Vienna Here and There, Part I

July 7 (Thursday, 2nd full day in Vienna): I decided I should lie low on this morning, to take a break from having to wear a mask for even a couple of hours. So Cindy and Edie took off for the Historical Musical Instrument Collection at the Neue Burg.

On their way, they passed through Burggarten park and stopped to admire both the G clef...

...and the statue of Mozart

Naturally, I regret to this day that I chose to pass on this experience, because they saw some of the most stunning instruments that personify the rich history of classical music from the 16th century through the 20th century. For instance:

The piano of Clara and Robert Schumann (oh, and Johannes Brahms)

Gustav Mahler's fortepiano

An upright piano on which Hugo Wolf composed many of his "Goethe songs."

A Bösendorfer piano exhibited at the Paris World's Fair of 1867, which took two years to build due to its lavish design. From the label: "The gilded caryatids are reminiscent of the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, built at the same time from a design of Theophil Hansen." (I strained to read the label so you don't have to...)

Watching over it all, the very stylish and cool Franz Schubert:

More beautiful instruments:

A couple of very unusual organs:

Some elaborate armor:

And this--I have no idea what it is or what it represents, but it's wondrously interesting.

Edie found something that dredged up fond memories of her father:

The building where this collection was housed looked none too shabby, too. Cindy captured a few details in my style:

This sculpture is also seen from above in the opening photo.

So I've covered Cindy and Edie's morning adventure. The rest of the day, when Cindy and I spent the afternoon wandering afar, must wait for another chapter.