From Prague, we drove Southeast towards Vienna, Austria. It was amazing to only drive about 180 miles (roughly 3 hours) and already be in another country! The drive out of the Czech Republic was just as beautiful as driving into it, although the going was quite a bit easier this time. We only had to do a little bit of small-street driving at the beginning and the end - the rest was mostly highway (but beautiful highway).
Vienna had always sounded so romantic to me, and I must say it did not disappoint. We stayed at the Austria Trend Hotel Messe, which was a very modern, classy hotel. The staff was nice and spoke enough English to help us out. They also had free wifi in the lobby, which was awesome! The area around it was a little rough, but it was fun being a couple blocks away from the Wiener Prater, a small amusement park.
This is a popular restaurant in the amusement park - Schweizerhaus.
Their wiener schnitzel was amazing!!!
A shot of the Wiener Prater at night. A little creepy actually, but it made for cool pictures!
We had an early start the next morning to fit in everything we wanted to see! We wanted to spend some time in some more remote areas of Austria near the Alps the next day, so this day was a whirl-wind trip through Vienna. This is Schonbrunn Palace, summer residence of the imperial Hapsburg family.
We took about an hour-long tour of the palace. Unfortunately no photography was allowed, but it was gorgeous!
The structure sitting atop the hill, overlooking the palace and the Vienna skyline, is the Gloriette.
The gardens at Schonbrunn Palace were huge!
View of Schonbrunn Palace and Vienna from near the Gloriette.
Close-up of the Gloriette. The gold gilded accents made this building particularly pretty.
Inside the Tiergarten, it was almost like a maze. We loved the tall, dark green trees and winding paths.
One of the last things we stopped by before leaving the Schonbrunn grounds was the "Roman Ruins." Although not actually built in the Roman era (this was built in the 1700's), it was a popular artistic style of that time period.
Maybe the best known historical sight in Vienna is St. Stephen's Cathedral. This church was actually built on top of several older churches, dating back to at least 1100. The structure we see here was built in the 1400's. Absolutely amazing.
The inside of St. Stephen's when we visited was all done up in some spectacular lighting...
Truly jaw-dropping. This cathedral was extremely majestic and unique.
The cathedral is located in the heart of the city, right next to cafes, shops, and workplaces, in the Stephansplatz.
Another angle of St. Stephen's Cathedral.
View of the majestic architecture and intricate mural on the roof of St. Stephan's cathedral. Around the backside of the cathedral there is a glimpse into a crypt underneath the cathedral that was discovered during an excavation in 2000. Some of the crypts have been carbon dated back to the 4th century. It was just astounding to be able to look upon things that have existed over 1500 years before me.
The Plague Monument (Statue Pestsaule) in Graben Square. This huge statue (69 feet tall!) was erected in memorial to all of the Austrians who were lost to the bubonic plague in 1679.
The outside of St. Peter's church is beautiful, but it is nothing like the inside...
When you walk into St. Peter's church you are just blown away by all of the adornment. This is the "high baroque" style. Gold plated decorations, and statues of angels and saints are everywhere. It is truly a breathtaking sight. And although it may seem over-the-top in pictures, the feeling inside of the church was surprisingly thoughtful and reverent.
Not far away from St. Peter's church is Michaelerplatz. This is one of the wings of the imperial palace, called the Michaelertrakt.
Maria-Theresien-Platz. The statue depicts Maria Theresa. On either side of her are identical buildings - one is the Natural History Museum, and the other is the Art History museum.
A close-up of one of the buildings near the Hofburg Palace.
The Vienna Opera House. Unfortunately we did not go see an opera, but the building was beautiful. The banner on top was promoting children's theatre arts.
Vienna's monument against war and fascism. This monument is actually made up of 4 "split" statues called "The Gates of Violence." It is in remembrance of victims of all war and violence, but the images in the statue especially depict World War I and II violence. To add to the emotional impact, the statue stands in a lot where several hundred people were killed when they were hiding in a cellar and a WWII bomb destroyed the building.
We decided to take a peak into another world, the underground Imperial Crypt (Kaisergruft). "Since 1633 it has been the principal place of entombment for members of the Habsburg dynasty."
It was sobering to remember that no matter how much power and wealth you may have in life, every single one of these kings, queens, and rulers end up in the same place... a glorified box under the ground. This reminds me to keep in mind that life is so much more than "things."
As you can see here, Franz Joseph was dear to many Austrians. People still leave gifts in memorial to him.
After a long day of walking all over Vienna, we stopped in at a quaint Italian restaurant, Trattoria Da' Angelo. The food was tasty and the proximity to downtown can't be beat!
This was the last thing we did while in Vienna. After dessert we headed back to the hotel. We knew we would have an early morning the next day!
Stay tuned for perhaps our favorite, and most beautiful, part of our trip in Europe - the quaint town of Hallstatt, and the breathtaking summit of Berchtesgaden!
No comments:
Post a Comment