Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge: Roads
My favorite road in the world! The road to La Foce, home of Iris Orego and her beautiful house and gardens outside Montepulciano, Italy ! Enjoy!
The Road to La Foce, Italy
Posts tagged ‘Gardens’
One Word Photo Challenge: Lavender
There was the most incredible buzz of bees in this lavender! Enjoying the Challenge!
The Lavender of Suzette, France
The Boat Tour to Krems, Austria
The View of Dürnstein from the Boat to Krems, Austria
After visiting Melk Abbey we are ready for Part 2 of the Combi-Ticket, the boat ride to Krems. Buying this ticket has made our journey so easy! The details are all arranged and all we have to do is show up! Enjoy the boat trip to Krems!
The Walk to the Boat Moored in the Danube Channel, Melk, Austria
The Walk to the Boat Dock at Melk, Austria
The Boat at Melk, Austria
Dürnstein, Austria
Dürnstein, Austria
The Nose Knows!
The Walk Through Krems, Austria to the Train Station
In the US We Call This a Smoke Tree
In the US We Call This a Smoke Tree
Krems, Austria
Krems, Austria
Melk is in Makeover, Again
Looking up at Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Using our Combi-Ticket, from Vienna to Melk, we get off the train in Melk and look up. The glory of Melk is the baroque Benedictine Abbey, established in the 11th century, later destroyed by fire, and after selling the Gutenberg Bible to Yale in 1929, a restoration was started. The church is under a makeover on the grandest terms today. Even the village of Melk is sprucing up. Has the church sold something else? Or did Melk receive a windfall? There are workers everywhere! The easiest way to reach the Abbey is to go all the way to the right of the train platform and make a beeline straight up the hill through the newer section of town. At the top follow the cobblestones to the left, the rest of the way up to the Abbey. After visiting the Abbey we will go down to the village by another path that will take us into the heart of the historic village.
Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
The Gold of Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Melk Abbey Makeover, Melk , Austria
The Gold of Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
The Dining Room, Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
The Rose Colored Marble of Melk Chapel, Melk Abbey, Austria
The Rose Colored Marble of Melk Chapel Melk Abbey, Austria
The Chapel of Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
View from Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
View from Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
View from Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
Entering the Garden of Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
The Pink Pavillion in the Gardens of Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
The Blackbirds of the Melk Abbey Gardens, Melk , Austria
The Blackbirds of the Melk Abbey Gardens, Melk , Austria
The Restaurant in the Garden, Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria
It is starting to rain! I can’t look at the entire garden! Darn!!!!
The Village of Melk, Melk, Austria (Look at the new street paving)
The Village of Melk, Austria
Re-do of Hauptstrasse, Melk, Austria
The Village of Melk, Austria
Yum, Yum! At Restaurant zur Post, Melk, Austria
When leaving the grounds of the Abbey walk down the cobblestone path to the village and turn right. Hauptstrasse is getting a new look. They are re-doing the street so follow the planks. Walking to the Hauptplatz we stop at the Hotel/Restaurant zur Post for the tastiest Austrian cuisine we’ve experienced in Austria to date. Yum! Melk is beautiful even during a makeover! Next we are off to find the boat dock to take us to Krems! It is part 2 of the Combi-ticket! Enjoy!
Adventures in the Village; from Vienna to Melk
The Lane off Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
If adventures do not befall a young lady in her village she must seek them abroad.
Jane Austen
Or simply in another spot, I say! I enjoyed walking to the metro/train station on Mariahilfer Strasse, in Vienna, because I always discovered something new along the way. One day it was LUSH, a shop of freshly made cosmetics. Soaps, lotions, face creams, and more, oh my! The fragrance from that shop permeated out to the sidewalk and literally pulled me in. Once inside, lovely women tried to explain to me in German/English what all the goodies were and what they could do. I bought round shampoo cakes, for different hair types (all in the loveliest of colors and fragrances) and tins to store them in.
One of Several Lush Shampoos
I would have bought more of their products, but because they are freshly made, some had to be kept refrigerated. The cake shampoos were one of the best purchases I made on my vacation. Every time I opened my suitcase I would get that clean, fresh, fragrance wafting up from the shampoo paper sacks. Take a deep breath, can you smell them? When I returned home I placed the shampoos in the tins, for gifts, and the sacks went into my dresser drawers! Then I looked LUSH up online to see if I could buy the products in the U.S. Yep, there they were! Maybe I should always travel with one!
Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
Continuing on our walk to the train station I came to a small portico opening in the storefronts that looked like it was wide enough for a horse and carriage in days gone by. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to turn in and see where this little lane took me.
The Lane off Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
The Lane off Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
The Lane off Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
The Lane off Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna, Austria
The lane went on and on. Here was a collection of small shops and restaurants that looked like they had been inter-connected houses in a different generation. I wondered if this was the way the streets looked before the addition of the modern high-rise buildings. The lane was so charming! I am glad I took the time to turn in. These un-expected finds always interest me the most!
The Shops at the Train Station, Vienna, Austria
The Shops at the Train Station, Vienna, Austria
The Shops at the Train Station, Vienna, Austria
Planning a day trip to Melk was fun too. Taking the elevator on the street to the multi-layered train station (there were local trains and metro trains all converging into one area) we found the trains conveniently stopped in a large, beautiful, shopping mall and market, they called the train station. You could just skip the train and spend a lovely day eating and shopping here! The Austrian Railway Office sold a convenient Combi-ticket, which included the train trip from Vienna to Melk, entry to the Melk Abbey, a boat cruise to Krems and the return train trip to Vienna for 47 euros. What a deal! So early one morning off we went to Melk!
The train adventure for me is the scenery and the allotments stretched along the railroad track. Miniature houses (I call them doll houses) are tucked into gardens as far as the eye can see; doll houses with tiny windows showing off small boxes filled with abundant, draping, riotous colored flowers. Leaning near the door frames were clutters of ladders and old rakes. There were neatly ordered flower beds and well tended fruit and vegetable gardens behind picture perfect picket fences. Sometimes there were happy-looking, waving folks, enjoying the sunshine, while plumped in white plastic chairs and cooling their feet in a small child’s wading pool. Others were grilling, while some were bent over their plots in peaceful, nature retreats. These areas, outside the cities, in Austria and Germany, especially along railways, are the spots for garden obsessed people to rent out a small plot and plunge into the soil. They are called Schrebergartens. There are strict rules that regulate the exact dimensions, color, and style of the doll house and how the gardens are to be maintained. The gardens were very neat, and tidy, just like Austria!
In the early 19th century, it was the idea of Dr. Daniel Gottlieb Moritz Schreber, to create athletic fields for children to escape the crowded, larger cities. Before he realized his dream, he died, and his son decided to use the plots for gardening and to teach children the basics of gardening. The idea quickly caught on. In WWI and WWII the gardens rapidly rose in importance as sources of hard-to-get fresh fruit and vegetables. After WWII a lack of housing across the country resulted in the common practice of erecting small structures on the plots so families could have shelter. The result is what we see today; miniature housing developments of nature retreats! Families can enjoy the sunshine, relax, party, and tend their gardens. A village of adventure, to be sure! And now on to Melk! Enjoy!
PS, since the train zipped along the rail over 100 mph I couldn’t take decent pictures! So please……..
Check out Allotment images HERE!
Schönbrunn; the Big Yellow Palace in Vienna
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria, Viewed from the Orangery
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Entrance to Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Not everyone can live in a big yellow palace. The Schönbrunn Palace has 1441 rooms once used for the summer residence of the Habsburgs. One can tour 22 rooms on the Imperial Tour or 40 rooms on the Grand Palace Tour, or you can look stare at the grandeur of the palace from afar and take the horse and buggy tour or the train tour of acres of grounds. Or you can sit and people watch in the indoor/outdoor cafe with a cuppa/beer/wine and piece of apfelstrudel or chololate torte cake. The choices are endless and the grounds of the Schönbrunn are very busy.
Acres and Acres of Grounds at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
In 1569, the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II, purchased grounds from the Klosterneuburg monastery, where a former owner had erected a mansion called Katterburg. The emperor ordered the area fenced and put pheasants, ducks, deer, and boar there in order to serve as the court’s recreational hunting grounds. In a smaller separate area he added the exotic birds such as turkeys and peacocks.
A Fountain at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
One of Many Fountains at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
From 1638 to 1643, Eleonora Gonzaga, the widow of Ferdinand II, made the grounds her residence after her husband’s death. She added a palace to the Katterburg mansion and started the orangery calling the grounds, Schönbrunn, or beautiful spring.
The Orangery, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Orangery, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Orangery, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Vine Enclosed Walkway Around the Orangery, Schönbrunn Palace
A View From the Orangery, Schönbrunn Palace
The Gardens at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Gardens at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Gloriette, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Obelisk, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
“The Roman Ruins,” Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
“The Roman Ruins,” Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Neptune Fountain, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Neptune Fountain, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
During the 18th century, Schönbrunn represented the splendor of the Habsburg Empire with the ample baroque gardens and their buildings. The original palace building had been expanded and modified, since it was built, to suit the tastes and the requirements of the successive rulers. In 1740, Maria Theresa chose Schönbrunn as her permanent residence and a new phase began in the palace. Urgent repairs were made to the dilapidated buildings. In the third phase, work began on the embellishment of the gardens. Maria Theresa’s passion was the orangery, the longest in the world, where she cultivated exotic plants and also held festive events and performances. The zoo, built by Maria Theresa’s husband, in 1752, for the entertainment and the education of the court, is the oldest in the world. Also, included in the gardens were the Gloriette, the Neptune Fountain, the “Roman Ruins,” and the Obelisk. The Schönbrunn Park was opened to the public in 1779, part of Maria Theresa’s reform policy, making the garden a celebration from autocracy into a real democracy.
The Palm House, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Sculptured Trees and Bushes, Schönbrunn, Palace, Vienna, Austria
No significant changes have been made to the structures themselves since the work on the facade commissioned by Franz I at the beginning of the 19th century. The park layout is original and original techniques are still used to trim the trees and bushes. The Great Palm House, erected in 1880, is an iron framed structure divided into three sections, using technology developed in England. Enjoy!
PS, To get there take the U-4 train on a 15 minute ride out to Schönbrunn Palace. From the train follow the Schloss Schönbrunn signs, a 15 minute walk.
My Garden at the End of July
Crepe Myrtle in White
Northern Sea Oats
Northern Sea Oats Gone Crazy
Balloon Flowers
Tulip Tree
I have been on vacation, in Austria, Italy and Turkey, (the AIT Tour) seeing some of the most beautiful gardens! But, when I returned this was what was up in my garden and some garden spaces around town!
Red Crepe Myrtle
Red Crepe Myrtle
The crepe myrtles are the flowering trees of the South. They come in white, light pink, lavender, dark pink and red. The white ones bloom first at the beginning of July and the red are the last to bloom at the end of the month. Read about the crepe myrtles HERE.
Post Office Garden
Stopsignias Atthepostofficiere
The post office got a new garden too! There is also a new flower! For my British friends I believe the official name is Stopsignias Atthepostofficeiere. I refer to it as the Stop Flower. Enjoy!
KunstHaus Wein
Hundertwasser Haus, Vienna, Austria
On our travels there is always one place that intrigues me, that I don’t expect. It’s usually off the beaten path and something I stumble upon. It’s what makes traveling such an adventure. On one of our days in Vienna, we decided to take the Red Bus City Tour to another part of the city that we had not ventured to. Mainly, I wanted to rest my feet. I didn’t realize, until later, that there were different tours available, so it was just fate that this bus was there and we climbed aboard, not really knowing where it would be taking us. These are NOT HOP ON – HOP OFF buses. Imagine our surprise as we are moving right along, looking this way and that, when about 20 minutes into the tour, the bus stops and we are told to get off to see something. We are told we will be here for 1/2 hour and the bus will be back. I am not even sure what we were supposed to be looking at, I didn’t get that part, I was too focused on getting off the bus. We follow the crowd into a small lane filled with shops and cafes. The bus leaves. We walk a long block and come to a square where everyone is looking up and taking pictures of the building. What in the world? There are big trees growing sideways out of an erratic, mosaic-tiled, colorfully and spritely painted, apartment building with flower covered windows of various sizes. No two windows are alike.
The Hundertwasser Lane, Vienna, Austria
Quirky Restaurant in Hundertwasser Neighborhood, Vienna, Austria
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, (affectionatly called 100 H2O) was a painter/environmentalist vehemently against concrete block buildings and lifeless streets. He became focused on architecture in the early 1950’s, writing a “Mouldiness Manifesto” and submitted models to a TV show to demonstrate his ideas of forested roofs, “tree tenants” and the “window right” of every tenant to embellish his own window. He also revealed a “high-rise” meadow house. He wanted housing in harmony with nature and man and appealed to the city of Vienna in 1977 to build a housing project based on his ideas. The search for a suitable building took several years and because Hundertwasser was not an architect he asked the city for a professional architect to develop his artistic concepts. Hundertwasser designed a forested tree house and the architect, Joseph Krawina, was found to transpose his architectural drawings into concepts. Krawina soon believed there was no way this was going to work. Krawina was replaced by Peter Pelikan. Eventually the house was built between 1983 and 1985 in the old Thonet Furniture Factory. Michael Thonet created the #14 chair, the famous bistro chair, in 1859, in response to a request for a cafe-style chair.
Chair #14
The seat was made of woven cane or palm, allowing the holes to drain spilt liquid from the chair! This chair, now called #214, is still produced today by the Thonet Company. Who knew?
The Hundertwasser Haus, Vienna, Austria
The Hundertwasser Haus, Vienna, Austria
The Hundertwasser Haus Neighborhood, Vienna, Austria
The Hundertwasser Haus Neighborhood, Vienna, Austria
The Hundertwasser Haus Neighborhood, Vienna, Austria
The Hundertwasser Haus Neighborhood, Vienna, Austria
The Ceiling in the Tunnel of the Hundertwasser, Vienna, Austria
Anyway, back to Hundertwasser’s design, the house was created with wavy floors and lack of straight lines. Bright glaring colors were used. In some areas the painting is shredded, revealing the original facade and foliage is present everywhere. In addition, uneven enameled checkerboard mosaic stones were used on the facade, all carefully arranged on the non-load bearing parts, creating an overall picture that concealed the boundaries between the floors. Floors and sidewalks were irregular “to stimulate the brain.” A winter garden and fountain were created in a nearby outdoor space through a tunnel-roof portico with the same enameled checkerboards and carpeted with wavy bricks and stones. The complex of 50 apartments, subsidized by the government to provide affordable housing, was built to bring a breath of fresh air to a city of boring, grey, blocky apartment complexes. Eventually all the original residents moved out citing “wobbly furniture and sprained ankles” and “no practical comfort,” but it was a hit with the general public and soon attracted visitors to this quiet neighborhood area. Now the building with no government aid, hosts 52 private apartments, 4 offices, 16 private terraces and three communal terraces, with a total of 250 trees and bushes. It’s one of the most visited spots and has become part of Austria’s cultural heritage in Vienna and was just soooooooo cool! Now back to the bus! Enjoy!
PS, I later found this advertisement for the KunstHaus. Must be the way to clean the floors! The Red Bus City Tour we were on was Tour #1 , Vienna Short and Juicy! Love it!
KunstHaus Advertisement, Vienna, Austria
Vienna; the Good, the Sad, and the Beautiful
Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Good. It is Sunday and we are going to one of the many concerts in Vienna. The choir and full orchestra are presenting a program at 11am High Mass at the Augustinian Church (Augustinerkirche), located on Josefsplatz. The church was founded in 1327 by Duke Frederick, the Handsome, with a cloister of Augustinian friars. In 1634, it became the parish church of the imperial church and is now part of the vast Hofburg Palace complex. Here the Habsburg’s wedding of the Archduchess Maria Theresa in 1736 to Duke Francis of Lorraine, the wedding of Archduchess Marie Louise in 1810 to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France, and the wedding of Emperor Franz Josef in 1854 to Duchess Elisabeth (Sisi) of Bavaria, took place. The church looks unremarkable from the outside, but the Gothic interior is exquisite. We get there early to get a good seat in one of the pews up front. Soon it is standing room only. Let the music and Mass begin!
Augustinian Church, Vienna, Austria
Augustinian Church, Vienna, Austria
Augustinian Church, Vienna, Austria
The Best. Coming out of Mass we walk over to St Peters Church. (Peterskirche) This church site dates back to the Middle Ages and was built on the site of the Roman encampment in the Graben. In 1661 the church burned down and a new church was built when Leopold I took a vow to rebuild this church when Vienna was ravaged by the plague in 1679. This church was the first domed structure in baroque Vienna and fashioned after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Situated in a very compact space, closed in between the modern Vienna, once inside, the interior is rich with gold stucco. Today we are there as a wedding couple are exiting the church and we observe the church decorated beautifully for the wedding!
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
The Wedding Couple, St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
St Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria
The Sad. Next, let’s see how Emperor Franz Josef and Sisi lived in the Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg Palace. Going up a large marble staircase, turning and going up another set of steps we reach the royal floor and the Sisi Museum. Now, this is my short rendition of Sisi’s life. Franz Josef at twenty three, was engaged to Sisi’s sister, Helene, in a diplomatic marriage. However, once he saw Sisi, age sixteen, all bets were off and he defied his domineering mother and married Duchess Elisabeth (Sisi). Within ten months, Sisi gave birth to their first child, Sophie. Franz Josef’s demanding mother didn’t think Sisi was old enough or smart enough to handle royal life, so she took over everything that concerned Sisi; the children, and the royal household affairs. That included naming the couple’s first born after herself, Sophie, and taking the child away from Sisi, a decision that continued for all the children to follow. Sisi, bored with her non-existent life, except that of brooder, became obsessed about her weight and followed a rigorous workout regime, putting a workout room in her private apartments. Fixated on her appearance, after her ritual cold bath in the morning, she spent three hours daily having her ankle length hair washed, combed and braided. Every evening there was an oil bath and a slab of veal was placed on her face to prevent wrinkles. At five foot eight and 100 pounds she wore a leather fitted corset to keep her waist at sixteen inches and after four children her waist never exceeded nineteen and one half inches. Her weight at times would drop to 95 pounds after fasting for days. Truly her looks must have been the only thing she felt she had control of. After ten years of marriage and four children, Sisi chose to spend very little time in Vienna, frequently visiting Hungary. After the age of thirty she refused to sit for her portrait and have any pictures taken of her. She never smiled because she hated her teeth.
Tragedy struck 1889, with the death of Sisi’s only son, Rudolf, the Crown Prince of Austria, and his mistress, in a murder-suicide pact at a hunting lodge at Mayerling. Sisi withdrew further from court duties and traveled widely, unaccompanied by her family. While traveling in 1898 she was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist, who had missed his chance to assassinate another royal family member, Prince Phillippe, Duke of Orleans. Sisi had served as the longest princess-consort of Austria, at 44 years. Next in line of succession after Rudolf was Archduke Karl Ludwig, Franz Josef’s younger brother. However, a few days after Rudolf’s death Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights to his oldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who became heir presumptive. Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in 1914 sparked WWI. What a mess of lives all that turned out to be!
Imperial Apartments, Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria
Imperial Apartments, Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria
Imperial Apartments, Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria
The Horse and Buggies, Vienna, Austria
The Horse and Buggies, Vienna, Austria
The Horse and Buggies, Vienna, Austria
Taking a break from all the sadness at the Hofburg Castle we pass the horse and carriage stands and decide to take a ride around the city and see what else is inside the Ringstrasse. I love the look of Volksgarten Park and make my way to the benches and find the BEAUTIFUL!
SEATS! Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Sisi Monument, Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Sisi Monument, Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria
Here the children chase the pigeons, the women talk and try to keep up with the children, and the men read their newspapers while enjoying a fine summer day. The flowers are in bloom and the fountains are overflowing. What contrast, what beauty! Enjoy!
Hi, I’m C-A-D-Y and I have I-T-I-S
Mariahilfer Strasse Neighborhood
That would be arthr I-T-I-S. ( as in swelling of the arths or joints) You who follow me regularly know I have been hobbled (well I am always hobbled, but more so recently) especially the past few months due to increased travels and increased walking, so with the trip to AIT (Austria, Italy, and Turkey) coming up I sought the advice of my physician. I am on the strongest medication, she told me. Next step corrective shoes. Corrective shoes? I already wear supportive, un-flattering, old fashioned, old lady shoes and have for some time. I was ten days out from my trip and had no time for new shoes. This trip was one of the most extensive and varied yet of our travels and included several flights, connecting flights, train trips, bus trips, boat trips, LOTS of walking, exploring, and new experiences. Shoes? I would just have to suck it up!
I came home with Pharyng I-T-I-S. A sore throat, headache to beat all headaches, earache, cough, cough, cough, and complete lethargy. And over 3,000 pictures! So today I begin the tale of what we did in between the I-T-I-S’s. It was one of the best trips abroad! And so we begin!
This week the list for the Best Airlines was released. # 5 on that list was Turkish Airlines. There was no American airline in the top 20. We have never flown on Turkish Airlines, but booked it because the price was very reasonable and got us to our destination with the fewest stops. I was immediately impressed upon boarding to be met my a chef (big hat and chef’s attire and all) and to get to my seat which had a pillow, blanket, earphones, and slippers already placed in my seat. Did I mention our seats were not changed one time in the six months prior to departure and we actually boarded on schedule? When we were all seated (and we were in regular folks seating) we received a travel kit (which I can use over and over it was so nice) with earplugs, sleeping mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm and knee high socks. Right after they served the Turkish Delight candy and the hot wash cloths they passed out the food menu and the drinks menu. Need I say more? I will. There were a bazillion channels for music, movies, news, kids shows and learning. There were plugs for all your electronic devices. And the seats were big enough for your fanny. Following a smooth ride, very tasty meals, lots of entertainment and excellent service we landed in Istanbul on time and ready to transfer to another Turkish Airlines plane to take us to Vienna. It was one of the best airline experiences to date! Please, keep them in mind when booking your flights. You won’t be disappointed.
Twenty four hours later (including time changes and connecting flight times) we landed in Vienna around 8pm. Tired and ready for bed we entered Das Tyrol, a small boutique-spa hotel located in a residential area on Mariahilfer Strasse just barely outside the old town’s RingStrasse.
Mariahilfer Strasse Neighborhood
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
Das Tyrol Hotel. Vienna, Austria
The fresh invigorating spa fragrance as we entered the hotel quickly helped to rejuvenate us. What a relaxed feeling! Soon we had checked in, got a lay out of the land, ( including the spa area, breakfast area and lounge), and then took the tiny two people elevator to the Donald Duck floor. What a great room we had! We collapsed into bed and were asleep within minutes!
The next morning we were up early to the large buffet breakfast and then out the door to walk to the Old Town. The hotel’s location was perfect. Situated in the middle of a hill, at the top was the train station and metro station (inside a huge mall with great shopping and eateries) and at the bottom of the hill the tram that circled historic Vienna. We decided to do a Vienna City Walk that SB had mapped out for us before we left home. This way we we could get an idea where the major museums were in the area, before we decided which ones to go in. So we walked down the hill, turned right and crossed the street to the Opera House and Gardens.
On the Way to Ringstrasse, Vienna, Austria
Ringstrasse, Vienna, Austria
Ringstrasse, Vienna, Austria
Here there were many men dressed as Mozart encouraging you to buy tickets to a concert, every few feet.
Opera House, Vienna, Austria
Opera House, Vienna, Austria
We walked on pass them through the gates and then backtracked past the Opera Museum and the Albertinaplatz and the Monument Against War and Fascism.
Mozart’s Garden, Vienna, Austria
Historic District, Vienna, Austria
Historic District, Vienna, Austria
Historic District, Vienna, Austria
Monument Against War and Fascism, Vienna, Austria
Finally we came to corner where the red tour buses were parked and decided we would see another part of the city from the bus on another day. Here also was the Cafe Tirolerhof, a classic Viennese cafe with chandeliers, marble tables, smoke stained upholstered booths and waiters in tuxes. It’s was like stepping into an old movie and it was my first chance to taste the famous Viennese coffee.
Cafe Tirolerhof, Vienna, Austria
Cafe Tirolerhof, Vienna, Austria
Refreshed and relaxed we ventured on passing the Kaisergruft, a church filled with the crypts of Austria’s emperors, empresses and other Habsburg royalty, buried in pewter coffins. Check that for a come back to.
Kaisergruft, Vienna, Austria
We make our way to Kärntner Strasse, a pedestrian only grand walkway, the same road that the Crusaders marched down as they left St Stephen’s Cathedral for the Holy Land in the 12th century. The street was bumper to bumper people, so many in fact that I could not see anything but the back of the head in front of me. What I thought would be a lovely old cobbled street was now a pedestrian mob of shoppers slowly moving along the shops of Gucci and Prada! There were people everywhere! It was Saturday I realized and the shops would be closed on Sunday so the shopping was a must!
Karntner Strasse, Vienna, Austria
I couldn’t wait to reach St Stephen’s hoping the crowd would thin out. Reaching the cathedral we have also entered the center of Vienna.
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
The church, built from 1300 to 1450, has a 450-ft tower and a colorful roof and is Austria’s national church. During WWII the stained glass window behind the high altar was dismantled and packed away. The pulpit was encased in a shell of brick. When the Nazi’s were fleeing at the end of the war an order was given to destroy the church upon leaving. Gratefully, the order was ignored, but the church did catch fire during Allied bombings and the wooden roof collapsed on the stone vaults of the ceiling. After the war each region of Austria contributed to the rebuilding of St Stephen’s, replacing the bell, the entrance portal, the windows, the pews and the floor. Today there is scaffolding where they are continuing to restore. Leaving the church I want to get off the main drag and away from the crowds. We find Dorotheergasse and a small grouping of tables outside Reinthaler’s Beisl where we sit and taste our first gulasch meal and apfelstrudel for dessert. The street is quiet and it is nice to sit and watch the world go by. We’ll stop here for now, but return soon to continue our walk. Enjoy!
The Travel Lady In Her Shoes 