Burggarten

Dogs are not allowed in Burggarten, so Sharkdog and I had to stay outside the gate. We still got a pretty good view of the monument to Mozart.

Parliament building and fountain

The Parliament building was built between 1873 and 1883. Greek architecture was chosen to pay honor to Greece as the birthplace of democracy. The huge fountain in front of the Parliament building was added in 1902. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, stands at the top of the fountain.

Parliament fountain

This is part of a massive fountain located in front of the parliament building.

Peter Altenberg at Cafe Central

When you enter Cafe Central, you may notice a strange figure sitting at the front table. This is a life-size figure of Peter Altenburg, a famous Austrian poet, who frequented Cafe Central so often he had his mail delivered there.

Water fountain

Drinking fountains are not very common in Europe. I read somewhere that there are no water drinking fountains in Vienna. And until yesterday, the only place I had seen a drinking fountain was in the U.S. Consulate office. So I was quite surprised when I realized this big thing in the middle of the walkway was a water fountain. This water fountain and 9 others were placed in the "fan zones" for EURO 2008 (the soccer tournament) held in Vienna last month. I hope the city keeps them around for good.

Gnomes

Gnomes are quite popular here. So popular, in fact, that even gnomes collect gnomes.

The Lion of Aspern

The Lion of Aspern is a large stone statue of a dying lion that commemorates the many Austrian soldiers and civilians who died during the Battle of Aspern-Essling fought on May 21 and May 22, 1809. Austrian forces were the first to defeat Napoleon's army in more than 10 years when they prevented Napoleon's attempt to cross the Danube River.