8/2 I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello…

8/2  Up early to shower, breakfast and pack - we had a morning train to catch. Kiss Matthew goodbye while he sleeps, Lyn leaving a lipstick kiss, but talk to him later from the train station. Oops! Our planned departure time (8:29 AM)based on our itinerary doesn't match our issued ticket time (1:20 PM)! We head to the train station anyway with the intention of boarding the earlier train as we only have two nights in Vienna and an afternoon ride would eat up the day. Mamer and Merlines to the rescue - they successfully have our departure times switched, walk us to our car when the train arrives and wait to see us off - such courteous hosts! So long Prague! Good bye Maseks! Thank you Mamer and Merlines! Hope to see you all again in the not too distant future!

 goodbye beautiful Prague ...

with Mamer ...

with Merlines ...

 THANK YOU Mamer, Merlines & Matthew - we'll miss you!

 so long until we meet again ....

We enjoy the five hour ride across the countryside - one reading the newspaper, one reading up on the sites and reviewing some survival phrases, and one snoozing until hunger drives us all to the dining car for a real "meal on wheels".  The time passed much quicker than expected and before we knew where the hours and kilometers had gone, we were pulling into Weis Meilding - the train station of Vienna.

 on our way to Wien (Vienna)...

 Vienna at last ...

We purchased tickets to ride the subway to a stop close to our hotel, but due to a cross-cultural moment ended up on a tram which required the purchase of another set of tickets, but which got us to within two blocks of our hotel - The Astoria - nonetheless. We 'rolled in', checked in, took a short nap, and then stepped out.

another country, another city to explore ...

Another area of streets turned over to people! We walk the Karntner Strasse amid the other tourists - foreign and domestic - feeling immediately that we have again moved through time.  The stores along the walkway might be found in a stroll in New York, while the buildings they are housed in appear to be high-end Renaissance - nothing in this part of town feels or looks medieval or ancient - although not far from where we're walking you can find ancient Roman ruins…. But we turn a corner and suddenly face a gothic cathedral begun in the 12 century - Stephansdom - 'Austria's finest gothic edifice'. We circled the church - collecting impressions and pictures of its dark-stoned exterior and adornments including colored tile roof, grim statuary and leering gargoyles, before entering. Once again we discover that no two churches are alike, and each is a museum of fine art unto itself as the patrons used the finest artists and sculptors of their day to decorate them. We were too late to climb the bell tower, but not too late to roam the interior, marveling at the artistic detailing on the columns, altars, arches, walls and ceilings. The most unadorned space in the church were the stained glass windows, perhaps because they had been replaced when the church was bombed in WWII, as the roof and organ had been?

 the imposing tower of Stephansdom ...

 a fine sculpture outside Stephansdom ...

 a horse drawn carriage is still a regular form of tourist transport in Vienna ...

 admiring the beautiful Stephansdom...

 such enormity and beauty ... it is sometimes overwhelming to take it all in and store the experience into the recesses of one's memory ...

 outside Stephansdom ...

 Karntner Strasse ...

We exited, driven out by our own hunger and desire to sample local fare, but were captivated by yet another church that we stumbled upon unexpectedly, St Peter's - which became Serge's favorite. This church is small and unimposing on the outside, tucked between and surrounded by other buildings, but with a beautiful interior space beneath a tall oval-shaped dome (because of the narrow space within which it was built. The building site was an old Roman fort at one time and the original church thought to be the oldest and first in Vienna. The current Baroque style church was built in the late 17th century by Emperor Leopold I as thanks for Vienna surviving a bout with the plague. The interior is full of gold-covered embellishments typical of the Baroque style and includes beautiful ceiling frescoes as well as paintings that were bright with their original colors as the result of a relatively recent renovation.

 an icon of Mary surrounded with gold ... St. Peter's church ...

lavish organ at St. Peter's ...

gold, gold everywhere... St. Peter's ...

From St. Peters we made our way through the arching Michaeler Gate of the Hofburg Palace and into the inner courtyard where the late sun caught the statuary in a way that invited picture taking. We continued across a couple large plazas toward the Museums Quartier where we had decided to find dinner. The Baroque complex - once home to emperors horses! - has become one of the world's largest museum complexes. Unfortunately (or not!) closed by the time we arrived - but as one of Vienna's young people's "hotspots" by virtue of its outdoor art, cafes and green spaces - it was just what we were looking for. We grabbed an outside table in a spot overlooking the greens we'd just crossed and enjoyed beverages and a meal while watching people and the large rat that Lyn noticed scampering beneath the shrubbery in the early evening light.

 Michaeler Gate of the Hofburg Palace ...

 Courtyard of the Hofburg Palace ...

 trying to capture the crown? hmm...

 Lyn: am I really that tall?

relaxing at the Museum Quartier complex ...

We strolled home afterwards, enjoying the statuary and monument in the plaza across the street from our dining spot - the Maria Theresa Monument, and then onward, passing the white cubic Secession Building with its ornate dome - built in the late 19th century as a statement against the art traditions of the time, before eventually turning back onto Karntner Strasse and to the Astoria for bed!

 

 one more pose before heading back to the hotel...

 

 what a great day ...