This was actually when it wasn't so bad. It was wall to wall to wall human beings and you had to be aggressive if you wanted to get from point A to point B...so I pushed myself to the far end where the flea market was and gave up the idea of a warm pastry and hot coffee for the moment.
There was fresh sauerkraut to be had and the farmer who made it would scoop it up in his hand to give you a taste if you wanted. And your sense of smell let you know you were near the sauerkraut guy. I didn't mind as I like the smell.
If you didn't like the sauerkraut smell, there were tons of flower stalls too. Yes, those are lilacs. Did you know that they grow WILD here? All along the road to Budapest there were bushes and bushes of them just growing along the highway...it was crazy with all the lilacs. You mostly see darker and lighter purple. I think the white ones are more cultivated.
Of course, what you see the most here is are the fruit and veg vendors. You want an exotic fruit, they probably have it.
This is right at the beginning of the flea market vendors. That area was just too nutso to try to take the camera out and shoot anything. All kinds of junk and antiques everywhere. I got a couple of little things and didn't spend too much although I did probably get ripped off...LOL
I ended up getting a Hühne Kebab for lunch. Basically, this is a chicken gyro...but not in a pita bread. It was actually in bread...but flat. Anyway, it was really good. I later got an enormous fresh squeezed orange juice that cost the earth but was really really good.
I dragged my loot back to my apartment (remember I am right next to the Nachtsmarkt) and dropped it off. Took off my jacket, because it had gotten really warm and sunny, and headed back out for more culture.
This is The Secession. It was built as an exhibition building for the artists who started the Secession movement. Gustav Klimt was a member and its first president. Of course, there was a Klimt exhibit here in honor of his 150th birthday.
I took about 50 bajillion photos of this Art Nouveau treasure. It is entirely awesome! Of course, no photos can be taken inside. The exhibit was of the Beethoven Fries, which was actually a backdrop Klimt did for an exhibit in the Secession and it was not intended to be a permanent piece of art. It was moved a bunch of times and was eventually restored and conserved by the Austrian government. It is on permanent loan here as this is the space it was originally designed for. Normally, you have to look WAY up at it, but a special platform was built in the room so you can look at it straight on (which was not the only similar experience I was to have today).
I bought a couple of things in the gift shop (of course) a mug and a copy of the poster for the first exhibit of the Secession (which interestingly, was not held in this building as it was under construction at the time). If any of you know about this poster...it is the uncensored version :).
After then, I was thinking it was a good time to see more Klimt...of course.
This is the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) which is, of course, undergoing restoration. It was also built by the Hapsburgs to house the imperial art collection...which is still there.
Here's Maria Theresa to greet you. There were actually several portraits of her inside, mostly of when she was a child.
And a random fountain on the grounds actually running! LOL
The Klimt exhibit was mostly of a permanent piece of the building. Klimt did several paintings to decorate the entryway of the museum. Again, a platform was constructed to give you a unique view of the paintings...straight on. I really found these particular paintings to be powerful. They are considered part of his early work...and, honestly, they are commercial pieces done specifically for hire to decorate a public building. Maybe it's just me, but I could see the youth and optimism in them. By the way, his brother Ernst did some of the paintings there too and I rather enjoyed them as well. It is unfortunate he died so young as it would have been interesting to see where he developed as well.
Anyway, the rest of the exhibit was more sketches and there were examples of materials given to him for inspiration. He had to illustrate specific themes and the museum had provided examples of the type of things they were looking for.
After that, I figured I had paid for the ticked for the whole museum....and there is a heckuva lot to see there, so off I went. Not a huge fan of most classical painting. Still there were some fine examples of Raphael, Titian, and a Dührer painting I remember seeing as a child...so I was surprised by it. It is the Tower of Babel, a pretty famous painting and I just walked in the room and POW. The KHM also has the world's largest collection of Bruegel...yes, it certainly does. There were also 3 Rembrandt self-portraits...that guy certainly liked to paint himself.
Anyway, I was happy to head out to the Egyptian stuff (yes...MUMMIES!). They did have a decent selection of sarcophagi and canopic jars. A couple of poor, crumbly mummies and lots of broken statuary. The best was the crocodile mummy! Well there were lots of baby croc mummies, but one BIG one as well!
They also had a decent collection of Roman statues, including a weird room of disembodied heads...LOL. Lots of Greek pottery too (still not as much as the British Museum) and a good bit of Roman glass. What I found particularly interesting was the ancient jewelry. There was everything from Greek, Roman, the Near East, and some Northern European stuff as well (well the descriptions were all in German, so I'm thinking I translated it ok). There was a whole lovely room of Roman cameos which I got stuck in for awhile.
After awhile, my feet hurt...so it's time for coffee. Last day, and I finally get the hang of the Viennese coffeehouse. Walk in, grab a seat and a waiter will come right up to you. Place your order and it is delivered in less than a minute. When you're ready to go, catch his eye to let him know you're ready to pay. I had a Topfelstrudel (cheese strudel) and Wiener Melange (which is becoming a favorite of mine).
Then, I closed the place down in the gift shop. I didn't get much as I have discovered that all the Klimt stuff is focused on The Kiss (and I'm overloaded) and the majority of their museum gift shops focus on books anyway. Too heavy to tote in my luggage. I actually ended up in a shop across the street (run by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY of all places) where I got a few odds and ends I'd been looking for.
I rush back to drop off my stuff again and it's almost 7pm...time for the Opera. Let me tell you one BIG mistake I made. I did not bring my warm coat or my airplane blanket. HUGE mistake. I made it about 80% of the way through the performance before I just had to go because my teeth were chattering. Well, that and a group of young people decided to sit next to me during the intermission and they lit up cigarettes. Yep, wind was blowing in my direction again.
Anyway, it was a pretty groovy experience and I'm sorry I had to leave early. I did cheat on the plot last night as I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to follow along too well in German if I didn't. It was broadcast live from the theater inside. Not being an opera aficionado, I was surprised to see that Octavian (the male lead) was played by a woman. Not sure if this is normal...although, he does have to disguise himself as a woman near the beginning. I must do research.
I did follow along a bit as they did transcribe it (in German) on the bottom of the screen. It was easier to translate reading-wise then it would be with singing.
Practically ran back to the apartment, where I briefly considered putting on a coat and heading over to the Nachtsmarkt for a late dinner. I decided on hot tea and my last piece of apfelstrudel instead.
Doing a bit more packing and off to bed. I wanna come back! Too much to do and a week was too short. If anyone else is thinking about it...I highly recommend this apartment. It is so close to just about everything that I only needed public transportation a couple of times. Seriously, it's clean, safe, and close to EVERYTHING.
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