I flew from Boston to Vienna via Frankfurt overnight Friday, met Scott at the Vienna airport Saturday morning, and took the train to Wien Mitte, where our adventure begins [4036 mi]
Over-the-top car display in the Frankfurt airport |
en route from Frankfurt to Vienna |
I couldn't resist investigating this art that we saw on the Vienna airport conveyer belt; sadly, i have no further information to share |
From Wien Mitte, we dropped our bags at Hotel Austria, then walked to die Ankuruhr, the clock that runs a slideshow of twelve figures from Austria's history every day at noon. Then we had lunch at a pita shop called Hungry Guy (food sadly not photographed), checked in at Hotel Austria and at BDan's hostel, and met up with Joe and did a slow walk via the city park to the Belvedere Palace gardens, where we met up with Lisa and Tim. We tried and mostly failed to check out the University of Vienna botanical gardens, then headed back for dinner at Griechenbeisl. I'm pretty sure some of the river photos were taken along the Donaukanal, but i'm not sure where. [~7.5 km]
First stop in Vienna: die Ankeruhr, the nostalgic moving clock tourist experience of my childhood |
A reasonable crowd shows up for the noon clock parade |
The clock parade kicks off with number XII: Haydn (it goes without saying that i'm going to show y'all all twelve of these, right?) |
I: Marcus Aurelius |
II: Karl der Große (aka Charlemagne) |
III: Theodora Angelina, Duchess of Austria (1198-1230), und Gemahl |
IV: Lyric poet Walther von der Vogelweide |
the figures in the parade are very close together |
V: Gertrud Anna von Hohenberg, progenitor of the House of Habsburg, and spouse. Again for scale, this shot has a pretty good view of III Theodora in the channel ahead. |
VI: Hans Puchsbaum, who built St. Stephen's Cathedral, to which we will return later |
VII: Maximilian I |
VIII: Vienna mayor Andreas von Liebenberg |
IX: Graf Rudiger von Starhemberg (another 1683 Battle of Vienna type) |
X: Prince Eugen von Savoyen, who also got his military start in the Battle of Vienna |
XI: Kaiserin Maria Theresia (and, in all fairness, this one actually does say "und Gemahl" on the plaque) |
History of die Ankeruhr |
A street in Vienna |
BDan approaches their hostel (what is even happening with that arch?) |
Spiral stairwell at Hotel Austria |
A street corner in Vienna |
Boats docked along the Donaukanal |
Tagging along the Donaukanal |
Street art along the Donaukanal |
Refugees welcome (graffiti) |
City view from a bridge |
Vienna street view |
Pedestrian area |
Campaign posters whose context we never figured out |
Columns on a building |
Check out this jacket though |
Wall art in Vienna |
A statue of Schubert in the Vienna city park |
A busker in the Vienna city park |
People hanging out in the Vienna city park |
A water feature in the Vienna city park |
More water feature |
A mosaic in Vienna |
Catholic church on Strohgasse in Vienna |
Oh no, Amazon is everywhere |
Scott watching a fountain |
Flowers! |
Memorial for Soviet soldiers killed during WWII's Vienna Offensive |
These geometric plants tell us we've arrived at the Belvedere Palace gardens |
Building which is not in fact Belvedere palace |
Lisa walks in the gardens near the front of the palace |
Tim walks towards actual Belvedere Palace |
Sculpted trees along the walk to Belvedere Palace |
Lisa, with a statue of someone playing an instrument which i'm going to call a lute even though i know it isn't |
Let's call this one a harp |
Flute? |
Drum! |
...compass and globe? |
A water feature in the park |
More statues |
We interrupt statues to bring you these hedges, overshadowed by a dome |
Back to statues: sphinx time! |
Battle of sphinxes |
Detail on battling sphinx |
Tall grass art in front of the castle |
A water feature with bonus sea-creature wrestling |
A water feature demonstrating what happens when mermaids don't brush their tails regularly |
View down from the steps of the palace |
View up from the steps of the palace |
I like domes |
Last call for sphinxes |
Sphinx close-up |
Gate cherub oversees construction |
We found some grounds where we could hang out, complete with weird lawn chairs |
...and got a view of the closed University of Vienna Botanical Gardens |
some tall plants |
Lisa and Tim try the weird chairs |
view of grounds, under construction |
Scott, visiting the view |
walls and greenhouse roof of botanical gardens |
Scott tries out the chairs |
It's Joe, peering inside a shrubbery! |
The exciting view from inside the shrubbery |
Looking up through a tree in the park |
What is happening on the bark of this tree? |
canon. apparently |
Garlic soup at dinner |
Lamb and ratatouille at dinner (don't forget to ask for rare) |
A dessert wine i liked |
Fried dough with plum sauce |