Brolly weather again

Undeterred by the horrible weather, we set out this morning for Schönbrunn.  It was the Birthday Boy’s choice and we were happy to go along with it, even though we’d all been here before.

Every time we’ve stepped inside this station, I’ve been amused by the “Hausordnung”, a sign normally seen in the foyer of an apartment building or multiple family house.  Whilst my hero bought our tickets for today, I was able to get a little closer to read the rules.

I especially liked the “it goes without saying that:” bit.  Because clearly, it did need to be said…

Oh, don’t you just love that font?!

But, ugh…

Never mind.  In we go.  Thank goodness for cloakrooms!  Though this is the most visited tourist attraction in the country, there didn’t appear to be vast numbers of people arriving and thankfully, we were able to enjoy a relatively peaceful look around.

I loved the hexagonal wooden setts which were perfect for an entrance hall in this kind of weather.

Sadly, no photos from this point on.  But actually, the website gives a good impression and plenty of background information.  Still, there’s nothing like seeing things first hand!

(Though I did take one photograph from the ballroom, of the Gloriette, way up there, from where one can enjoy superb views of the city.  Apparently.)

We enjoyed our morning and didn’t hurry around, but took our time to absorb the stories and learn a little more about Maria Theresia and her family of daughters.  Of course, Sisi features largely too: “a name that has come to encapsulate the enduring myth of this tragic empress”.  But the story stretches further, to Marie Antoinette, Marie Louise (who married Napoleon) and Marie Christine whose impressive drawings are there with those of her siblings on the wall of the Porcelain Room.  Marie Christine was the lucky one, for being the favourite daughter meant that she could marry for love – even if favoured status in the family resulted in rocky relationships with her sisters!

I paid my own respect to Maria Theresia, choosing the eponymous coffee to go with my Apfelstrudel (mit Schlag!) when we stopped by the cafe to decide on our next move.

Shortly after sitting down, we heard voices singing – the Three Kings had arrived!  Of course, this being Epiphany, Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior were on tour, collecting alms and, presumably, marking the doors – an example of which can be seen when we were in Frankfurt recently.

Edward was relieved that they didn’t burst into a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday”!!

As we left Schönbrunn, we spotted a very soggy figure through the gates.  Painted gold, the “performance artist” (for want of a better word) was doing his best to hold an umbrella aloft whilst trying to attract attention.  There has to be a better way of making a living, don’t you think?

We walked back to the U bahn, this time to the stop at the other side of the park, passing the “Kaiser Pavilion” which the architect Wagner designed and built  in Jugendstil to impress Franz Josef.  

 

Standing on the commoners’ platform gave us a good view of the pavilion, too.

Our next stop was Radetsky Platz, where the Christmas tree chippers were, ermm…chipping Christmas trees.  But of course, we hadn’t come to see that.

We had come to see this.

Well, perhaps we hadn’t come to see the building but more of what is inside it.  Nevertheless, I don’t think any of us knew quite what to expect.

Hardly a straight line in the place (straight lines are the devil’s work, Hundertwasser thought), there was a notice on the wall in both German and English with the justification.

Of course, I heard hollow laughter and deep sighs from my family…

Again, no photographs of the work, but a web search will produce countless resources and the details of his (rather interesting) life and work!  I was delighted to have seen his paintings and drawings first hand and like the work of Klimt, the originals are not served well by reproduction.

We had hoped to go from here to the Hundertwasser Haus but we were wet, the rain simply wasn’t giving up at all and we were all ready for a break.  One of us mentioned the thought of a hot bath and that seemed to put the tin lid on the afternoon.  By the time we got back to the hotel, it was late afternoon and we were happy to spend an hour or two reading, blogging, relaxing.

Except.

Our room was exactly as we’d left it this morning.

Huh!

So much for my hot bath and plan to slouch.  I suppose I could have sung loudly and kept my fingers crossed that no-one would come to service the room whilst I was déshabillée .  My hero could have stood guard and turned away any visitors, of course. But towels still wet from this morning’s showers?

Maybe I’ll blog instead.

(The Birthday Boy’s room had been given the full service, thankfully, so he was not similarly inconvenienced!)

I just realised, I haven’t explained the relevance of not accepting callers whilst in the bath.  Here is our room.  (It’s ok, at least the loo is behind a solid door!)

Rainy Saturday

Looking out of the window this morning, it was clear that whatever we decided to do, it would be better if it were indoors.  It might also be a good day to make use of public transport, being the public transport profis that we are (well, two of us at any rate)

There’s a large tram stop/U Bahn station right opposite our hotel, so we crossed the bridge and went into Schwedenplatz station.

A daily pass is called a “shopping ticket”, so armed with one of those each, we were all set.  Validated them and then went in search of a map!

We were headed for Belvedere, so first on the U Bahn to Hauptbahnhof using a clean and fairly quiet train.

Arriving at this modern and rather empty station, a member of the railway staff noticed us looking around for the correct exit and helpfully walked with us to the staircase, advising us auf Deutsch (of course) that it might be a good idea to catch the tram #18 for one stop, to save us getting wet!

Because, actually, the #18 tram stop was right at the top of those stairs!  How convenient.

Another clean, modern vehicle with hardly anyone on it this morning.  Very easy, very quick and certainly a great deal more comfortable than walking through the rain.

At the entrance to the Belvedere park there was a dire warning.  But we three intrepid souls ventured in regardless.

Beautiful gates stand at the entrance to the inner park, which lead to the former home of Prince Eugen – given to him by a grateful nation.

The main Belvedere Schloss is a fine sight across this large but rather grey pond.  We like to travel off season but on occasions, we admit that places do look better in the sunshine!

 

Standing in the ticket queue gives us chance to weigh up the options.  Do we want to go to all five places in the park, to just the “Oberes Belvedere”, or to include the “Unteres Belvedere”?  Aaagh!  We ought to have researched this first!

We settle for the 2 out of 3 combi ticket, which means we get to see the Klimt exhibition as well.

On the reverse side, there’s the added bonus of seeing what the place looks like in better weather, too!

We begin with the Oberes Belvedere and of course, there are no photos allowed.  We leave our cloaks in the cloakroom and enjoy a couple of hours in a fine collection of rooms, admiring the work of Schiele, a fine collection of portraits including a self portrait by the artist Lilly Steiner and the huge painting of Napoleon by David.  Through the Marble Hall then and on to the Klimt show.  Well, I said yesterday that we are not the greatest of fans.  That view is tempered rather by our visit and the first hand viewing of some of his masterpieces.  It’s also clarified somewhat by the contents of the souvenir shop!

Undoubtedly, Gustav wasn’t the only talented Klimt artist and it was interesting to see the beautiful work done by his two brothers and indeed, his father.  I especially liked Georg Klimt’s embossed panels of dancers and thought the landscapes painted by Gustav were far more interesting than the familiar works featuring women.  But of course, it was impossible not to be enchanted by the faces, familiar or not and seeing them displayed on a black background, heavily lit, they appeared to glow, as if projected.  The remarkable thing for me was the lack of gold and glitter – in real life, these are rather more subdued than in reproduction and though there is still that depth of colour and a richness of tone, the brassy effect often associated with these images is missing.

All three of us were disappointed to see these classic masterpieces and others debased in the gallery souvenir shop – The Kiss was reproduced with cats faces replacing the originals, glitter was added to many of them and we soon realised why we have come to dislike these images so.  Even the beautiful Shiele landscape Vier Baume was offered with added gold printing as a postcard.  It sounds a little po faced to have a go about such things but, if the gallery which holds these paintings doesn’t respect the artists’ work, then who will?

Oooh, time for some fresh air!  Here’s the view of the Unteres Belvedere from the Oberes.

…and here’s the Oberes from the Unteres.

Now, in the Unteres, there was a special exhibition: Awakening the Night.  A couple of exhibits in the Oberes had a motif by them, symbolising their relevance to this theme, so as we sat with an Almdudler discussing what next, we read the rationale of the exhibition.  This appeared to be some way between someone’s PhD thesis and the results of a curators’ brainstorming meeting:

“The exhibition Awakening the Night … is devoted to the omnipresent and yet seemingly waning power of the night… It will…focus on three paradigm shifts.”

Sadly, however clever the concept, ultimately the success of such a show depends on the quality of the art within, and we didn’t find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by this one.  I lost all hope when I came across a tree with “dead birds” hanging from it, but I think both my heroes had already given up by then.  Never mind.  The building itself shone beyond the contents, the ceilings and the marble room enough to warrant a visit alone and we were happy.

One exhibit alone informed a later visit of mine: a photograph of two nude women standing in what looked like an art gallery, one of whom looked remarkably like Charlotte Rampling.  It seemed out of place in this exhibition and none of us could explain or justify its relevance.

Anyway, at this point, we decided to go our separate ways; the boys were headed for the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, where they had been previously and wanted to revisit the display on the Austrian Navy and the exhibit about Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered WW1.  I preferred to make my way to the Leopold Museum, to see the Vienna 1900 exhibit.  You can stick with me…far more interesting!

Walking down towards the Ringstrasse, the first sight of note was the huge Soviet War Memorial.  Across the platz was another striking installation – the Morning Line

I knew nothing of this but was intrigued by the fact it was fenced off.  I thought it was still under construction but now wonder if it was merely a result of New Year Celebrations?

Passing the memorial to Johannes Brahms (and humming a little of my favourite 1st symphony) it began to rain a little more, so I put my umbrella up and my head down!

I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of one of the two Karlsplatz pavilions, in spite of the rain

and the bell of Karlskirche struck two o’clock as I passed, as if to say “don’t forget me!”

From there it was a mere step across the road in front of the Technical University with the magnificent architectural details.

Down the side of the Secession House where a coach had not so helpfully parked right in front of the facade

To the Museum Quartier where we’d been yesterday, too. 

But just as yesterday, the Quartier seemed empty and soulless and it was hard to decide quite where to go.  Fortunately I spotted the Egon Schiele panel on the wall and followed the arrow.

arriving at the entrance to the Leopold Musuem to find the evidence that the critics have used about the accessibility (or lack of it) of these modern buildings.

I handed my coat and umbrella to the cloakroom attendant and went to buy my ticket, realising as I entered my PIN that I’d left my glasses in my coat pocket.  Never mind…though the clerk on the desk pointed out that I might need them for the “Naked Men” exhibition!

I began with Egon Schiele though.  Photographs were allowed here and there was plenty of room.  The chap looking at that painting had been at the Belvedere too, then we’d spotted one another at the Soviet War Memorial.  I wonder if he thought I was stalking him…?

At the Belvedere I particularly liked Schiele’s landscapes and here was another in similar vein.  It was good to have time and space to appreciate these pieces and I must say, I found them more accessible than some of his “wilder” works.

From here I went up to the fourth floor, where the Wien 1900 exhibit was to be found, and my eyes went straight to this beautiful poster with the most lovely lettering

There were a series of rooms, each with fascinating and typical exhibits of the era

and from time to time, the main exhibit itself was visible through a large picture window

There was more of Schiele’s work and a few Klimts too, which had escaped being gathered up for the larger, commemorative show.

I had a lovely time meandering about, taking photos and scribbling a few thoughts.

Fortunately I still had a little time left to visit the special exhibition too. 

(without my glasses!)

It was interesting, for all kinds of reasons.  Firstly, we’d spent the morning gazing at artworks with no end of naked women and thought nothing of it, yet somehow, this one seemed rather more provocative.  There was a series of rooms, each focused on a single theme – the woman’s viewpoint, the swimming party, classical statues, twentieth century art and so on.  None of it was particularly tittilating and the octagonal installation of a bath house with videos of men doing what men do when there are no women about was, to be honest, rather boring.  Yet there was a different atmosphere here – no-one was taking photos, sketching or doing the things people normally do in art galleries!  Most visitors were young, there were no large tour groups and the picture creating the most interest when I was there was the one on the poster of three French footballers.  Real life as it is – the simplest of art there could be?  I did rather feel for the (male) gallery attendant standing by the huge image of such athletic physique, though…

And that was that.  I caught the U bahn back to the hotel and arrived 30 mins ahead of the boys who had enjoyed an equally successful afternoon.

Just over an hour before dinner.  Hmmm……getting hungry!

Last lap

for Friday, anyway.  We’re flagging a bit, for sure.  How about you?  Were you as impressed by those Klimt wall panels as we were?

Anyway, we’re now in the Bruegel room of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where a gentleman is expounding to his two “students” and the artist working on a piece inspired by one of the large collection of works on show here is taking a break.

There are many works here by Bruegel the Elder and most are familiar.  Did you ever have an Athena print of these pictures?  Or own an LP with one on the sleeve cover?

By the time we’ve looked around, the gentleman has moved to the next painting.

Feeling footsore, we’ll just scoot through the Dutch masters, then, stopping to admire Durer’s Madonna of the Pear.  So beautiful and what an interesting commentary there is to read – is your German good enough to interpret it?

Sadly, it would take me some time to do that – there’s a little hint of it all here

OK, moving right along then, walking anticlockwise along the Ring, through the Naschmarkt and past the Secession House where these three owls on the side of the building catch my eye.  We’re tired and though the spirit would love to stop and look a little more closely, the body says “one foot in front of the other”.

Perhaps we’ll come back here over the weekend?  We’ll see.

For now, we’ll admire the shop windows – just look at those little cookies!  They’re rather similar to some I’ve pinned to my Pinterest page and interestingly they are in the window of an art gallery and not a konditorei.

Unlike Dorothy, we aren’t lucky (or organised) enough to have tickets for the Opera, which is sold out for the duration of our stay and which would, in any case, have cost us an arm and a leg.  Instead, we’ll lean on a lamppost whilst my hero goes into the bank in search of a cash machine and watch the world go by.  Is that you humming “Lili Marlene”?

Suddenly, we have a spring in our step and renewed vigour as we spot the speciality “Krapfen” in the konditorei window – these doughnuts are traditional New Year treats in this part of Europe and there are several seasonal flavours to choose from.  I’ll do the honours and brave the assorted Russians, Grande Viennese Dames and suchlike to work my way to the front of the queue and acquire two Mozart flavoured ones and one Baileys.  Hmmm….

More sweetness next door in the Manner shop and we’re done.  Time to return to the hotel and spend an hour recovering and rediscovering our sore feet before dinner.

Do you think we used our day well?  Packed enough in?

See you later!

Across the Ring

Just over the road from the gardens, the Parliament stands on a small rise.  Let’s go and take a closer look, shall we?  Sadly, it’s closed today and our little penchant for touring parliament buildings isn’t satisfied, but never mind.  There’s plenty more to see.

The first panorama I capture from the top of the steps features the longest tram in the city, because as I turn the camera the tram travels along at the same speed and in the same direction!  I’ll have another go…

Just “next door” is the Rathaus, the City Hall with a rather well chosen Christmas Tree still in place.  They’re clearing up from the Christmas Market which was in this yard until a couple of days ago, so we can’t go closer.  We’d had the idea of getting here at about the right time for a tour inside, but haven’t managed it very well, so sorry, that’s off too (unless you fancy hanging around a while?)

Across the road is the Hofburg Theatre, the “premier theatre of the German speaking world” according to our guidebook.  Hmm.  I think there are likely to be one or two rivals to that claim but hey, it’s a grand building, isn’t it?

We’ve been walking clockwise around the Ringstrasse, but now it’s time to turn around and head back the other way.  We’re ready for a bit of a sit down and a drink, but there’s nowhere around here.  Let’s head for the Museums Quarter.

The statue of Maria Theresia  stands in the centre of a well kept garden in between the Naturhistorisches Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  These two traditional collections lead the way to the more contemporary Museum Quartier,  where we think we might find some coffee.

Though there are great collections of modern art in here, dance studios and film and video archives, sad to say that our priority is to be found in the cafe!  Perhaps we’ll come back to the Leopold collection when we’re less weary?

The birthday boy has spotted a poster for another exhibition he fancies, too and invigorated by the hot lemon, ginger and honey drink, I’m happy to go with the flow.  Bunte Gotter – Coloured Idols – has toured a few galleries and maybe you’ve seen it?  Right now it’s at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and so it’s there where we’ll head now.

OK if I leave you here in the Egyptian rooms whilst I go and put my stuff in a locker?  In true northern European style, it’s warm in here and our outdoor clothes and belongings are better secured in the cloakroom so we can enjoy our visit unencumbered.  Photos are allowed without flash, but sadly, not in the special exhibition.  Sorry about that.

Though the exhibits are stunning and tell a fascinating story, I’m sure you’re doing just as I am…looking up and marvelling at the building itself, which is as much of a star as the contents.

This looks rather interesting, too.  To celebrate the Klimt anniversary, a bridge has been built in the museum to allow a close view of his wall paintings high above the staircase.  Tomorrow, the bridge will be removed – how lucky are we to have caught it?!

I’m not a fan of his work generally but I love to see the sketches of any artist and these in particular hit the spot with me.

Look at the precise measurements and the detail there within the sketch.  Oh, to be able to draw and imagine like that!  Having seen the sketches I want to see the end result, so come on, let’s climb the steep stairs and look for the lady with the orb.

But no photos allowed!  (and unlike some others, I’ll obey the instructions in the hope of finding a postcard or something)

So, for now, you’ll have to imagine the rich palette of colours, the gold and the beautiful faces of the figures which imaginatively fill the unusually shaped panels high above the arches.

Or you could catch a glimpse in someone’s Flickr album.

Take a while, enjoy them and meet me in the next post.  OK?

Come on, let’s go!

No good lying in bed when there’s a great big city out there ready to be discovered!  We’ll have some breakfast and then get out there and see what’s what.  The morning has dawned fine and looks pretty settled, so we’ll leave the umbrellas back here and take the risk, shall we?

First stop is a bookshop where my hero and his junior spotted an atlas of Austria-Hungary last night and fancied a closer look.  Whilst they peruse the pages and decide there are too many words and not enough maps, I spot a “moon diary”.  Though the moon calendar remains popular over here in Germany and Austria, the concept of working to a natural cycle according to the phases of the moon has never really caught on in England, has it?  But perhaps you know about this and do your planting, mow your lawn and cut your hair at the right time of the month?  Or do you need a diary like this to advise you?  I find the whole idea fascinating, though have no personal experience to share, sadly.

The characters in the children’s shop a few doors down appear to have had a bit of a night, don’t they?  The assortment of miniature brandies and the like on the table suggest that some of them are the worse for wear.

Oh my, one has his head in a bucket!

Oh, and shock horror…have some of those toys been smoking, too?

Fortunately, there’s a stern notice up there on the wall which you can understand, can’t you?  I mean, being the Urstrumpftante* that you are…

Let’s redeem ourselves and take a few minutes inside the Stephansdom, shall we?  It’s beautiful in here, still decorated after Christmas with small altars here and there.

I really like these little pools of light, shining on the red and white altarpieces and the whole place has a sense of elegance and timelessness, don’t you think?

Although there are lots of tourists here with us, we seem to be able to avoid the large crowds and anyway, they aren’t interested in the same kinds of things as you and I, thank goodness.  This is a curious little wall adornment, isn’t it?  Of course, I was curious about his identity so have done a bit of googling and here he is.  The internet is a wonderful resource, isn’t it?

Oh, and I’m so glad you spotted that small crib scene, too!

It’s time we were heading off.  So far, the crowds haven’t built up and the Graben is looking pretty relaxed.  It’s cold, though, isn’t it?  I’m really pleased I bought those ear warmers and suggest you tie your scarf tightly like everyone else, because the wind certainly whistles about these parts!

 

Here’s a spot where you could leave your old Christmas tree for recycling, if, of course, you’ve taken off all the lametta!  We didn’t bother with that this year but somehow, a couple of strands still found their way on to our tree.  I think they hitched a lift on a bauble…

Another toy shop window and there is a model train display with the Sisi carriage.  Now, I’ll warn you, we are not Sisi fans here, so you’re going to have to do a little sweet talking to bring us round.  Maybe you remember her from when we were at Bad Ischl ? 

Far more interesting is that lovely shop front we spotted last night, when it was dark.  Not sure we have any business with “Zur Schwabisches Jungfrau” but we can admire their style, can’t we?

Now, we’re getting near to the Hofburg here and you could do me a favour by distracting these pesky young men from bothering us, please?  They’d like to catch our interest and sell us tickets for the Spanish Riding School, the ballet, the opera, the concerts…anything!  Of course, we wouldn’t dream of buying such things on the street and I’m sure you woudn’t either.  Let’s confuse them and not give too much away…see how long it takes them to work out our nationality?

Aha…fooled them nicely!  (Monsieur….Madame……)

до свидания!

Let’s spend a while simply taking in the splendid facades of the Hofburg, shall we?  No need to go inside the museums (been there, done that) but we’ll wait a while if you’d like to go round?  Actually, it would be a while, because the queues are pretty long!

Look, up there.  Isn’t it magnificent?  To think the Hapsburgs went to all this trouble to build on such a grand scale when things weren’t exactly going so well for them.  Lessons to be learned?

But though we’re enjoying ourselves, I’m not sure about the others?

I’m just going through the archway which leads to the Ringstrasse but someone has spotted something of interest in the souvenir shop.  Good grief…how on earth can anything in that window appeal?

Well, I suppose that our eyes pick out things of interest, don’t they?  Both historians in the family rather fancy adding this map to their collection.  Shall we indulge them this time?  Well, they didn’t buy the atlas this morning…

Walking through the rose garden, where Martha Stewart’s advice has been taken and the hessian wrapping has been done (perhaps not quite as perfectly as hers) I admire the grand buildings on the other side of the Ring: the Parliament and the City Hall for starters.  Shall we go and take a closer look?

Well, yes, we will…but in the next post, because this one’s getting a little long!!

* Urstrumpftante = a Viennese word describing a woman of a certain age, a battleaxe, perhaps or similar, none of whom read this blog, I’m sure.