The Friends' Holiday in Vienna
The Friends' Holiday in Vienna
Art & Architecture of the Hapsburgs
The Friends' Holiday in Vienna
The Friends' Holiday in Vienna
Art & Architecture of the Hapsburgs
We covered so much ground thanks to our ever patient, knowledgeable & witty guide Christine, that it's almost easier to ask, 'What didn't we see?' To itemize...we missed out the sewers, made famous by Graham Greene in The Third Man, the Ferris wheel (ditto) & the Lipizzaner horses. In truth, we didn't 'miss' any of them, as there was so much else upon which to feast our eyes.
As you'll see from the photos, it was a varied tour, concentrating largely on the world-class art in this imperial city, built on such a very grand scale, though a surprisingly easy one to get round. By mid-week, we were whizzing on & off the trams like the locals.
It's a shame we weren't allowed to take photos of much of the art, as it was breathtaking, its story made crystal clear by Christine, an art historian with encyclopedic knowledge of this part of the world. The names of a few old masters may whet your appetite:-Bruegel, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Dürer, Holbein, Bellini, Giorgione, Caravaggio, Velasquez, including the astonishing 'Head' sculptures, by Messerschmidt. We saw them all.
The C20th greats were not forgotten, with Gustave Klimt & Egon Schiele being the art stars of this era in Vienna. Chagall, Malevich, Kokoschka, Magritte, Monet, Picasso & many other famous artists of the avant garde were on display at various museums across the city, with contemporary interventions too-Olafur Eliasson's 'Yellow Fog' seen only at dusk through underground gratings, was the source of much intrigue.
Our hotel was comfortable, well-equipped & central, near to several seductive coffee shops with the famous Sachertorte all too available on mouthwatering display. 'Café Central' became a home from home for some of our group!
A day out of the city, beyond the Vienna Woods made famous by Strauss, was at Melk Abbey, topped by a relaxing cruise along the Danube, which was indeed blue in the afternoon sunshine.
A private visit to the sumptuous Liechtenstein Summer Palace was the last high point of the holiday. It's not every day you see rooms full of Rubens or an antique cabinet costing €23m! Huge thanks to Christine, Stuart & Daniel of Distant Horizons for arranging such a privileged glimpse into another world.
We covered so much ground thanks to our ever patient, knowledgeable & witty guide Christine, that it's almost easier to ask, 'What didn't we see?' To itemize...we missed out the sewers, made famous by Graham Greene in The Third Man, the Ferris wheel (ditto) & the Lipizzaner horses. In truth, we didn't 'miss' any of them, as there was so much else upon which to feast our eyes.
As you'll see from the photos, it was a varied tour, concentrating largely on the world-class art in this imperial city, built on such a very grand scale, though a surprisingly easy one to get round. By mid-week, we were whizzing on & off the trams like the locals.
It's a shame we weren't allowed to take photos of much of the art, as it was breathtaking, its story made crystal clear by Christine, an art historian with encyclopedic knowledge of this part of the world. The names of a few old masters may whet your appetite:-Bruegel, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Dürer, Holbein, Bellini, Giorgione, Caravaggio, Velasquez, including the astonishing 'Head' sculptures, by Messerschmidt. We saw them all.
The C20th greats were not forgotten, with Gustave Klimt & Egon Schiele being the art stars of this era in Vienna. Chagall, Malevich, Kokoschka, Magritte, Monet, Picasso & many other famous artists of the avant garde were on display at various museums across the city, with contemporary interventions too-Olafur Eliasson's 'Yellow Fog' seen only at dusk through underground gratings, was the source of much intrigue.
Our hotel was comfortable, well-equipped & central, near to several seductive coffee shops with the famous Sachertorte all too available on mouthwatering display. 'Café Central' became a home from home for some of our group!
A day out of the city, beyond the Vienna Woods made famous by Strauss, was at Melk Abbey, topped by a relaxing cruise along the Danube, which was indeed blue in the afternoon sunshine.
A private visit to the sumptuous Liechtenstein Summer Palace was the last high point of the holiday. It's not every day you see rooms full of Rubens or an antique cabinet costing €23m! Huge thanks to Christine, Stuart & Daniel of Distant Horizons for arranging such a privileged glimpse into another world.
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