Today’s drive didn’t take as long as the trip from Kraków to Budapest. We left our hotel about 8:30 this morning, and we were having lunch in Vienna a little after noon.
Remember, wherever you go in Budapest, stone statues may be watching you.
We're free!
Nice place. Not sure what it was, but it sure was pretty.
Bye Starbucks.
By Hotel Astoria. When I'd see you I'd know I'd found my way home.
Our hotel was nice, but next time maybe I'll stay here.
Bye castle.
There's a funicular at the Castle. We never rode it.
Bye park groundskeepers. Why did I take your picture? Just hoping to remember scenes from our drive out of town.
The Chain Bridge is impressive.
So I'll take another picture.
Smile, lion.
And we headed toward a tunnel.
One last shot of the Chain Bridge.
There were lots of windmills.
Looks whimsical. Kind of nice.
The Road Scholars are assigned their rooms.
Misa was our guide for the whole trip, but in each city we had local guides who specialized. This is Lucas. He will be our Vienna guide for the next three days.
Lucas took us on a bus ride all around Vienna’s “ring road“ so we could get a feel for the city. That is the state opera house
We left the Danube in Budapest, and now we have found it again in Vienna.
The Danube splits as it passes through Vienna. This is one branch.
Whatever that is, it must be undergoing restoration.
Oh! Oh! Look! Now I know what that is! It’s the famous old Weiner Riesenrad, the Ferris wheel featured in the movie THE THIRD MAN.
I’ve got to ride it. It will have to be Saturday. I want to look down at all the dots and contemplate the Borgias, the Renaissance, Switzerland, and cuckoo clocks. It’s a great movie.
Beautiful!
And just look what a telephoto lens can do.
We have found some wild and crazy architecture.
Don’t believe me? Follow the Road Scholars down this alley.
Friedrich Stowasser (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, was an Austrian-born New Zealand artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection.
Hundertwasser stood out as an opponent of "a straight line" and any standardization, expressing this concept in the field of building design.
His work is...unusual.
His best known work is the Hundertwasserhaus, which has become a notable place of interest in the Austrian capital, characterized by imaginative vitality and uniqueness.
The fountain is...um...whimsical.
But he does appreciate whimsy, so...
That's Herr Whimsy.
And that's what the whole thing looks like if you can stand back from it far enough, which you can't.
I didn't know smokestacks could be whimsical.
Would you want Hundertwasser to design your house? Not me.
Dinner's right this way.
Looks cozy inside.
And the food is delicious.
He's smiling, but he never has liked being serenaded when he's trying to enjoy dinner.
Still, the entertainment is lots of fun.
Hi Susan!
|