Day trip to Vienna

Okay everybody, we're going to play a little game called "Name That Architectural Style".  Is it gothic, renaissance, neoclassical...?  I took an art history class, oh so many years ago at the tender age of 19.  I loved the information, but failed the class.  I never took the final.  I don't think that after all these years taking that final would have helped me remember anything anyway.  But, after this trip I might be inspired to take another one and, since all this art is tied inextricably to history, maybe even read that European history book Rocky has been recommending for years.  The first picture is the interior of a gothic church in which mass is still held several times a day.  When mass begins the many tourists are politley escorted out so they will not disturb the service with their whispering and ohs and ahs.

The second picture is part of the exterior of the church with a view of its fabulously tiled roof.

UP: Buildings old and new proclaim their beauty and importance through monumental sculpture.

DOWN:  History is revealed in the middle of Vienna by the Roman archaelogical ruins recently discovered during a modernization project.

AND STRAIGHT AHEAD:  So many ordinary buildings, not museums or municipal buildings, have luscious columns with alluring clothed and naked godesses watching the comings and goings of their streets.

Everywhere we look we see art and history which is jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring.

Of course, who could resist a classic carriage ride in the midst of all that splendor, especially since it was recommended as a pinacle romantic experience by our Slovakian host Michael.  One of Michael and Jana's first dates was to Vienna for a carriage ride.  Rocky and I took full advantage with a long, full kiss which he recorded on video.  You'll all have to wait until we get home to see that one.

Of course sustainance is always necessary, and after a full morning of sight seeing, Abish, the mouse and Squeal, the quail, insisted that we stop and EAT.  Abish is what Michael and Jana will name their wedding cat (it is a contraction of their nicknames) and Squeal is the sound of delight a waitress made when she noticed us carrying our friends everywhere we went.

Later we met an elderly gentleman as we were looking into an entryway he was exiting.  He was very well dressed in suit and tie with hat in hand and asked us if we needed help.  It turns out he was just leaving his gentleman's club where he lunched and played bridge daily.  He had actually lived in Spain for 25 years after the war and had finally repatriated himself to Austria after his wife had died.  He had been a POW in a British prison for much of the war.  He recommended that we visit the secular Hapsburg museum which he not only directed us to, but escorted us right to its door.  He felt that this museum was the best as it is secular, rather than religious.

The following pictures are of 3 generations of Hapsburg crowns.

I have nearly finished reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks much of which takes place in Europe, particularly Vienna, and discusses some of the Hapsburg history.  Their austentaion and wealth are very evident in this museum's artifacts.  All of these crowns are truly encrusted with precious gems...hand tooled gold, natural pearls, rubys, diamonds, sapphires, etc.  Their robes were all hand embroidered with thread made of similar materials...silver and gold thread.  Reading The People of the Book has given me even more appreciation for the human time and skill it took to craft these treasures.

Later that evening we headed back to Bratislava to prepare for the next day's trip to the Tatras.