______________________________
Vienna is the capital city of Austria, its political, economic and cultural centre. It is also known as the cultural capital of Europe. I always thought that Vienna is an arty farty place. Well, it has been synonymous with music for centuries, and was home to famous composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss.
Again, sad to say, the time spent in Vienna was way too short to appreciate anything. In fact, we have only been to the Schönbrunn Palace and the shopping area Kärntner Straße. And that's all for Vienna. :(
The Schönbrunn Palace was the former summer residence of the imperial family, more familiarly associated with Maria Theresa, who was the Holy Roman Empress from 1745 to 1780 and during the period of the Habsburg Dynasty, she was the only known woman to have ruled. She was considered to be one of the most competent rulers and brought harmony to the Habsburgh Monarchy.
The palace and garden was reshaped by Nikolaus Pacassi, in the style of the Rococo era.
The entire palace is humongous. You won't be able to take a picture of the entire front facade of the palace building unless you are standing at the main entrance gate metres away.
The park behind the palace building is even bigger than the palace itself. Extending for 1.2 km from east to west and 1 km from north to south, the park was placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.
There is a symmetry within the park, framed by the various gardens, trees and alleyways. There are a number of fountains and statues, a maze, and even a zoo in the park. The Gloriette, a Neo-Classical arcade, is the crowning glory of the hill behind the palace.
I only got to spend 10 minutes in the park. All I could do was to stand on the viewing balcony and take these pictures. That's it. No time to explore the park at all. What a pity. :(
There's no need to create a tilt-shift effect on the photos. Everything looks miniature anyway.
The tour inside the palace was educational, providing an insight on the lifestyles of the imperial family, particularly that of Maria Theresa. The decor is very elaborate, delicate, well-restored and preserved. It is an exhibition of the great artwork by artists and craftsmen of those eras.
There are more than 30 rooms in the palace, I couldn't remember if we have walked through all of them. But I suppose a detailed tour around the rooms would take more than 2 hours. Photography is not allowed inside the palace, by the way.
2 hours in Schönbrunn Palace, definitely not enough. :(
There is a statue of Maria Theresa built in 1888, located in the Maria Theresa Square, where we had a 15 minutes stopover.
The Maria Theresa Square separates the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) from the Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum).
Both museums have comprehensive collections of exhibits, the sheer size of the buildings could tell. The two buildings look almost identical, I had a hard time trying to identify which is which. By the way, the photo above shows the Kunsthistorisches Museum, while the Naturhistorisches Museum is featured below. :)
Kärntner Straße is situated in the Hofburg Quarter, and is the principal shopping street in the old city.
Many of the buildings there look refurbished, as if they are still in their former glory.
While some are undergoing restoration. It's not an easy task to maintain a building's architecture under the wear and tear from the weather and probably historical turbulent events.
Somehow, I think the entire street is getting a facelift. Detour directional signs are common.
As mentioned, Kärntner Straße is a shopping street. People can walk freely along the street, enjoying their time shopping, having a cup of nice (but expensive) coffee in the cafes.
And because it's a popular shopping street, it's very tourist-oriented.
Somewhere near Kärntner Straße, there's the Hotel Sacher, which is famous for its Sachertorte chocolate cake.
Again, it's not difficult to spot a horse in any old towns in Europe. This one looks like it has some eyeliner applied. :)
The other parts of Vienna were just touch-and-go.
Along Karlsplatz Stret, the Musikverein is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Vienna's State Opera House was built in Neo-Renaissance style in mid-19th century.
It was hit by a bomb in 1945, the auditorium and the stage were destroyed. After restoration to retain its original architectural design, it was reopened in 1955.
We had our dinner at the Einstein Cafe, located along Rathausplatz Street. Well, the food was alright, just like any typical western food.
I was more interested in the sights outside the cafe, that goes without saying. Haha..
The building next to the cafe is huge, and I only found out that it is the New Town Hall, also known as Neues Rathaus, after I did my post-trip research. The Neo-Gothic building encompasses a central tower topped with a 3-m statue of a knight in armour.
The Rathaus Park is right in front of the New Town Hall, and it seemed like they had something exciting going on there.
The transport system in Vienna isn't hard to comprehend, just like the one in Prague.
Even the signs look so familiar. :)
It was quite a pleasure travelling in their trains. I fell asleep on my way back from the town area back to the hotel. Haha.. Their escalators in the underground stations are scary though. Very steep.
I like their trams too, although some of them are quite old and the lights would flicker.
The traffic within the town area aren't too bad, I don't recall experiencing any traffic jams while travelling on the roads in Vienna.
You could even rent a bicycle, if you are afraid of the jams or the long walking distances. :)
But I find walking along the streets a rather therapeutic thing.
You can walk at your own pace, discovering things that you may have never noticed before.
The night is Vienna was cold. The wind was strong, but the night was beautiful.
I love the tour guide we had in Vienna. I was already exhausted by the end of the trip, but wow, her enthusiasm took me by surprise. She had no problems handling such a large group like us, and she has a loud voice too. Essential for a guide. :)
Vienna has been a pleasant place, less the complexity of Prague. Buildings are magnificent, shopping was a pleasure (H & M!). The biggest and only pity is that there wasn't enough time to explore the places and the city. I would love to enter the Opera State House to watch an opera, visit the gardens in the Schönbrunn Palace, walk into the churches to marvel at the intricate details.
This entire Europe trip has indeed been an eye-opener. Have seen, have experienced, have learnt. My guide books only came in handy for my post-trip research though. Haha.. But I have never felt so tired in any trips before. To think I could sleep throughout the 12-hour flight back to Singapore, only to wake up for meals. I didn't even realise my trays have been cleared by the stewardess! Haha..
But really, the trip has left me yearning for more. I want to explore Europe again, perhaps to make up for what I've missed out during this trip. One fine day, I'll be back! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment