Tuesday June 11 started badly with the news that the police had moved into Taksim Square at about 7:30 a.m. with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. The spin was that the police were just going to remove the banners from the buildings surrounding the square and would leave the people in the park. However, as I write this blog from Vienna at 11:00 p.m. (midnight in Istanbul), an excessive amount of tear gas is still being used and many are injured. All this happened the day before PM Erdogan is to meet with protesters. His rhetoric has ramped up and the situation is getting worse. It appears he doesn't understand that the people we saw on Istiklal Street, Taksim Square and Gezi Park were ordinary people, with concerns about the continued erosion of civil and human rights in Turkey. They are not members of any terrorist group.
We headed to the airport just after 9:30 a.m. for our 12:00 p.m. flight to Vienna. We arrived at around 1:00 p.m. Vienna time, to a light rain and cool weather. Our apartment is in an older building across from the wonderful Naschmarkt, a covered market of fish, meat, vegetable and other stores as well as a number of restaurants. The actual apartment is spotless and very convenient. While in the 4th district, it is only about a short walk to the ring road and the 'innere stadt" (inner city) of Vienna. We did a little food shopping in the Naschmarkt.
 |
| Oil store in Naschmarkt |
 |
| Olives |
 |
| Fish- great looking but so much more expensive than Istanbul |
 |
Spices beautifully arranged
After dropping the groceries at the apartment, we went up the street to meet our friend Paul at Cafe Museum for a coffee. Cafe Museum opened in1899 and was a hang out for Klimt, Kokoschka etc. Paul worked with Alain in Victoria, British Columbia and then briefly lived in Toronto. He has been working in Vienna for the past 2 1/2 years. We walked with him to the Stadtpark, where Alain may go running.
Toby and Paul
On the way, we passed a number of beautiful buildings and also walked by the famous Staatsoper (State Opera), which was built in the 1860s.At the Stadtpark, we saw the famous gilt statute of Johann Strauss
An interesting apartment block
Waltz with Strauss
Staatsoper
|
In the park, we saw a reception and stopped at the Danube Canal.
 |
| Reception at building in the Stadtpark |
 |
| Danube Canal |
 |
| Toby checking the guidebook in the Stadtpark |
We also passed a number of ads for exhibits at the many museums around town, that we may check out.
 |
| Hundertwasser at the Belvedere |
 |
Linda McCarney's photos at the Museum of Fine Arts
We were going to go eat schnitzel, but the restaurant was booked. We made a reservation for Monday and continued to wander. Luckily, the sun had come out and everything was very green. It is clear that the architecture of Vienna is a major draw. We passed the Session building, built in 1898 for the groups of Austrian artists known as the Vienna Secession, whose first president was Gustav Klimt.
The Secession building with gilded laurel leave dome
Art nouveau design
Building next to the Secession
Turtles holding up a bowl in front of Secession Building
What follows are some other examples of beautiful architecture that we passed as we wandered about Vienna.
|
 |
| St. Stephen's Cathedral |
 |
| The spire of St. Stephen's |
 |
| Cafe Pruckel |
 |
| Sunset gives this building a golden glow |
 |
| Another view of St. Stephens |
 |
| Recessed sculputre |
 |
Lovely ladies
We ended up at a newish Pho/ramen restaurant for some soup, then back to our spotless apartment.
Spotless bathroom
spotless bedroom
Spotless kitchen
Tomorrow we will start exploring the city in earnest.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment