I am so sorry if it has been difficult to make a comment on the blog. According to my daughter, Erica, all you need to do is reply to the email that sends the post. No need to go to the blog site and add your email address. I love those comments so please keep them coming.
We started today with another great breakfast and I have to admit the Sacher Torte has definitely grown on me and I like it very much. So much so that I am disappointed that our flight tomorrow is so early that we might miss breakfast.
We had a fantastic day with Peter touring the Hofburg Palace complex which included the Sisi museum. The museum is dedicated to Elisabeth the Emperess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian equivalent to Lady Di. Elisabeth was quite the beauty and a bit vain. We were told that she refused to allow any photos to be taken of her after the age of 30.
We also toured the Military Museum and Belvedere Palace. The Belvedere Palace had an incredible array of artwork including “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.
During the day we took a lunch break at Cafe Central (Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien). Our guide, Peter, joined us for lunch at which time he discussed the history of Vienna prior to, during, and after WW II. It was fascinating to hear what he had to say. I was essentially speechless (Patrice here: Yes, Robert hardly said a word and you know what a rare event that is).
One fun fact we learned today was that as part of the post-WWII peace accord the Austrians were required to put up memorials to each of the allied countries. Peter took us by the Russian memorial. He further told us that the person that owns the property adjacent to the memorial was understandably upset about the Russian military action in Ukraine. Notice the colors he painted the adjoining fence.
Peter was with us for about 7 hours today (we were only scheduled for 6) and then we had to bid him farewell. I told him that each tour guide seems to be better than the previous so lucky for him we only have Berlin left on our tour so he will definitely be one of our top 2 favorites. Not only was he a vast source of information, but he was also very humorous. Today he really got me chuckling when we were waiting at a red light and he started to cross the street saying, “The red light is just a suggestion”.
You might remember from yesterday that I planned to return to Jungmann & Neffe to be measured for my tailor-made suit for a mere $5,000. But darn, wouldn’t you know they are closed on Sunday. I guess we will just have to return and get it next time.
Enough for tonight. After all, we need to head out for dinner.
Gute Nacht
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 