Naschmarkt

I think Leesa and I both agree that one of our favorite places in Vienna was the Naschmarkt, which we stumbled upon accidentally on our last day in Vienna. Serendipitous, no? The naschmarkt is a huge food market, also featuring many restaurants with cuisine from many different cultures. We had a great lunch at the Indian Pavillion.

Around Town: Vienna

Close up of the fountain in front of the Parliament building

Scene on the large central pedestrian street

The Haas Haus on the central pedestrian street, reflecting the spires of St Stephen's

St Stephen's and the mini-market they were having to raise funds for renovations

Gutenberg! (not sure why he's there, since to my knowledge he didn't spend any time in Vienna, but we can all celebrate the man who invented the printing press, right?)

The Hofburg

The former city residence of the Hapsburg family, the rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I couldn't get over the impression that the Austrians seemed to really regret the end of the monarchy. The wife of the last emperor (and therefore the last empress in her own right) recieved an enormous state funeral back in the 1980s and the imperial china is still used for state banquets.

The Opera

Not as impressive as the Palais Garnier in Paris, but still a very lovely opera house. Leesa and I saw "Fidelio," which is only important because it's the only opera Beethoven ever wrote. They had these super cool screens at each seat that had a translation of everything in English (I think you could choose to read the original German libretto too).

The cast of Fidelio during the curtain call

Welcome to Vienna

Our first view of Vienna as we got off the metro to go to our hotel:


The Opera is pretty impressive by daylight too:

Greenery all around the Ringstrasse:



The Rathaus, or City Hall, is Neo-Gothic in recognition of the fact that local governments began in the Middle Ages with the burghers:


The Austrian Parliament, in a Neo-Classical design to pay homage to the historical beginnings of democracy in Athens:



One of the entrances to the Hofburg Palace:

More Salzburg: The Hills (yeah, the ones with the music)

More Salzburg: The Sound of Music!

I was so happy that Leesa agreed to go on the Sound of Music tour with me. We took a mini-bus with six other Sound of Music lovers around Salzburg and up into the hills (you know, the ones that are alive with the sound of music). The Sound of Music was filmed entirely in and around Salzburg, the hometown of the real Von Trapp Family. It was really nice to be able to see the fantastic countryside around Salzburg, and of course to sing all the songs with our tour guide! Yeah, I was the only one singing.

The house that was used for the back of the Von Trapp mansion, including the scene where Maria and the children fall out of the boat:


The gazebo where Lisl and Rolf sing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and Maria and the Captain sing "Something Good:"


The church where Maria and the Captain get married:

I know, the interior doesn't look pink in the movie.

The kids and Maria dance around the Mirabell Gardens when they sing "Do Re Mi:"

The Mirabell Gardens also features a Dwarf Statue garden. They are mannerist style sculptures of real dwarves who were in the service of the Prince Archbishop. The kids pat this guy on the head as they pass by. I think this one is my favorite: