Coffee with cream, sachertorte, schnitzel, and apple strudel - Vienna is not the place to begin a diet! Dale and I had two days to explore the former imperial city's delights and found ourselves kept very busy. While I can't say I fell in love with Vienna - the city felt big and impersonal, and it was also very expensive! - I did appreciate the opportunity to see so many beautiful artworks without the queues we saw in Paris. (The Viennese art galleries were deserted by comparison!). We began with the Albertina - a gorgeous palace/art gallery housing a fascinating collection of modern art, as well as its restored state rooms. The bulk of the artworks on display span 130 years of art history, from Monet to Picasso, and are from a private collection bequeathed to the Albertina. Standout artworks for us included paintings by Signac, Chagall, and a black and white painting of New York by an artist I can't remember the name of!

The next gallery/palace we visited was the Belvedere with its impressive collection of Gustav Klimt's work, including 'The Kiss'. Klimt was Austrian and one of Vienna's most prominent artists even during his lifetime. I loved his use of gold and the mosaic effect in many of his paintings which tend to be bright and colourful with an air of unreality except in the very expressive faces and delicate hands of his subjects. Dale was rather taken aback by some of the raunchier artworks by Klimt's contemporaries and at times didn't know where to look!

Schonbrunn Palace was a short train ride from the city centre and offered a fascinating insight into the lives of the Habsburgs. While not as opulent as Versailles, the grand rooms were set up as they would have been used with personal items once belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Imperial family. Artworks done by the Empress's daughters, family portraits, and the Emperor's desk where he sat daily dealing with affairs of state. The gardens were extensive and being used for a fashion shoot as we strolled there in the sunshine.

Other highlights of our Viennese experience included walking through the historic city centre, past the beautiful cathedral with its roof tiled in colourful geometric designs, and visiting the enormous art history museum with its extensive collection of ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian relics. We finished up the Western European leg of our journey with a chauffeur driven ride to the airport in a gorgeous BMW. As the car purred effortlessly down the autobahn at 160km, Dale and I sank back in the comfortable leather seats enjoying this final decadence before our return to New Zealand and unemployment!