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Angela and Julie

Welcome to our Blog page, where we tell a few stories about some of our travels around the world. With plenty of pictures and a short story of the good, the bad and anything else!

March 2020

Vienna, Austria


Vienna 

A city of great cafe's and restaurant's filled with old buildings of which some have been converted to museums, one of the most famous is, The Hofburg. Once a city palace of the Hapsburgs now it's is the Silver Museum, Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum. These along with the National Library which is in the same vicinity have an entry fee.

            

Mozarthaus Museum is a four level museum consisting of pictures of the famous composer, his wife and other influential people in Wolfgang’s life. There is plenty of sheet music to peruse and a few instruments to gaze at. There are cartography maps of Vienna at the time that Wolfgang lived in Vienna and on the first floor of the museum are the apartments in which he lived for a few years with his family. Though, there is no furniture that actually belonged to him in this museum there are a few objects that are shown from his time period. Its worth a visit; but, its best to know that you won’t be seeing his apartment as he lived in it. 

                                                                                                       

The Haus der Musik is well worth a visit, though maybe not on the same day that you visit Mozarthaus, as I had had enough of learning about Mozart by this stage. The music house is an interactive educational into sound. The four levels are dedicated to different subjects. The first level is accessed via stairs that are set with piano keys that you can walk on in ascending order of the musical scale. You learn about the mechanics of the ear and how sound, there are instruments to beat, there are noises to be heard from various aspects of life – space, urban noise, animals, bodily functions etc. You can conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and create your own music There is a room that has re-engineered music by Mozart & Beethoven into a synthesized sound. Then a floor dedicated to great Viennese musicians (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Strauss etc) and their life story, this is designed very well and if you are a lover of these musicians then you’ll be enthralled. A very interesting space that is well worth a visit even with children from about the age of 9 that are interested in music.

                       

St Stephens Cathedral, worth doing the combined ticket tour. Though, be warned that the catacombs tour is conducted very quickly and not all items are explained. If you are a person that likes to get through things quickly then the catacombs tour would suit you. The north tower has a bigger viewing area than the south. The south tower viewing area is indoors and have two pokey windows to see out of whereas, the north tower you go outside on a platform over two levels to view the city. The audio guide for the main sanctuary is interesting and it allows you entrance to the main sanctuary because there is a fence blocking visitors free access to all areas.

                             

The Dom Museum is small but very interesting as they have some of the St. Stephens Cathedral treasures (crosses, priests vestibules, paintings), but; they were also curating a modern art exhibit on Wounds – that we carry with us and shape who we are.

                                            

Bundesgarten Augarten is a nice little park to take a walk and a surprise for the uninitiated are a couple of WW11 flak towers a potent reminder of the horrors of war.

                            

Schonbrunn Palace summer dwelling of the Hapsburgs – The tours available (Imperial & Grand) are a self-guided tour with an audio-guide. Allow one hour for the walk through for the Grand Tour. Even in winter the walk through the palace was crowded at certain points due to group tours passing through.  No photography is permitted of the inside of the Palace. Allow an one or two hours for the gardens if you like strolling. The Residenz Restaurant is a nice place for breakfast, cakes or lunch. There is a café inside the Gloriette building at top of the property which can be seen from the back of the Palace, this is quite expensive; our large hot chocolate and large Viennese coffee cost Euro11. 

            

                                                    

                            


                             

                                                    

Leopold Museum is an expensive visit when two floors are closed. We did see various works by Klimt & Schele. There were other works by various artists ranging from traditional to modern. The MQ area was quiet the day we visited, not sure whether winter was the reason for this. IF you visit the area with someone whom likes lots of museums, then this would be the place to come.

                                                           




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