Vienna, Austria

[hkskyline]

1. From Bratislava, frequent trains make the 1-hour trek to Vienna.

2. As morning broke, residents continued with their daily routines, and I began by sightseeing routine.

5. Not all trams are brand new.

6. Vienna's grandeur is easily noticeable by its buildings.

17. Although the weather wasn't blue-skies perfect, I have amassed quite a collection within the first hour of sightseeing.

23. After several days of insane and intensive walking tours with our fellow Hong Kong forumers in Budapest and Bratislava, I didn't think I had much energy left to keep going. I was wrong.

27. Why do birds like to leave their marks on top of statues?

35. Even though the skies got more and more grey, old buildings still looked good.

More Vienna photos on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/vienna.htm

 

[jks]

Absolutely stunning!

 

[Hipster Duck]

Being the former capital of an empire and having a population of 2 million people in 1900 certainly helps.

 

[Mustapha]

Good grief, just wonderful, thanks.

 

[Urban Shocker]

What a bizarre decorative cartouche - a decapitated body part - in that tenth image.

 

[MisterF]

Great pictures, all those grand buildings are amazing. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot in the way of retail/commercial areas, at least in the photos.

 

[adma]

It's definitely the photos. Makes that whole Ringstrasse trip look like an earlier, fussier version of DC's Federal Triangle.

My own favourite architectural thing in Vienna is Rudolf Perco's Friedrich-Engels-Platz estate from 1933--less familiar than Karl-Marx-Hof, yet IMO giddier.

I want to make love to somebody there.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Some of the urban spaces looks strangely deserted.

AoD

 

[Long Island Mike]

Good Vienna, Austria pics!

HKS: A neat group of pics of Vienna,Austria-I like that old style classic architecture and the rail pics with at least three types of trams like those interesting new low floor trams. LI MIKE

 

[hkskyline]

45. Continuing my walking tour ... grey skies, faded wall, and dark statue :

46. This one was noticeably refreshed :

48. I was quite surprised Vienna had these trams. I was expecting low-floor new rolling stock everywhere!

50. A modern twist with an old style?

51. Most large cities I've been to have city history museums, and one key item I look for in these places is the city model. Vienna had a good one on display (although I was most impressed with Shanghai's).

52. There were several models, in fact.

54. The Wien Museum also had many paintings depicting Vienna's history.

57. The shape of Vienna of old resembled that of Copenhagen.

58. Of course, Vienna must be associated with classical music.

59. This looks like a more modern Vienna, with more grand buildings around the ring.

63. Guess the scene?

64. Secession is quite an interesting building. Although the bottom parts look rather typical, the gold dome is quite impressive, and I believe the inside is hollow - it's a web of golden leaves?

65. I like walking around in markets, whether they sell fish (Seoul), meat and vegetables (Hong Kong), or in this case, assorted stuff. Naschmarkt is much cleaner though, and seems more a tourist destination than a real place for residents to shop.

66. I got there a bit early - before lunch time. So I had the aisles all to myself!

67. Didn't want to neglect the nice buildings that line the two sides of the market.

70. It was a bit cool autumn's day, so eating out was a bit chilly.

71. I have more interest in the lesser-known foods, stuff that I usually don't see in other markets. Here are some examples, although I have seen some of these things elsewhere before, but not as often.

74. Hmm .. reminds me to buy some banana chips ... need to start eating some healthy snacks, and will stay away from pistachio gelato.

76. Halloween came early.

80. Stop in German is Stop?

 

[Hipster Duck]

Stop in German is "Halt", but European countries use the universal "Stop" sign regardless of language. I think they may use "Alto" in Spanish Latin America, but I always forever think of "Arret" as some sort of Quebecois nationalist hangup.

 

[ShonTron]

Indeed, Mexico uses "ALTO". France uses "STOP".

It's indeed a hang-up. I still like how Quebec has "ARRET" signs but uses "P" to represent parking. Of course, the French word for "parking" is "stationnement".

 

[hkskyline]

81. Continuing from the Stop sign ...

82. More fruits and vegetables await!

89. These look interesting.

91. All these products are placed so orderly. Sometimes I like a bit of chaos in a market.

97. Of course, more nice buildings ...

98. Renovation must be a key part of Vienna that keeps the city grand.

99. Some of my favourite berries.

100. Is this apple pie? Can I get ice-cream with that?