4/9/2024 Vienna, Austria

Travelling through the locks, we had poor connectivity so I had to suspend the posts. Now that we are home, I will finist the Blog.

Another beautiful sunny day. There are an incredible number of river cruise ships here , at least a dozen from at least seven different cruise lines, all with tours headed out about the same time. 

We started our tour at the "Volksgarten" a beautiful rose garden in front of the Hofburg Imperial Palace.

There was some kind of official government visit going on when we approached, so we had to wait for the military bad and guard to pass before we could approach.

Imperial Flag

Panoramic picture of the Imperial Palace which was enormous.

In front of the Imperial Palace

Off in the distance we could see the Rathausplatz, a 19th century structure, now home to a park, with ststues,mature trees, and fountains with a summer Cinema and winter ice rink,  The buildings are primarily used as government offices.

Statue of Arch Duke Reiterdenkmal , the first military leader to defeat Napoleon in a battle. He was later defeated by Napoleon, but still honored for his earlier accomplishment.

There are actuakky three clocks in this picture, at the bottom a sundial, in the center a mechanical clock and above the clock there is a ball with spots on it.  This was a lunar clock and as it rotates it displays a cresent to full moon.  This is how it appears on a new moon.

The official crest of the Habsberg Dynasty

Inside the palace is the stables for the Lipizaner Stallions and the Spanish ridind school.

Interesting Statue titled the Column of Pest, erected to commemorate the victims of the plague. The Emperor is depicted praying for an end to the plague, which people of the middle ages though was a punishment from God.  Even though the Emperor evacuated the city to avoid the plague, he is claiming to have stopped it through his prayers.

The central plaza with St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Looking up at the front of St. Stephen's Cathedral

Some interior pictures of St. Stephen's Cathedral

The picture is of Padre Pio, which just before we took this trip we had watched a documentary on his life. He was beatified as a saint by Pope John Paul II on the 16th of June 2002.

Stop in the plaza for some great ice cream (Kirche flavored)

On the plaza the chocolate company Lindt had a store.  here in the states, we get small packages of Lindt truffles, but in the store they were in bulk or large bags.