Vienna

Well, I spent 3 nights in Vienna. I only planned on spending 2 but there was just too much to see here and not enough time, so I decided that I needed a full two days instead of just 1 1/2. I first found a hostel to stay at cause I had not booked one. Once I did that I spent the next couple of days exploring. There is some great arquitecture in this city and I walked all around the center of the city to see it. There is an old palace, the old town hall, the parliament, some old churches, the state opera and the old opera, and this one section called museum quarter that has some good arquitecture and a ton of museums. None of which I went to though, instead I decided to visit some different ones. It was a beautiful city with lots of trees and parks that I would have loved to sat in and enjoyed had it not been so cold.

While I was there I also went to another palace a bit outside of the center that was set onthis huge plot of land. The whoel thing was beautiful and ornate as ever. I cannot imagine how much money must have been sunk into it at the time to build it. I went in and did a tour and most of the time spent with my mouth open and gapping at what I was looking at. Then afterwards I went and strolled around the extensive gardens there that were just huge. There was even a zoo on them! There was also a maye like the ones they used to have at Sea World made out of bushes, but I decided not to go into it cause it cost extra.

I went to the Sisi Museum there too which told the story of the empress Elizabeth and also lets you go in and see the royal dinnerware collection. That was a sight to behold. There were just rooms and rooms filled with so many beautiful peices for serving and eating on I could not believe it. I also had to go to the Freud Museum. Ok, so his theories are out there mostly nowdays, but he is pretty much the father of psychoanalysis and we still discuss him in my field of Social Work, so I felt it only appropraite to go. It was actually really intersting and I really enjoyed it a lot. It is in his house there and was begun with the support of his youngest daughter Anna. The only bad part about it was that someone stole my nice little compact umbrella out of my coat pocket while I was there so I am now umbrellaless:( Luckily, my coat that I just purchased is water proof with a hood and is fleece lined. I bought my clothes just int he nick of time before the coldness hit!

I also went into 2 of the art museums there, the Albertina and the Belvadere. The Albertina had a great collection that they were just given on permanent loan and the Belvadere had a special exhibition going on at the time with a ton of great paintings. I again got to see some magnificent works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Chagrall, Pollack, Cezanne, Signac, Matisse, and so many more I could keep going on for a while. I loved them. I think that I could soak up the art in some of these museums and not tire of them. A few of the peices I just sat and stared at for a while in awe of the painters. They were quite a sight!