Today’s post is 2175 words, 64 photos, and an 11-minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Last September, my friend Wayne and I set off for a three-week visit to Austria and Germany.  It was a fun and enlightening journey to a part of the world where some of our ancestors originated. We saw and did a lot. This is the second in a series of posts I made about our excursion. Last week, I posted an article about the trip from Madison to Vienna. If you missed that, click here.

This week the old farm boys will take you to an art gallery, a museum, a walking tour of the old town with Herbert, and more.

The Albertina

Wayne and I, AKA Two Old Farm Boys, were intrigued by The Albertina, an art museum near the Sisi that I described last week. Maybe it was the unique stairway that drew us in and want to see the exhibits within.

The Albertina was once a palace built in the mid-1700s, serving as a residence for nobility associated with the Habsburg royal family. Residents began collecting artworks, accumulating hundreds of important paintings and drawings. After World War I, the socialist government confiscated the palace and its artworks. In 1921, the building was renamed The Albertina. During World War II, it was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids. After the war ended, it was rebuilt and expanded. Today, it’s considered one of the world’s great art museums, with a vast collection. Nearly a million people visit the Albertina each year.

The main exhibit is a permanent display of classical modernism with works by Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Degas, and Kandinsky. Click this link to learn more. I was most interested in Claude Monet’s work. I also like Matisse and a couple of others. I could do well without Picasso.

This is Monet’s House Among the Roses. The gallery was quite crowded; a couple of large tour groups often blocked the view for other visitors. In the photo below, one of the docents is leading such a group.

I took two photos of this work for my Traveling Partner, who stayed at home for this trip. I thought this would make a nice quilt.

Here’s one of Matisse’s works.

 

There was also some modern art through sculpture. 

Bitzinger Wurstelstand

Next to the Albertina is one of Vienna’s most famous and best sausage stands. I shot this photo from the deck outside the Albertina. Wayne and I lined up behind the pigeon for one of their sausages. I had a regular with mustard and dark bread. It was very good. A must-stop in Vienna if you’re hungry for street food.

That evening we met Wayne’s friend Daniel and his wife Karin at their apartment near the impressive Austrian Parliament Building.

At the Parliament, a display supported the Palestinian people. Immigration remains a concern in Austria. In recent years, the country has received immigrants from Eastern European countries such as Romania, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, and others. In addition, there has been an influx from the Middle East and South Asia, including Syria and Afghanistan. The majority have settled in Vienna.

After some wine and finger foods, Daniel and Karin took us to a traditional Viennese restaurant, the Gasthaus Rebhuhn,  translated as the partridge inn. Thus, the drawings of partridges are on either side of the entrance.

I had pork neck with a bread dumpling and cabbage salad. It was filling and quite good.

I learned that Strudel is a popular, seasonal drink made from partially fermented grapes. It is said to be hazy, fizzy, and sweet yet acidic. At the time, I decided not to try it, but now I wish I had.

A Night Walk in the Museum Quarter

After dinner, Daniel and Karin took us to the Museum Quarter, one of the world’s largest art and cultural centers. This area has several museums, cafes, bars, and entertainment venues. With Daniel and Karin in the lead, we saw the Museum Quarter and Vienna from the top of one of the buildings.

On the way out, we noticed these passageways, now filled with art. Many of the buildings were the Imperial Court Stables that housed up to 600 horses. The passageway provided access to and from the stables. These buildings suffered severe damage during Allied bombing and were restored after the war ended.

The MQ Art Box featured an installation of drawings by Austrian artist Christian Schwarzwald. The drawings were simple but expressive. Very enjoyable.

A walk with Herbert

The next morning began with a visit to a nearby coffee house for coffee and apple strudel with vanilla cream sauce. It’s a traditional dish in Vienna. It was served warm. My goodness, the servings were huge! But it was delicious and very filling.

Vienna’s transportation system is excellent. The streets are filled with cars and trucks during the daylight hours. The tram system is easy to use, although I quickly learned to hang on to something when the conductor had to make a sudden stop. I hope the young woman has recovered after I accidentally stepped on her toes while not properly hanging on.

More horse photos this week. I wonder what the woman in the carriage was looking at behind her.

We wondered why there was a statue of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Vienna near the Hofburg Palace. He was one of Germany’s great writers and a scientist, too. Apparently, he sent musicians such as Mozart, Beethoven, and others poems that he had written. It’s likely that Goethe traveled to Vienna, as it was one of the main cultural centers in Europe.

Meet Herbert, the tour guide we joined for a tour of some of Vienna’s main sites. Herbert is the ex-husband of Karin, Daniel’s wife. They share a son. Herbert and his son are rabid American football fans. Too bad their favorite team is the Chicago Bears. They came to the U.S. last fall to attend one away and one home game. There was a lot of trash talk back and forth about the Packers and the Bears.

Herbert shared a lot of historical background about Vienna and Austria. A lot of it centered on the Habsburg Empire. 

This is the dome in the passageway near the Sisi Apartment Museum. It’s quite ornate.

This is Saint Michael’s Church, located across the plaza from the Hofburg Palace. This church dates from 1217 and has remained unchanged since the late 1700s. The bell tower is one of the inner city’s symbols.

This photo reveals ancient ruins from the early days (1-5 AD) of Vienna. Unearthed in 1990, it’s likely a Roman military outpost.

The green copper dome of the Hofburg Palace sits atop the grand entrance to the Palace complex. 

While around the Hofburg Palace, Herbert took us past the Spanish Riding School where the famous Lipizzaner horses are trained and perform. This breed of white horses was developed by the Habsburgs. We didn’t have time to attend a performance. If you plan to attend, I recommend reserving tickets well in advance. We saw a long queue to buy tickets when we walked by.

I found this sculpture site fascinating. The Street-Washing Jew in the foreground is part of the Memorial Against War and Fascism. The bearded man is on his hands and knees, covered in barbed wire. This memorial commemorates the humiliation of the Viennese Jews forced by the Nazis to scrub pro-independence slogans off the streets with toothbrushes after the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938.

Another point of interest in Vienna is the Habsburg crypts. Members of the lineage still survive, but the crypt holds about 100 family members. The last person buried was an Archduchess; she was 100 years old.

Herbert asked us a question about world history. I don’t remember the question, but the answer was Adolf Hitler. He lived in Vienna for six years. As a struggling artist, he grew bitter at rejection and failure. He became radicalized in Vienna, especially through antisemitism.

The Equitable Building near St. Stephen’s Church has a large American eagle perched on top. It was built in the late 1800s by the American-based Equitable Life Insurance Company. It has lavish decorations, and the interior is reportedly very ornate, symbolizing international expansion and American roots in Europe.

We ended the walking tour in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We bid Herbert farewell and thanked him for a great tour. I also said, “Go Packers and #### the Bears.”

A few raindrops began to fall, so we cleared security to enter the church.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

With the drizzle falling, the interior of St. Stephen’s was quite crowded. The noon mass was underway, which limited some of our looking around. Some side chapels were occupied by people praying or resting during the rain.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the spiritual heart of Vienna and one of Austria’s most recognizable landmarks. The country of Austria is about 70% Catholic. The Cathedral’s origins date back to the 12th century, though the cathedral seen today reflects centuries of expansion and rebuilding, most notably in the Gothic style. The soaring South Tower rises nearly 450 feet above the city and long served as a lookout point over Vienna. Inside, the cathedral houses an impressive mix of medieval art, ornate altars, and the tombs of important Habsburg figures, underscoring its central role in Austrian religious and political life.

St. Stephen’s has witnessed many pivotal moments in the city’s history, from imperial ceremonies to wartime damage during World War II, followed by a remarkable postwar restoration. Today, it remains an active place of worship as well as a powerful symbol of Vienna’s resilience, history, and cultural identity.

If I recall correctly, these candles were being lit for peace in Ukraine. Note the people in the background praying.

Later that evening, after dinner with Daniel and Karin, we walked by St. Stephen’s on the way back to our hotel. I snapped a few more photos of this majestic building.

Kunst Historisches Museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is one of the world’s great art museums, created to house the vast collections of the Habsburg emperors. Opened in 1891, the museum was commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I. The monumental building is crowned by a beautiful dome decorated with marble, frescoes, and gold leaf. The interior is a work of art, with sweeping staircases and ornate ceilings that set the tone for the treasures inside.

The museum’s collections span thousands of years, from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts to Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. It is especially renowned for its painting galleries, which include an unparalleled collection of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, as well as masterpieces by Titian, Vermeer, Rubens, and Caravaggio. Together, the building and its collections offer a vivid glimpse into the cultural reach of the Habsburg Empire.

Here are some photos of the interior and exhibits.

This is a photo of the museum’s coffee house near closing time. It’s one of Vienna’s many historic coffee houses.

One of the galleries we spent some time in is the coin gallery. Here’s one minted to commemorate Johann Strauss.

I took this photo but missed the better one when we were looking at this statue from the railing above. While this covered his privates in the front, the sculpted buttocks were exposed. That would have been a better photo, at least according to this old farm boy.

A Fond Farewell

Our time in Vienna was short. We had a grand time with Daniel and Karin at the Cafe Tinolenhof. This coffee house and restaurant has been around since the late 1800s. The ambiance is casual and comfortable. The service is excellent.

I don’t remember what I had to eat but I do remember this tasty and refreshing pint of beer. Gösser is brewed in Austria and quite popular.

We said our goodbyes to Daniel and Karin; Wayne and I were leaving the next morning for Germany. It was fun being with them. Until we meet again.

On the way back to the hotel, we walked past one of the many busy night spots, the Loos American Bar. Loos was the architect who designed the bar. While all the outside tables were filled with patrons, the bar’s interior is quite small. Mirrors make it look much bigger. I stepped inside for a look; it was packed with people, maybe 15-20. The American comes from the time Loos spent in the U.S., and he modeled the bar after places he saw during his visit. It has an American flag hanging inside. It’s the same width as the wall.

And nearby was the First American Bar. I didn’t go in this bar that opened in 1996, nearly 90 years after the Loos. I thought it odd to have bars in Austria with American in their names.

That’s it for this week folks. Join me next week when we take the train to Regensburg, Germany.

THE FIVE SENSES PLUS ONE

Saw – paintings, coins, the butt crack, St. Stephen’s

Heard – organ in church, traffic sounds, people talking many languages

Touch – braille markings on exhibits, audio transmitter at the museum

Smell – food cooking, horse dung near the stables

Taste – miso soup, schnitzel, beer, sausage, pork neck

Learned – a lot of history, culture, and a bit about politics

Until next week, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM