Day 20 Vienna, Austria.  A Day to Relax

Tony's View

We accomplished so much yesterday. Today was a day to relax. We went out into the rain with our umbrella to just tour around the downtown area. We definitely prefer rain on our off days. It makes the riding days so much better. Right now, there is no rain in the forecast tomorrow. For me, the best touring on the ride is the small towns anyway. 

The pictures above are pictures we got yesterday of St. Stephen's where we went to Mass tonight in the Catacombs beneath the church. The high spire is under construction and if you look closely, the church sold advertising on the scaffolding. That's one way, I guess, to help pay for all the scaffolding. The picture above to the right is the Tomb of Frederick III (1415-1493). He is considered the father of Vienna. When the tomb was threatened during World War II, the residents built a brick shelter around it to protect it. This Church had many neat things in it. The Viennese really hold onto their Habsburg Empire (1200s to 1914) culture. You can see that throughout the city. The picture to the left is the inside of the Opera House. The big box in the bottom is for standing room only. The tickets go on sale 1 hour before the performance and only cost 10 Euros. Above that, is the Emperor's Box which is where the Emperor sat with his guest. 

As Vienna entered the 20th century, it was home to a man who would change history forever. Imagine this. In 1907, a struggling young artist stood in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral. He painted a watercolor of the Cathedral's north tower. It was one of the many scenes the poverty stricken young man would paint, trying to make it in the world of art, but after eight long years of frustration in Vienna, he gave up. He went on a different path in a different country. His name? Adolf Hitler. As it would turn out, Hitler, - and the 20th century - would prove to be brutal on Vienna.

In 1914, the Habsburg Archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo. In revenge, Austria declared war on Serbia, igniting World War I. Austria was on the loosing side. When the dust finally settled, the Habsburgs were disposed after 700 years of ruling Austria and the surrounding area. The palaces that we saw yesterday belonged to the Habsburgs. The war left Austria as a small, land-locked nation and Vienna as an Imperial city without an empire. It is interesting how things in eastern Europe changed with WW I. Hitler came back in WWII and took revenge on the city. The picture above showed what happened to St. Stephen as during WWII. The other picture above shows the Halsberg terrace where Hitler came back and made a speech. I had my finger under my lip to make my Hitler impression. It is amazing the revenge that he had toward Austria.

 On our way out today, we ran into a church and decided to enter. After getting in, there was a service and it was Jewish. We took a quick picture to the left and tried not to bother them. We saw many other churches and the pictures are below of the ones I could get to download through this crappy WiFi. Can you tell I am frustrated? The Mary Grotto in the one church was special.

The church below is St. Peter's church in Vienna and is one of the oldest churches. They have many wonderful churches in the city center, all within a half mile of each other. Yes, it reminds you of Rome.

Joan's Extras

We did one of the Rick Steve's walking tours around the heart of Vienna. Tony downloaded it and we each wore one of his wireless ear pieces to hear the tour. It was raining pretty steadily during this time, so we shared the umbrella along with the ear pieces. 
The one statue that I found interesting was this one of King Leopold. It was during the time of the plague in Vienna and almost a third of the city had died. King Leopold is said to have dropped on his knees praying to God for help. Thankfully, the city was saved so the king ordered this monument built in the middle of a square. It shows King Leopold on his knees. If you look closely, he had an underbite, which is supposedly from so much inbreeding among the royalty at that time. Hmm, our dog has an underbite.
 
After doing our walking tour, we went on the hunt for Veganista, where I got this yummy plant based raspberry ice cream cone. Believe it or not, Tony did not get ice cream today.

Next, we searched for the Naschmarkt. It is a mile long (or more) outdoor market with fresh foods, restaurants and some unique goods. I bought some tiramisu almonds there for yet another yummy find.








With all of this walking we passed by this high end men's clothing store called of all things, "Sir Anthony." I guess all of the royalty talk is starting to go to Tony's head!

Joan's Extras