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After breakfast, we left the ship and
walked to the nearby Vorgartenstrasse metro station, where
we bought a "shoppers" ticket (thanks for the
tip, John) and travelled three stops to Schwedenplatz. From
there we began an informal walking tour of the city, starting
with the magnificent Gothic St. Stephan's Cathedral. |
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Walking in the direction of the Opera
House, we chanced upon the Donnerbrunnen fountain in Neuer
Markt. |
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The four naked figures represent the four main tributaries
of the Danube; the Enns, March, Traun & Ybbs.
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We paused at the State Opera House;
should we buy tickets for the evening performance of "Parsifal"?
We approached the ticket office but quickly changed our
minds after seeing the ticket prices! We reckoned we could
just about afford tickets to stand, but would we want to
do that for approximately five hours? NO! Perhaps we should
compromise and go to the Hotel Sacher for some of its famous
torte instead? In the end, we decided against that too.
After all, we have been there before (in 2003 - it was wonderful)
and we do have the most delicious pastries available on
the ship all day, every day! |
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We were both very keen to revisit
the Secession Building and to go inside it again, which we did. |
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Inside, we saw the fascinating Beethoven
Frieze, a painting by Gustav Klimt. (No photos were permitted
unfortunately) |
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Our next stop was the (very) baroque
Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church) |
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Another short walk and we were at Karlsplatz
Stadtbahn Station, which is a former station of the Viennese
Stadtbahn. The buildings above ground on Karlsplatz are
a well-known example of Jugendstil architecture. |
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Haas-Haus, a very modern development,
directly opposite St. Stephan's Cathedral, which can be
seen reflected in its glass frontage. |
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More Baroque! St Peter's Church. This
is the second oldest church in Vienna. |
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Completely over the top! |
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The Plague Column (Pestsäule),
on the Graben (street) |
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Another view of the Haas, highlighting
its proximity to the cathedral. |
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We decided to return to the ship
for lunch |
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No, we didn't make use of the bikes! |
Today's creation - still not sure what it was
meant to be |
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After lunch, we set off again. This
time we made use of the metro and, more adventurously, the
trams, which we found a little confusing. We caught one
which we hoped would be travelling around the Ringstrasse,
which is the grand boulevard that circles the city. Luckily,
we made the right choice and chose to get off at the museums. |
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We crossed the road and went through
the arches into the Hofburg Palace complex. |
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Hofburg Palace |
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Michaelerplatz |
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We saw a similar trick in Majorca
last year and we still haven't worked out how it's done! |
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The Danube Canal (not to be confused
with the river) near Schwedenplatz. |
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Another tram adventure. This time
we got it wrong, however and were soon going in a direction that
we didn't want to go. |
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At the point that we decided to get
off the tram and take the next one back, we got a surprise.
We recognised the distintive artistry of Friedensreich Hundertwasser
on a building at the tram stop and then realised where we
were. |
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Right: An interesting comparison with
the Hundertwasser toilets in a small town in New Zealand
(from our 2010 visit there) |
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On our way back to the ship, a last
look at the Saint Francis of Assisi Church. |
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Another view of the hydrofoil which
serves the route between Vienna and Bratislava. |
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Our ship sailed just before midnight
(we think, because we were fast asleep). |
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