baby’s 1st Mozart

After Barcelona and Sitges, our next stop was Vienna, the City of Music!

I was about 6 months pregnant during this trip,
so the baby definitely heard all the classical music we heard at the opera.

The view from the rooftop of the Ritz.

For Austria, Vienna is a huge city. It’s home to 25% of the country’s population.

This classical city is full of sculptures. In fact, I noticed tons of telamons (a male statue serving as architectural support–not the be confused with caryatids–aka women columns).

St. Peter’s Church, consecrated in 1733.

Chimney sweeps are a symbol of good luck in Austria. Back in the Middle Ages, their job went hand in hand with warmth, light, and comfort during winter.This charming fellow is the logo for the lottery.

Welcome to the Belvedere–a museum that was once a palace.

The incredible French-cut gardens are now filled with Baroque and contemporary art alike.

The palace is also guarded by several sphinx sculptures.

an incredibly expressive bust and The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

Forester’s Lodge in Weissenbach I by Gustav Klimt

Inside the palace, their is a gorgeous ceiling painting by Carlo Carlone.

a view of the palace gardens from above

St Stephen’s Cathedral with striking palm trees flanking either side.
Did you know palms could grow in Vienna…’cause I didn’t.

The Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel, built in 1897, is the oldest operating ferris wheel in the world. It was damaged in WWII, but restored, with only half the gondolas it was originally built with.

That six month baby bump!

Supremely random facts about Vienna:

• Vienna is known for being the birthplace of psychotherapy because of wacky old Freud, who lived and worked there for some time.
• Snow globes were invented in Vienna.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, consecrated in 1713, took hundreds of years to build.
That’s easy to see with all the details, including the glazed tile roof.

Any ideas where we headed next?
hint: we took the train to get there