Hofburg Palace Revisited… Interiors This Time
We got up a little earlier today than we have previously been doing (about 8:00AM today). We showered, ate breakfast and planned our day.
We left the apartment at about 10:30 and caught the tram down to Schottentor station. From there we walked down to the Tourist Information office opposite the Albertina and picked up a few tourism brochures.
Leaving the Tourist Information place, we went to the Hofburg Palace and bought our tickets for the combined tours of the Silberkammer (Silver Museum), SiSi Museum, and the Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments), all free with our Vienna Pass. We spent the next few hours touring the exhibits.
The Entrance
OK, so the main entrance was a dump:
The Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments)
So unfortunately there was no photography allowed in the Silberkammer (Silver Museum) and the SiSi Museum, but I did grab a few shots of the Palace’s exit (which was a little less elaborate than the entrance):
Lunch in The Kohlmarkt
Leaving the Palace, hunger started creeping in so we walked up Kohlmarkt. The Kohlmarkt is best known as Vienna’s most elegant shopping street. All the high-end names are here: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Chanel, and Armani, to name a few:
We found a restaurant just off the Kohlmarkt called Il Tempo and sat down for lunch:
Vince had the Pesto Penne and I had the Chicken Cutlet (it looked a lot like a massive Weiner Schnitzel!). Very good. We lingered for a while, then paid the bill and left.
Inner Courtyard of the Hofburg Palace
Wandering back to the Hofburg Palace we strolled through the grounds (Heldenplatz). I was hoping to get some good pictures but there was a massive special event setting up (“Vienna Masters” horse show), so the place was a mess.
The Neue Burg
We passed from the inner courtyard of the Hofburg to the Neue Burg. The Neue Burg is a relatively new wing of the Hofburg Palace, completed in the early 20th century. It is home to the National Library, the Weltmuseum, the Museum of Austrian History and more. Hitler famously used the balcony to announce Austria’s “annexation” into Germany:
Maria-Theresien Platz
From the Hofburg we proceeded to Maria-Theresien Platz, home of the Naturhistorisches (National History Museum), the Kunsthistorisches (Museum of Art History) and a whole lot more Viennese bling:
The MuseumsQuartier
Wandering over to the MuseumsQuartier we sat for quite a while, gathering our thoughts and energy. The MuseumsQuartier is home to a range of installations from large art museums like the Leopold Museum and the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna) to contemporary exhibition spaces like the Kunsthalle Wien and festivals like the Wiener Festwochen, an annual summer event that is headquartered in the MuseumsQuartier Wien.
Here’s a little video panorama Vince did of the MuseumsQuartier. Note the sketchy character ordering treats from the yogurt stand:
I scored a tasty yogurt from a sidewalk-style cart (there was a very nice Austrian girl serving, who helped me with my order in German).
Leaving the MuseumsQuartier we walked up the Museumstrasse, taking in the architecture:
We continued on to Museumsplatz and saw the Austrian Parliament buildings; we went over and investigated the grounds:
From there strolled up to the Rathaus (Vienna City Hall) – the grounds there were also covered in special event tents and were almost impossible to see, so I took a tall shot of the building:
We then took a little spin through Rathauspark beside The Rathaus:
From the Rathaus we got on to the Vienna Ring Road (Ringstrasse) and walked up, admiring the architecture:
We walked all the way to Schottenring where we sat down and rested for a while, admiring the Ringturm (Ring Tower):
Feeling very tired at this point, we decided to walk back to Schottentor station and catch the tram back to the apartment. Before reaching the apartment, though, we hit the big Hofer supermarket on Julius-Meinl-Gasse and stocked up on a few food supplies.
Getting back to home base we rested for a while, then cooked two frozen pizzas in the oven – it was pretty good (even the frozen food in Vienna is delicious!).
After dinner I caught up on this journal and backed up our daily pictures. After that we just rested for the remainder of the evening and discussed our plans for another busy day tomorrow. Off to bed.
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