Vienna
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A sunny day in Vienna was not to be. It was, instead, a washout with the sun never even showing its face. Even so, it was better than the weather we remember from our November visit 10 years earlier.
Brought into the city by coach, we commenced our morning walking tour near the Museum Quarter:
The Art and Natural History Museums face each other across the Maria Theresa Platz, featuring a bigger-than-life statue of the empress herself:
A short slog away, we faced the Hofburg Imperial Palace:
Not keen on the drenching we were getting, Patty and I separated from the tour while Jan and Diane pressed on:
St. Stephens Cathedral, above, and St. Peters Church, below, were both explored in the morning on tour.
In the afternoon, after lunch onboard Freya, the intrepid adventurers took an optional tour to the massive Schönbrunn Palace:
Meanwhile, Patty and I enjoyed an early lunch in a quiet, warm and dry, out-of-the-way place we had frequented before:
The Markt-Restaurant Rosenberger had changed hardly at all.
Refreshed by our stop, we made our way to the Naschmarket, a combination of market stands and restaurants. However, with all its dripping awnings, a good photo was beyond this cameramans ability. We did pass the peculiar Secession Building, though, a temple to art built around 1902:
Some Viennese have awarded its delicate golden dome the unflattering nickname, “the golden head of cabbage.”
Elsewhere in the city, we came face to face with this other-worldly creation:
This eye-grabbing truck, built for an Austrian insurance company, is actually a mobile, high-end, medical check-up station, providing fast and detailed preventive-style examinations. Here is a better photo from the Internet taken on a sunny day:
Eventually, by U-Bahn, we made it to within walking distance of the ship with daylight left to explore a really unusual church. Below is the appearance of St. Francis of Assisi Church (aka, Jubilee Church) on a bright day:
During our wet and drippy visit, it was much darker and almost dreary looking:
Providing a respite from the weather, the interior was anything but dreary. Especially stunning was the Elizabeth Chapel off to one side:
After dinner, our tour director, Preston, gave an amazing hours performance in the lounge. A very talented tenor, his musical abilities took us by surprise. The only way we could top his superb performance was to cap off our evening by dancing.
With apologies for using the wrong camera setting, this photo reminds us of happy times on the ships dance floor with our congenial music maestro, Otto:
As night descended and the rain tapered off, our ship remained quietly docked near the Reichsbrücke (bridge):
The next morning dawned beautifully, the storm having moved on. The sight of blue sky portended a great day for river travel: