It was HOT! Graben Vienna was packed with tourists. I asked a shop assistant for direction to a shop selling leather product. She said "Opposite Steffi" and pointed towards the St Stephan's Cathedral. Assuming that she was referring to a shop called "Steffi", we wandered the street in vain.
MICHAELERPLATZ
By and by, we reached the large roundabout at an open space called Michaelerplatz,
There wasn't a single shop called "Steffi." Unbeknownst to us, the St Stephan's Cathedral was known to the Viennese as "Steffi".
Right: St Michael's Gate (Entrance to Hofburg Palace.
|  |
 |
The Power At the Sea (1895)
Symbolizes Austrian naval power. Young female (Austria) on a ship dominating the "powers of the sea." (God of Sea, Neptune, sea dragons etc.)
|
|
 |
Labours of Hercules
(4 sculptures at St Michael's Gate)
|
|
 |
| Coach ride outside Church of St Michael, Michaelerplatz |
 |
Labours of Hercules
(4 sculptures at St Michael's Gate)
|
 |
Michaelerplatz
Church of St Michael on far left |
|
 |
| Passage to Inner Palace Courtyard |
|
 |
| Domed ceiling inside St Michael's Gate. |
|
|
HOFBURG IMPERIAL PALACE
 |
Inner Palace Courtyard
Statue of Emperor Francis II in the middle
|
 |
| Inner Palace Courtyard |
|
 |
Swiss Gate
Old gate which leads to Swiss Court, the inner courtyard of the oldest part of the imperial palace
|
|
 |
Stone sentry box close to Swiss Gate.
(shelter for standing sentry.)
|
 |
Austrian National Library.
Outer gate of Hofburg Palace on far right. |
 |
| Open Space between the Austrian National Library and the Hofburg Gardens |
|
 |
| Archduke Charles |
|
Right about here, Ms
Walk-Faster asked if I have heard of Hermes handbags. She pointed at a China woman standing near us. She was dressed in a pretty white dress with black spots and she was carrying an orange shopping bag, Inside were three handbags, or so I was told. I wasn't particularly interested in Hermes handbags (Gawd! They were so expensive!) so my reaction was lukewarm.
It was time to move on.
RINGSTRASSE
Ring road around Parliament and City Hall. It was strange, looking at the young Austrian teenager, complete with ear-phones, dishing out noodles with chopsticks from a paper box. She was chewing on her noodles while she waited (with us) for the traffic lights to change.
 |
| Bike Lane and Walk Ways |
MARIA THERESIEN PLATZ
 |
| Kunsthistorisches Museum |
 |
Maria Theresien Platz. (Square)
|
|
 |
She greets the people with her right hand and in the left hand she holds a document roll of the-Pragmatische Sanktion- and a scepter.
|
|
Empress Maria Theresa sitting in the middle of the Maria Theresien Platz. (Square) . She is surrounded among other things by 4 horseman statues of her generals. The monument is classified as a World Cultural Heritage. Maria Theresa governed from the year 1740 to 1780. She reformed for instance the school system and took care of state affairs as well as her 16 children.
Her 15th child was the infamous Marie Antoinette of France.
|  |
Two identical buildings shared a common frontage to this square. The Kunsthistorisches Museum and The Museum of Natural History. (Statue of an elephant at the front door.)
While I was photographing the monument of Maria Theresa, a young gypsy with a basket a flowers handed a rose to me. I waved my hand to indicate that I wasn't interested but by some strange coincidence, the rose ended up standing between my fingers. I was stunned. Fortunately for me, my quick-thinking husband corrected the situation and waved the gypsy away. Their reputation preceded them for many have spoken of their extorting schemes..
 |
| Museum of Natural History |
|
 |
| Domed Ceiling |
|
The three young adults explored the Museum of Natural History while the four of us stood waiting in the cool of the shade. Ms
Walk-Faster (who can be an engaging conversationalist when she chose to be) brought up the subject of brassieres. In order to distract her, I stepped aside to take this picture
Taken from inside the Museum of Natural History. Directly opposite is the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The statue of Empress Maria Theresa stood between.
|  |
She was not to be ignored. She followed me to my vantage point with an earth-shattering revelation. The B-Cup, she whispered was the secret to amazing cleavages. She told me how the B-Cup changed her life. It was impolite to ask for detail so I held my tongue. When the three young adults were back with us, Ms Walk-Faster nudged me gently.
"Look at my younger daughter. (Tweedle-Dum) Just look at her figure. Amazing, right? It's the B-Cup."
I nodded in agreement.
That settled, we moved on. As we walked past the monument of Maria Theresa, we saw the gypsy with the basket of rose. She was questioned by a policeman and hopefully, apprehended.
No comments:
Post a Comment