You would think that we would sleep extra late because we were so exhausted, but actually I popped up at 12:45 am because I received a text from Mark about a medical bill for Everly. Nothing like an $18,000 insurance mistake to keep you awake at night. Mom woke up and we talked about it. We decided that the world would not actually stop turning even if the worst happened and I felt much better. I suggested we try to go back to sleep and it turns out Mom thought it was already morning....whoops! Sorry about that. I lay there in the dark and worried that we wouldn't be able to get any more sleep...and then we slept 9 more hours.
Back on the bus to Schwedenplatz and then the train to Karlsplatz! (But first we grabbed some semmel and a delicious braided bun sprinkled with almonds....I can see I am going to love it here)
We had a good walk from the train station to the Hofburg Palace. On the way we passed the gorgeous opera house. Mahler was an opera director there! They perform 50-60 operas a year. I can't imagine how they can possibly do that unless they have them all memorized and rehearse everyday.
And Mom's favorite: Goethe
A beautiful statue of Mozart and treble clef flowers!
We came up on the back side of the Palace and saw these wonderful stone lions.
I love the architecture of these beautiful historic buildings. Everywhere you turn there are statues and monuments to the great leaders of the past. The people here have so much history and live their lives with layers and layers of stories and culture all around them. I'm a bit jealous of that.
I imagine that eventually you lose that sense of awe that these works of art inspire. I suppose eventually you just have a seat on this structure, rich with meaning and history, and have a chat on your weird yellow phone.
That's a pretty fantastic bench, huh?
We bought tickets to go through the Treasury and we had these little headsets that made it so you could select which items you wanted to learn about and you could go at your own pace. I thought that was perfect. There were so many precious items that I never would have thought would be out and on display.
Imperial crown, orb and sceptre of Austria.
A baby bed used to display the royal babies to visitors, not so much for everyday napping. I would think that bird perching at the end of the bed would either be scary to a baby or a seem like a good friend that never moves....hmmm.
Bouquets of flowers made from jewels and stones.
Golden roses. There were even thorns!
I especially loved this family tree. I think it's funny that these kinds of things are being sold all over the internet and we think we're being so clever and original.
Nope! It's been done!
I think this is the most beautiful thing I saw...look at the legs of the setting. Little snakes!
Loved these little angel babies all dressed up in armor and fighting off serpents with swords. Super creative!
And here is the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor from the 10th century. Look at the painting in the background. He's wearing that same crown! Isn't that crazy! There is so much symbolism in the crown itself, representing the political and religious power that the Emperor held.
Of course, after a while, we started to feel that feeling of "Yep, there's another priceless crown. Ah, another 800 year old gold-encrusted bible...." Funny how even the most extraordinary items can seem ordinary when you look at them long enough.
We left the palace and went in search of the Naschmarkt. Luckily my phone decided to start working and I was able to use Waze to get us there...along with a couple from Oklahoma that thought we were fellow-passengers on their boat.
Oh well, we found it! And it was bright and colorful and full of spices, dried fruits, happy bees and persuasive Greek men that really wanted to sell us some falafel. At 4 for 1 euro, it wasn't a bad deal. And I was getting hungry. Mostly I just wanted some tzatziki sauce. I love that stuff!
I love this picture of my mom. It's so bright and fun!
We didn't stay too long at the Naschtmarkt. It was long and there were lots of shops, but they all sold alot of the same things and after a while you felt like you had seen everything there was.
On our walk back to the train station we stopped at the Greek kebap stand and got some amazing food. I grabbed a pint of lovely raspberries from another street vendor and it was the perfect meal.
We sat down to wait for the train and realized we were sitting right in front of the memorial site for the headquarters of the Gestapo in Vienna. I was reading about it and one source said,
"Today a memorial site reminds us of the suffering of countless people. A relief on the main façade of the building depicts the agony thousands of prisoners had to endure. Footprints that lead into the building through the back entrance of the Gestapo headquarters in Salztorgasse do not lead out of the building again."
It struck me again how modern life buzzes onward around these places that meant so much to so many. Here we were sitting down with our yummy food and having a good time enjoying the city in a place that was a nightmare for others. I was also so glad to have the technology that we enjoy so that I could learn about the places I was seeing as I was there.
We went back to our hotel and retrieved our luggage that we had left with the front desk and we made our way to the train station to travel on to Salzburg.
I made sure to send any and all pictures containing the word "fahrt" to the kids back at home. That made their day. Sonderfahrt means "special trip".
Which I totally agree with because look what I was able to order! A warm apricot bread pudding with vanilla cream. Yeah! Mom ordered a Manner chocolate bar and vowed to order the apricot pudding at the next opportunity. I was thinking that I would need to get one of those Manner bars too!
6 hours later and we were in Salzburg!
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