Our cruise—celebrating 62 years of marriage—ended in the beautiful city of Vienna. Vienna has great significance to us, as we spent over a year in the city in various three-month increments, during which I taught in our university's study-abroad program. Leaving Vienna not only marked the end of our cruise, but it meant saying farewell to this city that had come to mean so much to me.
I am grateful to our son, Jon, a professional graphic artist, who designed the web site, took most of the pictures, and provided the technical help I needed in preparing these blogs. Without his assistance, this project could never have materialized.
I shall plan to keep the blog operating in the categories listed on the web site (travel, trains, my model trains, and theology) with publications – no longer every day, but periodically. You are all most welcome to continue your subscriptions, and I thank all of you for your interest! -jdl
We docked in Vienna in the evening, and this was the beautiful view that greeted us.
Former barracks in the Augarten Palace, now the location of the famous Augarten Porcelain Works and also the dormitory for members of the Vienna Boys Choir. Nearby, there remain two of the old Nazi Flak towers, which were so mammoth and thick-walled that, though locals find them eyesores, they could not be blown up without damaging nearby structures.
Current Ministry of Defense
Along the Ringstrasse, the greenish building behind the one in front is the art school to which Hitler applied twice – and was twice rejected. History might have been much different, had he been accepted!
The Natural History Museum built by Franz Josef, along the Ringstrasse
Vienna is famous for its streetcars, characteristically red; but this blue one is obviously advertising the Fulbright scholarship program.
The old, solid red streetcars I remember have now been replaced by these sleek, smooth, ultra-modern ones, where the red is now reduced to a stripe.
When Emperor Franz Josef had the old city walls removed to construct the wide boulevard known as the Ringstrasse, he designed the new city hall to imitate a Medieval structure. The most well-known of Vienna's many Christmas markets is held in front of this, the Rathaus (city hall).
Franz Josef designed the parliament in a Greek motif to suggest the cultural connections with Athens.
The stunning Vienna Opera House, completed in 1869, was badly damaged in WWII, but fully restored in the 1950s.
The building with the green door and two telamon-like sculptures is the Austria-American Institute of Education, where classes are held for American students studying in Vienna. I was privileged to teach in this building, during my four semesters here. The view from the windows overlooks the opera house.
The Albertina Art Museum
This monument marks the former location of an apartment house with a bomb shelter in the basement. During the Allied attack on Vienna in World War II, over 300 people had gathered here for safety. However, multiple bombs fell directly on the building, and all perished. The bodies were never recovered, so it was decided that, out of respect, another building would never be constructed on the site, and a memorial was erected to honor them and educate visitors to the evils of totalitarianism and unjust war.
The Memorial Against War and Fascism
This sculpture is the Proclamation of the Second Republic of Austria, created after the end of Hitler's regime – the Austrian equivalent to the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
The Augustiner Kirche at the imperial palace, where members of the imperial family worshipped.
Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth of Austria were married here, among many other influential Austrians.
The Library at the Hofburg, completed in the 1730s, housed one of the largest collections of books in Europe at the time. The statues along the top of the building were designed to indicate that all the knowledge of the world could be found within. In front of the library stands a regal equestrian statue of Franz Joseph.
The front of the Hapsburg Palace, the Hofburg, with its four statues of Hercules
Roman ruins, recently found near the Hofburg during an installation of a new U-Bahn line, have been carefully preserved for the public to see.
Among the Baroque buildings surrounding the palace is a post-World War II office building. With its far less decorative appearance, the initially disliked piece of architecture was quickly dubbed the "building without eyebrows."
The Spanish Riding School training center houses stables for the many Austrian Lippizaner stallions, known world-wide for their striking, all-white appearance.
A magnificent carving of Pegasus is suspended over the stable courtyard.
On beautiful Kartnerstrasse, stands the gilded 'Pest Säule,' built to commemorate the end of the plague in Vienna. The religiously-themed art piece displays the people of Austria at the bottom, fighting the plague. Just above them kneels the emperor, a representative of the people to God. Higher are the angels in the heavenly realms, with the Trinity at the top, determining the fates of those below. The message of the piece is that the more devout one is in their faith, the more one is able to overcome the plague.
The emperor kneels before God. Note the infamous "Hapsburg chin" carved into the statue.
The signature monument for Vienna: St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom). Though the original structure was completed in 1160, the church has been expanded upon over the years, and portions rebuilt after fires – the most recent of which occurred in 1945. The resulting restoration gave the cathedral its beautiful, gleaming roof.
The details of Gothic architecture are intricate and elaborate.
The "O5" on the front of the cathedral was a secret code to identify the resistance movement during WWII. As our guide is explaining here, the letter 'O' and the number '5' signifying the 5th letter of the alphabet, 'E,' represent the umlauted 'O' and stand for Österreich (Austria). Any church or business displaying "O5" was letting passers by know that this establishment was sympathetic to the resistance against the Third Reich.
As we were visiting on a Sunday, mass was taking place at Stephansdom.
The music during the service was breathtaking!
At the Farewell Dinner aboard our ship, Baked Alaska was a perfect end to a perfect trip!
Thank you, David and your son Jon for all the pictures and the explanations of each one. I truly loved every one of them as a river trip has always been on the top of my bucket list. Congratulations on your 62 anniversary. Our 62 is next week. Since you were in Vienna off and on for a good time=did you every hear of an artist by the name of Helana Finke???? If not, forget it, if you have, would love to talk. Safe trip home !!!