On the Banks of the Beautiful Blue Danube...Vienna

 

 This wigged gentleman sold us tickets to a concert in something short of a nano second.  For someone who poured over the cost of cheese and wurst in a grocery store, Paco slapped down money for a Mozart/Strauss concert toot sweet!  This is Vienna's city square.  Very very cosmo!

 

 Musik Verein!  All that New Year's Strauss that comes across the international airwaves?  Right from this place.  WE LOVED IT!!!  The orchestra all had period costumes, and the entire everybody clapped along to the Emperor's Waltz.  Entirely Viennese and made us glowingly happy.  The couple next to us were from Peru--six kids!!!!!!  You just never know who or what you'll come across.  Paco, of course, wowed them with a business card and a short description of our "alpaca farm"--I'm betting THOSE folks were thinking, "You just never know!"

This cathedral looks straight out of Ali Baba, right?  No, we didn't take a detour; this is KarlsKirche (Church of St. Charles), a "classic Gothic example" in Vienna!  Gothic architects borrowed Muslim influences from the Ottoman Empire, with which the House of Hapsburg was battling at about the same time the church was designed.  As with many other European cathedrals, one look at the inside gives an insight about why there was a religious reformation.  Church dignitaries lived with the same opulence as the cathedrals they built. 

 

Call me crazy and punch me in the arm, but doesn't the inside of this cathedral look like they tie-dyed it???

 

 I drooled through a lot of shop windows at the children's clothing.  Oh, for an extra organ to harvest and sell to afford to shop here...In true Relief Society fashion, I think I can make some of these.  Nicht wahr??? 

 

 The entire city was an homage to all that is good and sacred about classical music.  All the "Guys" passed through here; many of them made it their home.  Statues, fountains...

 

 AND toilets!  We got used to paying a euro to relieve ourselves in about 95% of our European destinations, but this place wanted an extra euro for the jolly of music with your tinkle.  We didn't fall for it.  Anybody who can't hum their own darn Blue Danube while they do their business should just stay home.  Sheesh.

 

 Schonnbrunn Palace.  Opulence.  We came across several palaces in our travels--mostly we enjoyed the free gardens.  Once you've seen Versailles, everything else is just a watered down variation on a theme.  If you think on it too hard, you realize that the cost of European opulence didn't figure in positively for 99.9% of the citizenry.  Kings schmings...

 

 

 Palace gardens.  I restrained myself from sweeping through singing something (not Sound of Music yet--wait for it, wait for it) romantic. 

 

Palace garden fountain.  Free, cool, private.  Most of the folks headed for the palace.  We had the gardens to ourselves.



 A magnificent arch above the palace. We huffed up there in the heat.  A zoo hosted some pandas just to the right of this.  So so grandiose.  Defnitely an upside of opulence!

 

 





 Now my caveat here is that I know minimal German (3 years in high school and about that many semesters at BYU)--just enough to hang myself with.  When I saw this sign I picked out "You have it in the hand" and "Stop...something something...street".  I'm guessing some Viennese dogs  are being singled out.  If anyone can translate this???? 

 

 Ahh...lest we forget that Vienna is the music capital...a subtle reminder.  Isn't it beautiful?  I could do this with my flower beds!  Maybe a potato?  Or a book?

 

 Yet again, Austrian dress lust...I love the green contrasted with the pink.  Saw quite a bit of that.

 

 

 Poetry, anyone?  Vienna's parks were spectacular.  Such a beautiful memorable city.

 

 mmmm..."Our Garden".  Wait!  Those are umlauts over the "A"!  Plural??

 

And last but not least...Strauss.  Viennese daytrips next!  Graz and Budapest!!!  (Note to the astute reader:  I did something today I've never done.  I showed Paco how to edit my blogpost and let him mess around a little with putting some pictures next to other related pictures.  Can you pick out what text he added?)