Vienna Here and There Part II

July 7, cont'd.: By the time Cindy returned to the hotel, I was ready to go on whatever adventure she had in mind. Edie was having lunch with a former colleague, so we were on our own for the afternoon.

First stop: Stadtpark, a place Cindy visited often when she lived in Vienna. She would frequently come by in the afternoon/evening to watch the dancers in fancy ball dress who would waltz to the music played by a small orchestra--all in tribute to Vienna's own "Waltz King," Johann Strauss Jr. (who plays forever in Stadtpark). Those performances were free, by the way, and they no longer take place.

It's a lovely park--and again, if you've watched Vienna Blood on PBS, you've seen it a few times.

After walking to Wien Mitte, a mall that houses the City Airport Train station, to purchase tickets for our departure from Vienna a few days hence, we began the real adventure of the day. Cindy was leading me somewhere, I knew not where. But suddenly we were there: the Hundertwasser-Krawina House, the most imaginative, colorful, intelligent residential building I've ever had the privilege of seeing up close and personal:

The above two images are borrowed from Wikipedia, as I was so entranced by the on-the-ground details that I never thought to cross the street to get the big picture. But here are some of my shots of the public spaces:

At the beginning of this chapter is a photo of one of the many bricks of this design that were incorporated into the cobblestone sidewalks and landscape. These were "harvested" and repurposed from torn-down houses, and they bear the Habsburg coat of arms.

The artist who conceived this building, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, believed that more humane residences could be created. Here's his philosophy, as found on the Hundertwasser Nonprofit Foundation website: http://www.hundertwasser-haus.info/en/blog/category/philosophy/.

I was just blown away--still am--by this building and the thought that went into every aspect of its design. Enchanted, I guess, might be a better word, and I am now a huge fan of this artist's work.

We tore ourselves away from this building and went toward the Donaukanal, where we came upon another, much smaller, Hundertwasser installation, the Hundertwasser-Promenade:

As we walked along the canal, we realized that it was a showcase for art, both commissioned/ sanctioned and unsolicited, of which I include only two examples:

We walked and walked along the canal, and then finally found our way to a subway station to head back to the hotel to get ready for our evening out: Wiener Mozart Konzerte, preceded by dinner in the 1870-Restaurant Terrace Lounge of the Grand Hotel (one of only a very few inside dinners in Vienna, and I had to promise not to talk when my mask was off for eating).

This was our table centerpiece--which was much more memorable than our meal...although the dessert was delicious.

There was a pianist, who just couldn't match the standard set by the pianist in the Pump Room in Bath. But the dinner was only a prelude to the real event, and the setting was lovely in any case:

Following dinner, we made our way to the Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra--you know, where the famous New Year's Day concert is broadcast from--specifically from the Golden or Great Hall, which is where we would be experiencing a concert of Mozart performed by musicians in period costumes.

A small corner of the building, in the pre-concert evening light.

And always look up once inside:

But back to our own mortal level:

And, of course, all the women holding up the building:

It's a beautiful hall (as so many of you already know):

The concert was terrific. And afterward, the evening outside was a perfect temperature, great for strolling back to the hotel. Looking back, the Musikverein glowed:

On the way back, we passed more architectural jewels...

Karlskirche:

And Technische Hochschule:

And thus ends July 7!

Stay tuned for some more of Vienna, over many more days.