Venice - Vienna, Austria

Today we journeyed to the Tarvisio Pass and into the Lakeland area of Austria stopping for lunch in Velden on Lake Worth. Then north to Vienna. We visited the Hofburg Winter Palace for a concert of the Wiener Hofburg Orchestra listening to Strauss and Mozart making this an unforgettable evening.

Vienna 13th July

We had a morning sightseeing tour of Vienna visiting the State Opera, Parliament, the Town Hall, Heroes' Square and St. Stephens Cathedral. St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is located at Stephansplatz and is the most important Catholic Church in Vienna. It has a multi-colored tile roof with a diamond pattern and two tall towers which are the most recognizable symbols of the city. The sign of the Austrian resistance O5 was etched into the wall of the Cathedral. We saw where Johan Strauss lived and pass the Volks Prater which is an amusement park. We had our first glimpse of the Danube. We visited Stadtpark where there is a gilded bronze monument of Johann Straus. We also visited Burggarten where a statue of Mozart stands in its own separate area and within the area before it is a flower planting laid out in the shape of a treble clef. I also visited the Albertino which is a museum that had an art exhibition of Monet and Picasso showing whilst we were there.

In the afternoon we visited Schönbrunn Palace which is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. When we arrived there were a number of childrens' orchestras playing in the gardens. The gardens are magnificent with the garden axis pointing towards a 60-metre-high hill which since 1775 has been crowned by the Gloriette structure. The Gloriette houses a cafe and offers and magnificent view of the Palace and its gardens. The Roman Ruin consists of a rectangular pool enclosed by a massive arch with lateral walls, evoking the impression of an ancient edifice slowly crumbling into the ground. In the pool in front of the ruin is a seemingly haphazard arrangement of stone fragments supporting a figural group which symbolizes the rivers Danube and Enns.

Tonight we had a traditional Austrian dinner at Gumpoldskirchen where we tried its' wines. Some tried too much.....................