We knew of Vienna's music reputation, so we booked a concert: "Sound of Vienna". What a great experience! We were treated to some beautiful classical pieces sprinkled with a few Christmas Carols. In addition to the orchestra, there were a couple of numbers interpreted with ballet, and a couple of numbers included some light opera, performed by very capable singers.
Crystal chandeliers are quite common throughout Austria, and this one in a ballroom
of the Kursalon Wien was really beautiful!
Part of the orchestra entertaining us.
Just a block or two down the street from our hotel, and right in the centre of Vienna, is the beautiful St. Stephensdom, or St. Stephen's Cathedral. The first thing we noticed was the amazing roof which consists of about 260,000 glazed tiles. Pictured in the tiles are a double headed eagle, the symbol for the Habsburg dynasty, and the coats of arms for the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria. The inside of the landmark is equally breathtaking! Whilst this cathedral was threatened
during WWII, it was saved from destruction as the commander instructed to destroy it disregarded his orders and left the cathedral standing. Unfortunately, civilian looters set nearby buildings afire as the Russians entered Vienna, and the winds pushed the fire into the cathedral. The entire city of Vienna came together to repair their beautiful cathedral and seven years later, in 1952, it was fully reopened.
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| This is the Kursalon Wien. Built in the mid-1800's this building has been used fordances and concerts almost from the start. Many of the concerts were conducted
by Johann Strauss, or by his brother Eduard. This is where we went for the concert.
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| Restoration work, including cleaning years of soot and pollution, is going on now at the cathedral. |
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Inside the beautiful St. Stephansdom in Vienna
Scott and I started our first full day in Vienna by just walking around. We had a general idea of where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to see, so we headed off. After the St. Stephensdom we found our way to the Spanish Riding School, famous for the Lipizzan Horses. We were able to buy tickets to watch their morning training exercises. The horses were quite beautiful to watch. No photos allowed in here, but Scott kindly took a photo of a postcard.
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Vienna is also famous for world class museums, and we were able to enjoy two of them, the Kunsthistorisches (art history museum) and the Albertina. Kunsthistorisches houses the collections of the Imperial Habsburg family and includes works by Raphael, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Titian along with many others. There is also a large collection of Egyptian and Near East works. The building itself, built in 1891 for it's current purpose, is amazing.
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This is the entrance to the Kunsthistorisches.
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| Each area of this museum was designed to show off a specific collection of art. This is the inside of the dome. |
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| The ground level of the dome is a cafe. We enjoyed a nice lunch and cafe Mozart whilst enjoying the beautiful architectural detail and art around us! |
We came across several artists who were copying the paintings of the masters.
The second museum we visited was the Albertina. The Albertina houses an extensive collection of print and graphic arts, as well as a collection of impressionistic and early 20th century art. We had a nice time looking at the artwork on display in this museum as well.
Here are a couple more of the beautiful buildings of Vienna......
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| City Hall - There had been a large Advent market here, but it was in the process of being dismantled when Scott and I visited. We think they were taking down Christmas to prepare for a New Year's Eve celebration. |
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| The "porch" at City Hall |
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| City Hall at Sunset |
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