Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Austria:
Vienna
Hofburg Palace: this was home to the Habsburgs from 1273 to 1918. We toured the Kaiser Apartments (Imperial Apartments) and the Sisi Museum, which is devoted to the life of Austria’s Empress Elisabeth.
Pestsaule Memorial: designed by Fischer von Erlach in 1693 to commemorate the 75,000 victims of the Black Death.
Stephansdom Church: this cathedral was built on the site of a 12th-century church but its most distinctive features are Gothic.
Sigmund Freud Museum: this museum was the former house of the famous psychologist. It now exhibits his personal belongings and stories about his life.
HundertwasserHaus: an apartment building built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser with architect Joseph Krawina as a co-author. The exterior of the complex features asymmetrical ideas, such as different shaped windows, uneven floors, and various colors. The roof and several other areas of the apartment also contained many trees, Hundertwasser referred to this idea as “tree tenants.” The design reminded us a lot of Barcelona’s Gaudi buildings.
Karlskirche: a baroque church, widely considered one of the city’s greatest buildings. The church has gathered fame due to its nicely shaped bronze dome.
Oberes (Upper) Schloss Belvedere Palace: this palace is one of the world’s finest baroque palaces. We visited one of two main buildings, Oberes Belvedere (Upper Belvedere), which showcases Austrian art work, highlights included Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” and interesting bronze sculptures of elderly men making funny faces. The second building, which we did not enter, was the Unteres Belvedere (Lower Belvedere).
