I had not appreciated prior to this trip just how expansive the Austrian empire was prior to WW-I! It was huge!
We had just over a half day to see what we could, stay overnight and then leave again.
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| We left Salzburg in a snowshower and drove West toward Vienna. As we passed Melk, our guide pointed out this Benedictine monastery that covers 40 acres of ground! |
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| We arrived in Vienna and went straight away (our guide is British and it is wearing off) to Schoenbrunn Palace |
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| Said to rival Versailles, it is indeed beautiful but is no where near as large as Versailles. Just your basic starter Palace |
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| Horse drawn carriages are used for sales and for transport |
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| The view from the palace |
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| Beautiful fountains frame the front courtyard. The buildings on each side were servant quarters. |
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| The gardens are magnificent but made less enjoyable by a steady rain - note the puddles. |
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| The mist/rain nearly occluded view of the distant portico on the hill |
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| The "rear" of the palace was actually where guests were received |
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| The two headed eagle symbolizes the joint Austrian/Hungarian government |
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| The WC is pretty fancy! |
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| Our tour guide Mary and our local guide Brigette |
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| Umbrellas were the order of the day! |
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| We waited in a reception/entrance area with these two statues |
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| They explained we should not take photos since the flash is hard on paintings. I knew my camera cannot flash unless I physically raise the flash, so surreptitiously shot a few frames from the "hanging from the neck strap" position (I can also completely silence the camera, so no tell-tale beeps or clash of shutter sounds). |
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| Reminiscent of Versailles' Hall of Light - but much smaller |
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| Family dining area |
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| The decor was selected to reflect mourning for royalty who had died in this room |
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| The parquet floors are marvelous |
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| A tapestry depicting a game of boules or bocce in Italian |
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| Private dining area (behind gossamer curtain) |
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| A brief glimpse of the gardens through a rare open shutter |
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| The famous royal bed (the first King sized bed?) with it's spun silver filigree covers |
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| The pilgrims await boarding the coach! |
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| Just walkin in the rain . . . . |
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| We then embarked on a coach ride around the "Ring Road" We saw a number of buildings but it was just to much too fast to keep track - wish we'd had a city map with points of interest! |
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| The statue of a Soviet Soldier - reflecting the Soviet occupation of this section of Vienna after WW-II |
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| St Stephen's Cathedral - at the center of the historic district |
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| The side chapel to the left is fabulous! |
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| The main or "high" altar is beautiful also |
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| The sarcophagus to the right of the high altar is intricately decorated on top, but no one can see that . . . |
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| . . . . So, they provided a relief which duplicates (in a smaller scale) the top |
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| The baptismal |
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| The old choir seats |
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| The intricately carved ambo |
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| This painting really intrigued me and I'm hoping someone can explain it. It appears to be Jesus holding and infant, and the infant has a halo. Any ideas? |
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| The front of St Stephen's |
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| The main spire |
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| The walk to St Peter's is short from St Stephen's |
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| This relief was our first exposure to the exquisite art of St Peter's |
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| Mass in German was underway when we arrived, so we waited respectfully for them to conclude and recess |
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| The painting above the main altar |
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| The ambo |
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| Side altars |
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| Fr Chris Coleman, our host, delivers his homily |
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| The consercration |
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| Theresa was privileged to be the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion |
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| The crucifix above the main altar is exquisite! |
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| This large photo of the main cupola painting keeps interested people from having to strain their necks |
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| I believe this is St Barbara - I'll have to look up here story |
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| When we were on the way to St Peter, we ducked into the U-Bahn (Subway station) to use the rest rooms. We saw this excavation of an old chapel of St Mary Magdalene found during the subway construction. |
Tomorrow, crack of dawn departure for Budapest!
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