Lennon Wall

While we're talking about the trip to Prague, let's take a look at Lennon Wall. It use to actually mean something, but it's become somewhat of a tourist stop since communism fell. It's still worth a visit. It may look like a big mess from this far back, but there are some interesting scrawlings there.

Departure board

Last year Brian and I made a short trip to Prague and I just loved the arrival/departure boards at the train station. The sound of the little tiles flipping around every time the information changed was quite nice.

I decided this photo would be good for today because I'm departing for about a week. But don't worry, I have photos lined up for the rest of the week. And I hope to have some lovely photos from other parts of Austria when I return.

Winter sunset

This is another photo taken from the balcony. I never get tired of the view. The needle sticking up on the left is Donauturm (Danube Tower). And I think the thing sticking up on the right is the tallest apartment building in Vienna, but I'm not sure.

Photo taken January 20, 2008.

Street musicians

Like yesterday's photo, this one was taken shortly after we arrived to Vienna. In fact, it was our first day in this fair land. After finding the place we would live for the next month and probably after taking a nap, we headed downtown to check out the scene and grab dinner at Pizza Bizi.

Donaufelderkirche

I was looking through some old photos the other day and ran across this one. It was taken on July 12th of last year -- less than two weeks after we arrived in Vienna. Donaufelderkirche is the third tallest church in Vienna and it's located just down the street from where Brian and I stayed our first month in Vienna. I still like to look for it any time I'm looking over the city -- from the Riesenrad, Donauturm, or any other place we take visitors to see the city view.

Doggie bag

I never could get at a good angle to snap this shot, but it was so cute I had to share it anyway. No, I'm not talking about the guy wearing white socks and sandals. I'm talking about that cute little dog carrying a shopping bag in his mouth. I followed this pair for a block or two (I was going the same direction) and there was one thing I could tell for sure -- the dog was quite pleased with his purchase. And, just in case you're wondering, I was standing across the street when I shot this photo, so I don't think I looked like a total stalker.

Haas-Haus

The Haas-Haus is a postmodernistic style building (whatever that means -- thanks Wiki) that was completed in 1990. There are other modern buildings in Vienna, but this one gets a lot of attention because it stands in such strong contrast to Stephansdom, which is located almost directly across from it.

Stephansdom's south tower

The south tower is 445 feet high and took over 65 years to build, from 1368 to 1433. And it's probably been under renovation ever since that time. (I'm being a little sarcastic here, but it does seem like it requires a lot of upkeep.) For a small fee, you can climb the 343 steps to the lookout point. It's supposed to be a nice view, but the view is "somewhat restricted" according to the cathedral's website due to renovation.

Stephansdom at night

It's worth taking a trip into the inner city after dark to view Stephansdom. On the left edge of this photo is Haas-Haus, a modern building that stands in start contrast to the architecture of Stephansdom.

Double-headed eagle mosaic

This is another section of Stephansdom's roof. You can see how the city has grown up next to the cathedral. This photo was taken a block away from Stephansdom -- the buildings on the left and right are not part of the cathedral, but rather offices and shops that line this side street. The double-headed eagle depicted in the mosaic is the symbol of the Hapsburg dynasty.

Stephansdom

This is just a small portion of the side of Stephansdom. One of the most famous aspects of the cathedral is the roof, which is covered in 230,000 glazed tiles.

Stephansdom replica

I haven't posted a lot of photos of Stephansdom. But it's not because I don't like it or haven't taken many photos of it. It's because you can't really capture the grandeur of the cathedral in a photo. The city has grown up so close around it, it's impossible to get a photo of the entire building. Situated next to Stephansdom is this small replica of the cathedral. Over the next few days, I'll post photos of Stephansdom from different angles.

Tichy Eissalon

When I ask people in Vienna about their favorite eissalon (ice cream parlor), Tichy is almost always mentioned. Sometimes the statement is along the lines of, "People say Tichy is the best, but I prefer...", but often it's named as one of the top three eissalons in Vienna. I visited Tichy once several years ago and didn't think it was any better than some of the other eissalons I had visited. However, I'm pretty sure they had ice cream parlor chairs there and I haven't seen ice cream parlor chairs at any other eissalon. I'll have to go inside and check it out the next time I'm in the neighborhood (which is a long ways from my neighborhood). Maybe I'll try their ice cream as well. Like most eissalons, Tichy closes sometime during the fall and doesn't reopen until spring.

Windmills

From the window in our living room you can see a large windmill farm off in the distance. The view from our window doesn't look nearly as nice as these two windmills which are part of one of several farms we spotted while driving to Melk last July.

Gloriette

This is a view of the Gloriette from which I took the photo posted yesterday.

Schloss Schönbrunn

Schönbrunn Palace is one of the major tourist attractions. In addition to the palace, there are several gardens, a huge maze made out of hedges, the Vienna Zoo and a great view of the city. This photo was taken from the Gloriette, a pavilion located on a hill behind the palace.

Egyptian god Anubis

This photo was taken a few months ago during Eurocup. That's why this statue of the Egyptian god Anubis is wearing a soccer jersey. There was an older man taking a photo of his wife standing in front of this statue and I was just milling around waiting for them to move out of the way. So he asked (or I offered, can't remember) if I could take of photo of both him and his wife, then he insisted on taking one of me and Brian. He took a couple of photos -- I think this was his artistic rendition since it's tilted. I think he enjoyed being able to see the results right away on the digital camera because he was still using a 35mm film camera.

After the photo shoot, we spoke for a few minutes. He asked where we were from and whether we were visiting or living in Vienna. He told us their names and that he was from the former Czecheslovakia and his wife was from Austria. He was quite impressed with my German and said to his wife, "Listen to her German, she doesn't even speak with an accent." To which his wife replied, "She has an accent." Oh well, at least other non-native German speakers think my German sounds nice.

Pestsaule statue

This is another statue to plague victims. The statue in the center of Graben Square near Stephansplatz memorializes the citizens of Vienna who died of the bubonic plague during the late 1600s. Between 75,000 and 150,000 residents of Vienna died during the plague and this area of the city was used as a mass grave.

Votivkirche

Votivkirche is probably my favorite cathedral in Vienna. Sometimes I wonder if there will ever be a time when half of it's not covered by scaffolding. You can't tell in this photo, but most of the building is white. The part that is covered is still being cleaned. And the roof is being restored on the right and back side. If you google Votivkirche, you'll find some interesting photos like this one that show the building without scaffolding. The white part has been cleaned and the gray part was still awaiting cleaning. The photo was probably taken in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Segway city tour

There are a lot of options for city tours: walking tours, bicycle tours, bus and carriage tours. But the most modern method has to be the Segway tour. It seems like a lot of fun, but I'd be afraid of falling off!