My (Eastern) European vacation 2008, part 4 of 4
I managed to post the last of my pictures before I go away again next week. \o/ And speaking of going away, there's nothing like imminent vacation to make work all crazy-like. Also, I seem to be experiencing allergies which is a new thing for me. I blame it on the fact that it's been a really dry spring so there hasn't been a lot of rain to knock the pollen out of the air. Blah, blah, blah, workity work work. Anyway, Vienna.
I love Vienna, which means I took a whole lot of pictures. So, it's very much not dial up friendly under the cut.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Vienna
I cannot say enough about how much I love Vienna, there just aren't enough words. Some places you go just click, you arrive and you think, "yes, this is what I was looking for." Vienna is one of those places for me.
After our initial search for a place to stay (a guest house that didn't actually exist in a kind of sketchy neighborhood) we found the lovely Pension Wild (Wild for the proprietor's last name) Vienna's friendly Guest House (and it was, indeed friendly). Our room was on the top floor in the square bump out and had a mini bar fridge which came in quite handy for storing the food we bought at any one of the four supermarkets within a few blocks.
The part of town we stayed in was mostly residential and with little shops which was especially lovely because it didn't feel like being in tourist land. Not that there weren't a lot of tourists in Vienna, but the city seemed to absorb them more than a lot of other places do.
We walked by this building a lot on our way to Neubaugasse a street full of cool little shops that we had been recommended to go to and, as it turned out, was mere blocks away from our hotel. This picture makes me wish I took more pictures of random streets because walking along streets like this are what makes really me feel Vienna.
The Rathaus (city hall) was also mere blocks away but in the other direction.
The Rathaus courtyard.
And it had very nice bathrooms (this was taken out the bathroom window). In fact Vienna excels at having clean (and free) bathrooms even in such places as train stations and public bathrooms by the path along the Danube.
The first night we were in Vienna there were all kinds of tents and platforms and things being put up in front of the Rathaus. When we went back a couple of nights later we discovered that it was some sort of public drunkenness festival. There were all these booths from local vineyards and breweries with little paths in between (the had brought in bark mulch and grass). You paid a 2 Euro deposit for a wine glass (and very nice one at that) and then you could go around to the various booths and sample the wine for 2.40 or so a glass. And, if you didn't get so drunk that you forgot about it you could return your glass at the end of the night and get your deposit back. We discovered some very nice wine that you can't seem to get here.
There were people dressed up in traditional costumes, playing accordions and singing and having strange competitions involving sticking an axe in a log and playing tug of war with it. Even the people dressed costume were drunk. It was all very fun.
One day we walked pretty much clear across the city along the Danube canal (where we saw this pool barge)...
...to the Prater amusement park where we rode the Riesenrad (a giant ferris wheel that was built in the 1890s). It was a bit overpriced but very cool anyway. Back in the day they used to have fancy dinners in the cars and apparently you can still rent them for a dinner now.
A church we walked by on the way to Michaelerplatz (about halfway between Mplatz and the Rathaus).
Michaelerplatz. In the center of the square there is a big hole in ground in which you can see Roman ruins and the foundations of buildings from the 18th century all jumbled together. It was quite fascinating to look at but didn't photograph very well.
Dome over Michaelerplatz. I don't remember what this building is called but it's probably got something to do with the Imperial Palace as the palace is just on the other side.
The road leading into Michaelerplatz this arch is directly below the dome.
Michaelerkirche. We took a tour of the crypt (which I sadly wasn't allowed to take pictures of).
The crypt was in use from the 1560s until it was sealed off in the 1780s (it wasn't reopened until the 1920s) when the nobles complained that it smelled. One of the church's primary sources of income during that time was burial. People would pay a lot of money to be buried in the church, but there was only so much room so when there got to be too many coffins they would take the bodies out, spread the bones on the floor (they were still in the church as the people who paid were promised) and cover them with a layer of dirt. That became the floor and they started with the next batch of coffins. There is something like three feet worth of bone and dirt layer cake that makes up the floor of the crypt and there are piles and piles of bones in there. Also, because of the dry micro-climate that sealing the crypt off created the bodies in the last batch of coffins that were interred there are mummified. The bodies still have hair and skin and clothes. It was creepy and very very cool.
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansplatz. I restrained myself from taking a million pictures of the cathedral only by virtue of having taken a million pictures of it the first time we were in Vienna (for four hours or so a couple years back).
Stephansplatz is an excellent place for hanging around and people watching. Also for ice cream. I had this amazing mango ice cream that tasted like they had somehow just made a mango into ice cream (at other points I had raspberry, peach and apricot that were all equally as amazing). It makes me want to somehow import ice cream like that here. I think I could probably make good money at it (that and sausages, those are two things that the Europeans definitely do better than the Americans).
I couldn't help myself with this one (taken on one of the streets lined with fancy stores around Stephan).
More buildings in the vicinity of Stephansplatz, not all of which I know what they are. Though, I could show you where they were if you gave me a map.
Fascinating little alley.
In the alley.
And out the other side.
I love how there are tiny little shops built into the buttresses of this church.
An unusual clock.
There are six flak towers in Vienna. T is fascinated with bunkers and since they were used as bomb shelters as well as for anti-aircraft guns we had to go investigate. Most of them have parks made around them. And one has been turned into a zoo.
I love the contrast of strange concrete monstrosity and new bright green leaves.
After our little tour of flak towers we took the tram out to the 21 km long island in the actual Danube (the canal is the part that's right near the old part of the city). There were a bunch of guys with four string stunt kites out there doing tricks. We watched them for quite a while and contemplated going back to a kite store we'd seen earlier and buying a kite for ourselves 'cause, man, the wind was great there and it's never like that here. It was one of the many "why don't we live here?" moments we had in Vienna.
Animals and fish in the flak town that is a zoo. It was a very cool zoo. And it also had a panoramic view of all of Vienna (which I did take pictures of but have yet to piece together). In the lobby there was a tank with a crocodile that you could see through from below.
And then there were the monkeys, wee little monkeys about a foot tall. I think I took about sixty pictures of them. So cute.
And a baby one. It came within a couple feet of me (the monkeys were in an open four story rainforest like room where they could roam around all they wanted with wooden bridges for the people to walk through on).
And then the monkey moma came and took the baby away from the nasty humans.
More streets and buildings and such. We did a lot of walking around in Vienna.
This church was on the main shopping street, Mariahilfe. We walk by it a lot and there seems to always be some sort of street musicians playing in front of it. Most of them were good.
The Secession building.
This church is famous and has some wonderful carvings but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.
Archway in Stadtpark.
A deco apartment building near Naschmarkt (a market that happens for random stuff on Saturdays and food all during the week).
One of the many gorgeous sunny warm days we took a city bus out of the city to the end of the line which was on top of a hill overlooking the city. You could see forever from up there. There was also this abandoned building (maybe it was a convent once, it was church related anyhow) so I was pretty much in heaven. Gorgeous view, gorgeous day and an abandoned building to take pictures of.
Rundown things, yay!
The Danube and the newer part of the city (the old part where we spent most of our time is to the right out of the picture). You can see the long thin island that runs down the middle of this part of the river.
We sat here for a while watching bumble bees go from flower to flower and taking in the view while we finished the last of the absinthe T had bought in Berlin.
And, the view. You can see the Alps. So freaking cool. I'd never seen the Alps before. Our next trip is definitely going to involves getting closer to those mountains.
With vineyards in the foreground.
One of the many things I love about Vienna is it's great sense of design, even in random stickers. I totally want a shirt of that paperclip one.
Then there were the space invaders. We saw these stickers all over the city. Against homophobia, racism, sexism. Each one had a different space invader on it.
And then sometimes they were tiled onto buildings. I saw this more than once. Cool but inexplicable.
One of the last days we were there I discovered (I say discovered 'cause I never manage to actually follow what the guidebook suggests but instead wander around until I come across something cool) the oldest church in Vienna, Ruprechtskirche.
Boy, do I ever love vines against old stone.
Vienna is filled with wonderful coffee shops serving wonderful coffee and pastries. I realize now that I didn't take pictures of any though and that's why when I look at the pictures I did take I feel like somethings missing. Also, a feel like you just can't really capture Vienna with pictures. The city is too alive. It's not just about the architecture and the history it's about the people and the coffee shops and what's going on now, the movement. That's why I love it so so much and feel like despite having been there for eight glorious day I barely scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. I am in love, Vienna, and I will be back.
I love Vienna, which means I took a whole lot of pictures. So, it's very much not dial up friendly under the cut.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Vienna
I cannot say enough about how much I love Vienna, there just aren't enough words. Some places you go just click, you arrive and you think, "yes, this is what I was looking for." Vienna is one of those places for me.
After our initial search for a place to stay (a guest house that didn't actually exist in a kind of sketchy neighborhood) we found the lovely Pension Wild (Wild for the proprietor's last name) Vienna's friendly Guest House (and it was, indeed friendly). Our room was on the top floor in the square bump out and had a mini bar fridge which came in quite handy for storing the food we bought at any one of the four supermarkets within a few blocks.
The part of town we stayed in was mostly residential and with little shops which was especially lovely because it didn't feel like being in tourist land. Not that there weren't a lot of tourists in Vienna, but the city seemed to absorb them more than a lot of other places do.
We walked by this building a lot on our way to Neubaugasse a street full of cool little shops that we had been recommended to go to and, as it turned out, was mere blocks away from our hotel. This picture makes me wish I took more pictures of random streets because walking along streets like this are what makes really me feel Vienna.
The Rathaus (city hall) was also mere blocks away but in the other direction.
The Rathaus courtyard.
And it had very nice bathrooms (this was taken out the bathroom window). In fact Vienna excels at having clean (and free) bathrooms even in such places as train stations and public bathrooms by the path along the Danube.
The first night we were in Vienna there were all kinds of tents and platforms and things being put up in front of the Rathaus. When we went back a couple of nights later we discovered that it was some sort of public drunkenness festival. There were all these booths from local vineyards and breweries with little paths in between (the had brought in bark mulch and grass). You paid a 2 Euro deposit for a wine glass (and very nice one at that) and then you could go around to the various booths and sample the wine for 2.40 or so a glass. And, if you didn't get so drunk that you forgot about it you could return your glass at the end of the night and get your deposit back. We discovered some very nice wine that you can't seem to get here.
There were people dressed up in traditional costumes, playing accordions and singing and having strange competitions involving sticking an axe in a log and playing tug of war with it. Even the people dressed costume were drunk. It was all very fun.
One day we walked pretty much clear across the city along the Danube canal (where we saw this pool barge)...
...to the Prater amusement park where we rode the Riesenrad (a giant ferris wheel that was built in the 1890s). It was a bit overpriced but very cool anyway. Back in the day they used to have fancy dinners in the cars and apparently you can still rent them for a dinner now.
A church we walked by on the way to Michaelerplatz (about halfway between Mplatz and the Rathaus).
Michaelerplatz. In the center of the square there is a big hole in ground in which you can see Roman ruins and the foundations of buildings from the 18th century all jumbled together. It was quite fascinating to look at but didn't photograph very well.
Dome over Michaelerplatz. I don't remember what this building is called but it's probably got something to do with the Imperial Palace as the palace is just on the other side.
The road leading into Michaelerplatz this arch is directly below the dome.
Michaelerkirche. We took a tour of the crypt (which I sadly wasn't allowed to take pictures of).
The crypt was in use from the 1560s until it was sealed off in the 1780s (it wasn't reopened until the 1920s) when the nobles complained that it smelled. One of the church's primary sources of income during that time was burial. People would pay a lot of money to be buried in the church, but there was only so much room so when there got to be too many coffins they would take the bodies out, spread the bones on the floor (they were still in the church as the people who paid were promised) and cover them with a layer of dirt. That became the floor and they started with the next batch of coffins. There is something like three feet worth of bone and dirt layer cake that makes up the floor of the crypt and there are piles and piles of bones in there. Also, because of the dry micro-climate that sealing the crypt off created the bodies in the last batch of coffins that were interred there are mummified. The bodies still have hair and skin and clothes. It was creepy and very very cool.
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansplatz. I restrained myself from taking a million pictures of the cathedral only by virtue of having taken a million pictures of it the first time we were in Vienna (for four hours or so a couple years back).
Stephansplatz is an excellent place for hanging around and people watching. Also for ice cream. I had this amazing mango ice cream that tasted like they had somehow just made a mango into ice cream (at other points I had raspberry, peach and apricot that were all equally as amazing). It makes me want to somehow import ice cream like that here. I think I could probably make good money at it (that and sausages, those are two things that the Europeans definitely do better than the Americans).
I couldn't help myself with this one (taken on one of the streets lined with fancy stores around Stephan).
More buildings in the vicinity of Stephansplatz, not all of which I know what they are. Though, I could show you where they were if you gave me a map.
Fascinating little alley.
In the alley.
And out the other side.
I love how there are tiny little shops built into the buttresses of this church.
An unusual clock.
There are six flak towers in Vienna. T is fascinated with bunkers and since they were used as bomb shelters as well as for anti-aircraft guns we had to go investigate. Most of them have parks made around them. And one has been turned into a zoo.
I love the contrast of strange concrete monstrosity and new bright green leaves.
After our little tour of flak towers we took the tram out to the 21 km long island in the actual Danube (the canal is the part that's right near the old part of the city). There were a bunch of guys with four string stunt kites out there doing tricks. We watched them for quite a while and contemplated going back to a kite store we'd seen earlier and buying a kite for ourselves 'cause, man, the wind was great there and it's never like that here. It was one of the many "why don't we live here?" moments we had in Vienna.
Animals and fish in the flak town that is a zoo. It was a very cool zoo. And it also had a panoramic view of all of Vienna (which I did take pictures of but have yet to piece together). In the lobby there was a tank with a crocodile that you could see through from below.
And then there were the monkeys, wee little monkeys about a foot tall. I think I took about sixty pictures of them. So cute.
And a baby one. It came within a couple feet of me (the monkeys were in an open four story rainforest like room where they could roam around all they wanted with wooden bridges for the people to walk through on).
And then the monkey moma came and took the baby away from the nasty humans.
More streets and buildings and such. We did a lot of walking around in Vienna.
This church was on the main shopping street, Mariahilfe. We walk by it a lot and there seems to always be some sort of street musicians playing in front of it. Most of them were good.
The Secession building.
This church is famous and has some wonderful carvings but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.
Archway in Stadtpark.
A deco apartment building near Naschmarkt (a market that happens for random stuff on Saturdays and food all during the week).
One of the many gorgeous sunny warm days we took a city bus out of the city to the end of the line which was on top of a hill overlooking the city. You could see forever from up there. There was also this abandoned building (maybe it was a convent once, it was church related anyhow) so I was pretty much in heaven. Gorgeous view, gorgeous day and an abandoned building to take pictures of.
Rundown things, yay!
The Danube and the newer part of the city (the old part where we spent most of our time is to the right out of the picture). You can see the long thin island that runs down the middle of this part of the river.
We sat here for a while watching bumble bees go from flower to flower and taking in the view while we finished the last of the absinthe T had bought in Berlin.
And, the view. You can see the Alps. So freaking cool. I'd never seen the Alps before. Our next trip is definitely going to involves getting closer to those mountains.
With vineyards in the foreground.
One of the many things I love about Vienna is it's great sense of design, even in random stickers. I totally want a shirt of that paperclip one.
Then there were the space invaders. We saw these stickers all over the city. Against homophobia, racism, sexism. Each one had a different space invader on it.
And then sometimes they were tiled onto buildings. I saw this more than once. Cool but inexplicable.
One of the last days we were there I discovered (I say discovered 'cause I never manage to actually follow what the guidebook suggests but instead wander around until I come across something cool) the oldest church in Vienna, Ruprechtskirche.
Boy, do I ever love vines against old stone.
Vienna is filled with wonderful coffee shops serving wonderful coffee and pastries. I realize now that I didn't take pictures of any though and that's why when I look at the pictures I did take I feel like somethings missing. Also, a feel like you just can't really capture Vienna with pictures. The city is too alive. It's not just about the architecture and the history it's about the people and the coffee shops and what's going on now, the movement. That's why I love it so so much and feel like despite having been there for eight glorious day I barely scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. I am in love, Vienna, and I will be back.