Visitors

Recently, two of my close friends from Macalester came to visit Vienna as part of their post study abroad summer travels. It was wonderful to see both Kat and Brennan again and it was fun to show them around Vienna. I also took the opportunity to see some of the sights of Vienna I hadn’t seen yet with them.

With Kat, I visited Schönbrunn, the Hapsburgs’ main summer palace. The gardens of the palace are beautiful and full of a number of impressive fountains, as are most of the rooms in the Rococo style palace.

The ducklings in the fountains were pretty cute too.

Kat also joined my class for our tour of Vienna’s main cemetery, particularly known for the large number of famous musicians buried there, including Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Strauss.

Also on the cemetery grounds is a large church, named after the controversial Austrian politician Karl Lueger. The church is also where he's buried. He's a particularly controversial historical figure due to his Anti-Antisemitism and his role in incorporating Anti-Antisemitism into the official party platform of Austria's largest political party. Actually, due to this controversy, a major street named after him is being renamed currently.

I also continue to really appreciate and enjoy the aesthetics of cemeteries so here are some more photos.

I found the gnomes in the last shot to be a comically interesting choice for a tombstone design.

With Brennan, I completed my immersion into the life of the Hapsburgs by visiting the Hofburg, the winter palace located in the city center of Vienna. The museum there includes the impressive royal cutlery and dishware collection:

and an exhibition on Empress Sisi, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph who ruled for much of the later 1800s and early 1900s. She is an entirely fascinating historical figure as she consistently lived her life as she wished and rejected many of her royal duties.

Brennan and I also rode the Riesenrad, the large Ferris wheel in Prater, the amusement park in the former royal hunting grounds. It’s the second largest Ferris wheel in Europe after the London Eye and there’s a great view of the city from the top.