VIENNA
Part of the R.S. tour was a stop at the Mauthausen Concentration camp. This memorial site was different than Dachau, in that, it has been sort of "left to the people" is the only way I can describe it. I wept at the memorials that different countries built to commemorate the prisoners from those countries who died in this camp. I only took pictures of the memorials, what I read and saw here, has been branded on my heart. Sad that one memorial was a representation of Yugoslavian prisoners (which is no more) and that memorial has fallen into some disrepair. I loved that families have returned here, over the years to nail a picture to a wall inside buildings, of their loved ones who perished here.
Mauthausen's oath (May 16, 1945) "follow a common path; the one of freedom"
Day 13
and 14
Maria Theresien platz
Hofburg Palace
St. Peter's Church
We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon, and after quickly settling in, we met our local tour guide, for a walking tour of downtown Vienna. The time spent was insightful and fun! I didn't know a lot about Vienna, and was glad to have the opportunity to delve into the history and culture of such a vibrant city!
Pestsaule memorial
Schiller monument
St. Stephens Church
Quirky! Vienna invented the croissant. It began as a kipferl (a yeast bread roll), and was brought to France by Maria Antoinette upon marrying King Louis XVI of France.
Did you know? Maria Theresa was the only female ruler during the Habsburg dynasty which lasted 650 years!
Third Man Museum
Burgtheater
"The world is full of wonderful things you haven't seen yet. Don't ever give up on the chance of seeing them." - J.K. Rowling
Our group reunited with our local tour guide and visited the Third Man Museum. We had a great opportunity to see memorabilia and props from the actual filming of the movie, as well as learn about the history of post-WWII Vienna. Later, we went to the Kunsthistoriches Museum to observe some of the magnificent art collections of the Habsburgs. The rest of the afternoon was ours to meander through more of the museum or explore more of Vienna. We took advantage of one of the bus routes, called The Rinsgstrasse, as the weather was hot and it was nice to let the bus do the walking. We listened to R.S. audio app as we rode around the city's core, learning about many of the major historical sights. We met at a restaurant for our final dinner together, which was the perfect ending to a mostly perfect trip! As I have put this website page together, I have enjoyed reminiscing about the awesome places Mike and I got to go to, the nice people we met, and the excellent tour guides in each city.
Low Down:
Where we stayed: https://www.kkhotels.com/products/kk-hotel-maria-theresia-vienna/
How long we stayed: 2 nights
Highlight: exploring the city
Things to do in Vienna: attend a classical concert, vist the Schonbrunn palace and gardens, explore the historic center of Vienna, Belvedere museum, Kunsthistorisches museum, the beautiful churches in Vienna, the Hofburg palace, Tiergarten Schoenbrunn Zoo, to name a few.
