Have you heard of that place in Europe? The city mistaken for Venice and the country for Australia. Where many great artists have emerged. It used to be the center of a great and strong empire. The land of art, the land of cakes. Have you heard of the one, the only, Vienna?! If you have, good for you. If you haven’t, you’re missing out.
Greetings from Vienna (we’re actually on our way to Prague), where canals are out and cakes are in. My family and I made this majestic city our home for two nights. Let’s see what you think.
Friday
The train ride to Vienna had the windows filling up with beautiful landscapes of cut back farm land. The soil looked rich and dark and perfect for crops.
After arriving in the afternoon, we made it to our hotel. It was an old apartment building built in the 40’s. We settled ourselves, and headed out for lunch. We ate at a quiet restaurant. I had ANOTHER SCHNITZEL!!! I may be obsessed.
We had to be touristy, so we took a walk to look at Hundertwasserhaus. It’s an extremely quirky building, built in 1986 by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The building is used as social housing, and has many oddities. For example, the cobblestone in front looks as if it has almost been uprooted. It’s a large hump that takes some skill to walk around.
Afterwards, we made our way to the Vienna Riesenrad, an over 100 year old giant Ferris wheel. The carts were bright red and spacious. I myself am not a huge fan of Ferris wheels. I really don’t enjoy how the carts rock and jolt around at such heights. It makes me feel a little queasy.
Saturday
A Viennese breakfast is very similar to a German breakfast. Mine consisted of Broetchen, a croissant, and very foamy hot chocolate.
Later, we walked to the Belvedere Art Museum. The works there were of Klimt and many others. They were stunning, but not always in a good way. I expressed my feelings about men painting nude women in unnatural ways. I complained again. They painted them in ways, in poses, that made me and others, I’m sure, uncomfortable. There was one painting I liked very much. It was called Portrait of a Woman by Klimt. We noticed how realistically he had painted the diamonds on her wrist. We were amazed.
My mother and I went to the Seccession. We saw one painting that took up four walls. Again by Gustav Klimt. I couldn’t really tell, but I think it was telling some sort of story. I couldn’t pin down what it was about, even when I read the program.
We walked to a small café where I had a Sachertorte, a rich chocolate cake coated with either apricot or raspberry jam. I also had an odd juice that tasted a little bit like blackberry.
For a brief two minutes we found ourselves inside the Stephansdom Cathedral. The stained glass was plain and not ornate, but still beautiful.
We walked back to our hotel, as the frigid air swept through the streets, the people, the shops, even the cobblestone seemed cold. And we nestled into our covers, knowing that tomorrow, we would be off, to new places.
Until then, Cyanjasmine11
Tranquil & Tumultuous Travels 