I'm still with Stupid: Fall Break Trip to Vienna & Prague

We took advantage of a five day weekend for Fall Break by traveling to Vienna for two days and Prague for another two. In our short visit to each city, we saw a lot of amazing buildings and landscapes by walking a lot: we were on our feet and moving maybe 7 or 8 hours everyday. Vienna awed us with its amazing architecture from the medieval church of St. Stephan's to the many Hapsburg buildings constructed along the "Ring" under the direction of Emperor Franz Joseph I in the mid-late nineteenth century. While its architecture awed us, we were also struck by the modernity of the city. We could not recall an American city that had such modern infrastructure.

Prague, however, made no pretense at modernity. What defined Prague was its history as seen in its medieval and early modern buildings, its narrow, crooked, and cobble-stone roads, and its old bridges. Unlike many other historic European cities, Prague emerged from World War II unscathed (the buildings not the people), therefore more of its historic architecture has survived. At times walking through Prague made us feel like we were traveling through a medieval city. Conversely, at other times we felt like we were in Disneyland. Prague may be a treasure but it is certainly not an undiscovered one.

Vienna - 10/23-10/24

On the first day we traveled from the modest apartment we rented to the center of the city and its biggest tourist attraction, St. Stephan's Cathedral. We then headed out from the city center to the "Ringstrasse" which is a famous boulevard - full of parks, monuments, and beautiful buildings created under Franz Joseph I in the 1800's - which forms a ring around the historic part of Vienna.

If you want to see all of our pictures see: http://picasaweb.google.com/runningmonkey01/ViennaPrague02?authkey=apJqZGSRI1o#slideshow

Susan as we begin our exploration of Vienna by crossing the Danube Channel

St. Rupert's

St. Stephan's - View from outside

Inside St Stephan's

Climbing up the South Tower. They allowed us to climb up the tower about 230' on a narrow spiral staircase (which is only half way up).

Mixture of Old & New: Reflection of the Medieval Cathedral of St. Stephan's on a Modern Building

City Streets

The Ring:
We began our tour of the famous Ringstrasse (the "Ring") from the north and headed counter-clockwise.

Votive Church

Interesting stained glass depiction of a dragon slaying in the Votive Church

Hofburg Theater

Rathaus

Susan at the Parlament Building (she is used here for perspective)

Museums

Susan & the Elephant (Naturhistor Museum)

I call this one "Crazy Horse"

Opera

Butterfly House

Palace

Reflecting Pool

Rathaus at Night

Palace Grounds

Day 2:
On the second day we completed our tour of the ring in the evening, but only after taking a day trip to Klosterneuburg. This town located near the Danube is about a 30 minute bus ride north of Vienna. We visited a hilltop monastery there on top of a hill overlooking the Danube valley. The monastery was quiet and peaceful, out of the reach of the tourist crowds, and included a church that dates to the 12th century.

Klosterneuburg Priory Church

Klosterneuburg Town

After finishing our walk around the Klosterneuburg Monastery and town, we took the bus back to Vienna and continued our tour of the "Ring," this time starting in the south and heading clockwise.