Lots of wandering again today. First stop was the Oberes Belvedere.
This palace was built in the early 16th century with an upper palace (in picture above) and a lower palace divided by a very large French garden.
By 1776 Maria Theresa and her son Emperor Joseph II decided to transfer the Imperial Picture Gallery to the Upper Belvedere. In the spirit of Enlightened Absolutism, they determined the imperial collection was to be opened to the public. Here’s the first room we entered.
And the ceiling in this room with the chandelier.
Here are some of the highlights of this amazing museum.
Vincent van Gogh painted this unusually wide landscape shortly before his suicide. Although it depicts a rural landscape, to van Gogh it represented hopelessness and loneliness.
Claude Monet painted this garden pathway to his house in Giverny on the Seine.
Monet painted this portrait of Paul Antoine Graff chef and owner of a small hotel in Pourville on the English Chanel. Monet enjoyed his culinary skills during his two month stay at his hotel.
The Kiss (Lovers) by Gustav Klimt is the most famous Austrian painting and the highlight of the permanent collection at the Upper Belvedere.
Here’s an odd piece with no description in a room of her own. Those are tweezers in her right hand and a broken piece of mirror in her left.
And this is the room she is in. Nothing in this room is three-dimensional. It’s all painted on a flat wall and ceiling. Pretty amazing.
After spending several hours here we moved on to see what else we could see. Here is Karlskirche, considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one of the city’s greatest buildings.
The World War II Memorial.
The Imperial Treasury, located in the Imperial Palace
contains the infamous “Crown Jewels”.
One of my favorite finds on our wanderings is the Naschmarkt.
Over 120 stalls offering food and spices from around the world. We had a delicious gnocchi lunch here.
Stuffed peppers
Olives
Spices
Cheeses
Our last stop was the Ankeruhr Vienna Clock. The picture below shows the correct time of 5pm.
When we finally got back to our pension, Chris picked up a delicious kebob sandwich that we ate in our room while listening to some great jazz guitar music just below our window.
Life in Japan and Beyond 