccas down the road. We then wandered through the main mall, similar to Queen Street in Brisbane - shops, shops and more shops. There were lots of souvenir shops, and something that caught our eyes were T shirts and mugs, stating “There are no kangaroos in Austria”; really appealed to our sense of humour. We eventually came across the Vienna State Opera that is not much to look at from the outside. These days you have to join a guided tour to visit the inside, just to have a look. We decided we’d come back another day.
Back to the hotel for a rest. While Greg ventured out again just for a wander and visited different stuff as he happened upon them - churches, laneways, and the Belvedere Palace, Wendy left a little later and visited Stadtpark adjacent the hotel. There is quite a bit to see in such a small space. We both went via the shopping centre for dinner goodies on the way back to the hotel.
More planning for the next two days was done over and after dinner, before blogging and bed.
There a lot of photos today - sorry, but not sorry!
We awoke to this view, and the storm drain had a lot more water in and flowing fast too
The Albertina
The very beautiful entrance to the Albertina
Just a few of the Staterooms
Imagine the work involved in this parquetry floor!
Lots of chandeliers in this place
Unmistakably Picasso
Again not hard to pick as a Monet
Classic Klimt, from The Kiss fame
Greg liked this one as we’ve both ridden past, Greg a few times
Our first wet day on tour
Doesn’t matter what you look like as long as you’re dry and happy
St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Very dark inside
A chinaware store in the mall
Vienna State Opera
The famous composer spent his entire life in Vienna, died aged 31.
Austrian conductor and composer.
Famous composer, mainly operettas, the most successful being The Merry Widow
Of course you couldn’t mention composers in Vienna without Strauss
The very large drain settled down quickly after the rain had stopped for a while
Public sculpture - two men trying to lift a stone in order to free up the spring/fountain
Random wandering
St Philip Neri Church
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
The Belvedere Palace
Believe it or not most of what you can see of this building is a facsimile. They are restoring the outside and it’s covered with a material which is painted to look like the original.
One of the ends of the Palace - the bit on the right is a facsimile. The rest of this side has been cleaned and the cover removed.
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