Contents
- Preface
- San Francisco
- Amsterdam
- Amsterdam, Helmond
- Amsterdam, Zandvoort, Haarlem
- Amsterdam, Bruges
- Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin
- Berlin
- Berlin, Potsdam
- Berlin, Wansee
- Berlin, Prague
- Prague
- Prague, Karlstejn, Vienna
- Vienna
- Vienna, Salzburg, Füssen
- Füssen, Neuschwanstein, Munich
- Munich, Innsbruck
- Innsbruck
- Innsbruck, Zürich, Lauterbrunnen
- Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch
- Lauterbrunnen, Schilthorn
- Lauterbrunnen, Spiez, Zermatt
- Zermatt
- Zermatt, Martigny, Chamonix
- Chamonix, Mont Blanc
- Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Courmayeur, Aosta, Turin
- Barcelona
- Barcelona, Sitges
- Barcelona
- Milan, Venice
- Venice
- Venice
- Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre
- Cinque Terre, La Spezia
- Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca, Florence
- Florence
- Florence
- Florence, Siena
- Siena, San Gimignano, Rome
- Rome
- Rome
- Rome, Sorrento
- Sorrento, Vesuvius, Pompeii
- Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello
- Sorrento, Capri, Naples
- Naples, Bari
- Patras, Athens, Mykonos
- Mykonos
- Mykonos
- Mykonos, Paros, Santorini
- Santorini
- Santorini, Athens
- Athens
- Athens, Amsterdam, San Francisco
Prev :: Wednesday, 14 September 2005 :: Next
13. Vienna
Photo Gallery
The architecture in Vienna is monumental late 19th-century. It's a bit like taking the Civic Center area of San Francisco, cleaning it up considerably, and multiplying it by a hundred in all directions. I like this, although it isn't nearly as old as many of the other cities. I walked by the Museums Quartier and Maria Theresien Platz, then through the giant Hofburg and northeast up to the beautiful Stephansdom, where as usual I climbed the spire. This has an interesting zig-zag tiled roof, part of which displays a pair of imperial Austrian eagles. The Jesuitenkirche is another interesting church, opulent Baroque with the weird twisty green columns. The Rathaus to the west is also an impressive bit of architecture, but one which could not be very well contained by the field of view of my camera. (A common problem in Europe is that the cities are so dense that you can't get nearly far away enough from buildings to take good pictures of them.)
Heading north, I walked past a park and café named after Freud, and then his house. I thought of the fascinating recent Adam Curtis documentaries on Freud's influence on consumer capitalism; didn't go inside as there's still a lot left to see elsewhere. Next I took the tram south to the Belvedere, two beautiful palaces on a hillside overlooking the city. Some excellent Klimt paintings and an interesting exhibit Das Neue Österreich on 20th-century Austrian history in the Oberes, but I skipped the Unteres. Walking back towards the center I passed the Soviet War Memorial and the lovely Baroque Karlskirche, which lured me up inside itself for a peek at the dome, although I hadn't planned this. Rushing a bit as time was passing, I made my way west on the subway to Schönbrunn, the spectacular palace and huge gardens modeled on Versailles. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip, this takes a while to walk around as the grounds are enormous.
Back at the Museums Quartier, I wanted to see both the Leopold Museum and the Kunsthistoriches (which was particularly recommended by a Brit at Mango the night before), but I only had time for one. I chose the Leopold as it was open an hour longer (19:00) and was also the favorite of the Rough Guide. I can't say I'm a terrific fan of Schiele, but I liked the Klimt and many other works here.
In other news, Vienna easily wins the prize for best sauna: the Kaiserbruendl. This building is so interesting that it's a great time even if you pay attention to nothing put the place itself. Apparently it dates back to the Romans, and was rebuilt in the 19th century when it was quite a destination for socialites (including the scandal-producing brother of the emperor).
As you can see, this is a long day, and by this point I'm hungry! Dinner was another highlight tonight, wienerschnitzel at the Café Central. This is said to have been Trotsky's favorite, and there's a statue of him sitting by the entrance. The place is great, a Moorish design with columns throughout the room and arches above them; Trotsky had good taste. A string trio played beautifully. But get there well before 22:00, when the place closes. It got quite empty after 21:00 when I was there. Finally, a piece of Sachertorte was definitely called for, and I had one at the posh Hotel Sacher, which claims to be the original source of this delicious stuff (it is a chain, however — I saw another one in Salzburg), and then back for a drink at Mango again.