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Fall & Winter 2024

September - Disember 2024
Combo trip journal ... including time with family in Türkiye; a Viking river cruise (Eastern European Capitals); more family time in Türkiye; and a TransAtlantic Cruise back home on NCL Encore. Baca lagi
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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: Kapuzinergruft … Imperial Crypt

    14 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Having visited some of the places where the Habsburgs lived and played, it seemed only right that we also see where they were buried.

    So, with time on our hands — and our feet not protesting the decision — from the Vienna State Opera House, we headed to the Imperial Crypt … also referred to as the Capuchin Crypt.

    The Capuchins, beneath whose church and monastery the crypt is located, have been the caretakers and guardians of the burial grounds. The idea of a cloister and crypt was conceived by Anna of Tyrol, the wife of Emperor Matthias. The funds she provided in her will were released upon her death in 1618 to build what is today known as the Founders Vault. She and the emperor were re-interred here following the completion of the vault in 1632. Over the years, the crypt was enlarged by various Habsburg monarchs. Today there are ten vaults in all, and a crypt chapel.

    The Habsburgs had a very strict court protocol for their funerals. This included the removal of the entrails for embalming. These were then placed in urns that were buried in the Ducal Crypt at St Stephens Cathedral. The heart was also removed and placed in an urn that was buried in the Herzgruft [Heart Room] at the St George’s Chapel of the Augustinerkirche. As for the body … it was put in velvet-lined wooden coffin that was placed inside a sarcophagus for internment at the Imperial Crypt. This tradition continued until 1878 … after which, the entire body was buried in one place at the Imperial Crypt.

    According to the Kapuzinergruft website, some 150 people are interred at the Imperial Crypt, including 12 emperors and 22 empresses and queens. All the sarcophagi — except for that of Emperor Franz Joseph I — are made of metal. His is made of stone.

    After taking a quick peek inside the Capuchin Church, we purchased our senior admission to the crypt and walked through the vaults. It was interesting to note how rank continued to have privilege even after death. While a number of sarcaphogi were almost puritan-like in their simplicity, others were quite the opposite … as evidenced by their over-the-top Rococo designs. The most elaborate of these is the dual sarcophagus of Emperor Franz and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa.

    The entire crypt, with the exception of the Franz Joseph Vault, was quite dimly lit. In contrast, this one was quite bright … its ceiling painted a light blue with what look like cherubs looking down through the clouds. The emperor’s stone sarcophagus is flanked by the metal sarcophagi of his empress, Sisi, and their son, Crown Prince Rudolf. Having read that the Habsburgs were devout Catholics, I was surprised to see that Rudolf was interred at the crypt. After all, he had died in a suicide pact in Mayerling after killing his 17-year-old mistress. Then I remembered a docent explaining that the prince’s brain had been autopsied to prove that he was in the midst of a psychotic break at the time of the murder-suicide … thus allowing his burial at the crypt. Hmmmm!

    Anyway, morbid as visiting the crypt might seem, it was quite interesting.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: Mexico Church

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Our morning routine was a duplicate of yesterday … though we were a few minutes later getting off the Rinda this morning. It was more than a little chilly … the wind exacerbating the feels-like temperature. Bundled up, however, we were ready to make the most of our last day in Vienna.

    The Uber driver who brought us from the Handelskai Metro Station to the Rinda two days ago, had pointed out what he called the Mexico Church before making the turn into the port. Formally, this place of worship is the St Francis of Assisi Church … also referred to as the Emperor’s Jubilee Church because its construction was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the reign of Franz Joseph I.

    The basilica-style church — which, frankly, looks more like a castle from some fairytale — is located on Mexikoplatz [Mexico Square]. The Uber driver had said that the church was built to honor King Maximilian von Mexico, the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I. I have, however, been unable to verify that. That said, I have confirmed that the square was so named to commemorate Mexico being the only country, except for the USSR, to protest against the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany in 1938.

    Our initial attempts to check out the church were foiled by logistics the first two days after embarking Rinda. First it was a timing issue … the church is only open between 8:00a and noon. Then it was a matter of being on the wrong side of the Reichsbrücke [Imperial Bridge], which would have necessitated back tracking to get to the church.

    Today, we made a concerted effort to walk under the bridge and take the access path on the opposite side so that we could stop by the church on our way to the metro station. Strolling thorough the park, we arrived at the church to find the main door and landing blocked by a homeless camp. At first, we thought we would not be able to get inside, but after circumnavigating the building, we were able to gain access through a side door.

    The church, with a few exceptions, is not heavily decorated. The Elizabeth Chapel, which is in the style of Romanesque Revival, is quite another matter. The chapel was added to the transept as a memorial to Sisi after she was assassinated in Geneva, Switzerland in 1898. The funds for the chapel were raised by special donations to the Red Cross … Sisi was a patron of the organization.

    The Austrian people donated a vast sum for their beloved Sisi. This allowed for the chapel to be decorated with mosaics instead of frescoes … and for marble to be used for the walls instead of stucco. The brass chandelier reminded me of one of the crowns we saw at the Imperial Treasury a few days ago … but I have been unable to ascertain if the design was intentional … or if it was just my imagination.

    Unfortunately, the wrought iron gate in front of the chapel was locked and barred entrance. So, we had to look at the amazing details from afar. The lights were off, as well, making photography quite challenging. I had to be a bit of a contortionist to get the right angles through the bars of the gate, but I managed some decent shots.

    It was after 9:00a when we left the church and continued our walk to the Vorgartenstraße metro station to begin our sightseeing in earnest.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: KHM … Mostly the Ceilings

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien [Vienna Museum of Art History] is one of the world’s foremost fine arts museum. One that everyone said was not-to-be-missed. One that we were told would take at least a day to explore … and even then, would leave us wondering what we might have missed.

    So, we set today aside for this museum … the perfect cap to our time in Vienna.

    We arrived at KHM just before it opened at 10:00a. There was a long line of people buying tickets. But we were able to bypass it and go straight inside since we had pre-purchased our admission before we left home.

    The KHM was built for one purpose — to exhibit under one roof the imperial art collections of the Habsburgs, which Emperor Franz Joseph I wanted to make accessible to the public. Together with its twin — the Naturhistorisches Museum — it is one of the grand buildings lining the Rinstraße.

    Plans for building the museum began in 1857, but it wasn’t until 1871 that construction began. It took 20 years for the KHM to be completed … but, oh what a building it turned out to be … with a Renaissance Revival style sandstone façade lined with arched windows and decorated with statues and reliefs; an octagonal dome some 200 feet high; a grand rotunda with marble walls, columns, and floors; an oculus in the rotunda ceiling allowing a peek at the cupola; a staircase worthy of a palace leading up from the rotunda to the galleries; gold leaf and mural decorations on the ceilings of the halls and galleries; a balcony rimming the cupola for up close views of the highly decorated walls.

    And then, of course, the particular treasures of the building … the art.

    But this footprint is about the building … mostly the amazing ceilings we saw as we explored the exhibits.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: KHM … Paintings & Sculptures

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien galleries exhibit several collections. Most belonged to the Habsburgs, and as noted in the previous footprint, they are the reason why the museum was founded.

    The collections at the purpose-built museum are categorized as Egyptian & Near Eastern; Greek & Roman Antiquities; Picture Gallery; Kunstkammer Wien [Vienna Art Chamber]; and Coins. There are other collections as well, but they are exhibited in affiliated museums — Historic Musical Instruments; Imperial Armoury; Ephesos; Temple of Theseus. Of the latter, we had already visited the last two; had no real interest in the first two. So, our focus today was strictly on the exhibits in the purpose-built museum.

    We started out by climbing up the grand staircase to the first floor (what we would consider the 2nd floor in the US). It took us a while to do so as the staircase itself is like a gallery of art … paintings and sculptures adorning it. At the top of the first set of steps, we were greeted by Antonio Canova’s “Theseus Group” … depicting the defeat of the centaur by Theseus. If you’ve noted that the name of this sculpture is the same as the Temple of Theseus in the Volksgarten, there is indeed a connection. The temple was built to house this sculpture until it was moved to the KHM building.

    Something else that had us dallying on the grand staircase was the paintings … particularly those by Gustav Klimt. At one point, there was apparently a temporary bridge erected so that visitors could get a better view of the paintings. Well, that’s no more. And, unfortunately, I didn’t bring my long lens with me, so I had to make do with just viewing the paintings from afar. (Until, that is, I found a series of photos in the KHM digital collection that I was able to download.)

    Eventually, we arrived at the Picture Gallery, the walls of which are lined with secular and ecclesiastical works. The collection exhibited here has its foundation in the 17th century, but also includes 16th century Venetian paintings by masters such as Tintoretto and Titian; Flemish masters such as Rubens and Van Dyck; German Renaissance masters such as Dürer and Cranach. The museum also holds a collection of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder — including the “Tower of Babel” — that is considered unique worldwide. And then there are the works of Rembrandt, Raffael, Caravaggio, and many, many others.

    We spent about two hours at the Picture Gallery, leaving only because (1) we were getting hungry; and (2) we still had the rest of the museum to explore. Sure, our ship wasn’t due to leave until nearly midnight. But the museum didn’t care about that and would be closing much earlier.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: Lunch at Café im KHM

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Our feet begging for a little bit of time-out. Our tummies grumbling. Yup … time for a quick bite before continuing to explore the Kunsthistorisches Historisches Museum.

    Rather than leave the KHM, we decided to dine at the café in the museum.

    We had noticed the café — on the first floor of the KHM — when we went up to the second floor to take photos from the small balconies rimming the bottom edge of the cupola. What a setting! Situated immediately below the cupola; the oculus through which one can look up from the rotunda in the center of the hall; a black and white marble floor similar to the one in the rotunda … but with a different geometric pattern; marble columns topped in gold in the fancy Corinthian style; the red velvet seating adding a pop of color.

    There was no doubt about the elegant setting. But would the food measure up?

    Rather than sitting on the red banquette that surrounds the oculus, we opted for a bistro-style table next to the windows behind the arches, thus adding a view of the Maria-Theresien-Platz to our meal. Too bad that the mesh filter didn’t allow for a clear shot!

    Though we could have dallied at the café, sipping our hot beverages and enjoying the ambiance, the clock was continuing to tick down. So, we perused the menu, gave our order, and once our tummies were sated, off we went to continue exploring the museum.

    By the way … yes, the food did measure up, though I would have preferred my soup to be a little hotter. Mui finally got to eat some Wieners before leaving Wien! No complaints on his part.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: KHM … Antiquities

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Since, I’ve written about the Kunsthistorisches Museum in previous footprints, I’m going to keep the words to a minimum in this one.

    We had already decided to skip the Coin Collection, so after lunch at the museum’s café, we headed off to check out the Greek & Roman and Egyptian antiquities collections, both of which are among the most important in the world.

    Suffice to say that both collections are expansive … the Egyptian collection alone consists of some 17,000 objects. There are small items … such as cameos; as well as large items … such as the head of a colossal statue. There are ceramics, glassware, gold jewelry, mosaics, bronzes, clay tablets, stone statues, funeral cult representations … such as mummies, and more. There are statuettes that have weathered the millennia intact; and larger pieces that have not aged as gracefully, but beautiful nonetheless.

    In the short time we had available — with yet another collection waiting in the wings — there was no way to see everything. We wandered the galleries, focusing our attention on pieces that immediately caught our attention. I think we managed to see the most important objects in each collection.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: KHM … Kunstkammer Wien

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    The Kunstkammer — which translates as the art chamber — was the last Kunsthistorisches Musseum collection we wandered around … with our eyes nearly popping out of their sockets at times.

    At KHM, there is a particularly lavishly decorated room on the ground floor. The floor plan for the museum refers to it simply as Sala 19. But it is far more than just a gallery. It is where the ‘cradle’ of the museum begins. It is where the Kunstkammer welcomes visitors on their journey through the next 19 interconnected salons where objects collected by the Habsburgs for 600 years are exhibited.

    True, the KHM was purpose-built to house the imperial collections. The Kunstkammer is special, however. It is a museum within a museum, if you will. It is a “… type of collection that developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. … it assembled the widest possible variety of products of nature and of human skill and artistry as a reflection of the cosmos. … where the ideas of the ‘museum’ of modern times originated.” At least that’s how an info panel described what our eyes would be beholding as we went from gallery to gallery.

    In this collection we found objects of over-the-top lavish beauty and curiosity … objects made from rock crystal, ivory, gold, bronze, wood, marble, and more … objects ranging from paintings and tapestries, to statues and statuettes, to vases and platters, to cameos and cut gems, to coins and game boards, to clocks and calculators. And, oh so much more.

    The website says there are some 2,200 pieces exhibited in the 20 galleries of the Kunstkammer. I’m sure there is … it was mind boggling and overwhelming … and impossible to see and digest it all in one short visit. But it was also the perfect cap to our time at the museum.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: Prunksaal @ the Natl Library

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    “The National Library’s Prunksaal [State Hall] is a ‘library room’ in the same way that the Mona Lisa is a ‘painting’.”

    It was those words that put the Austrian National Library on our sightseeing list … a last minute addition to our day.

    Leaving the Kunsthistorisches Museum shortly after 3:30p, we hurried over to the library, which is housed in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg … an easy 15-minute walk from the KHM,

    With 12,000,000+ items in its inventory, this library is the largest in Austria. It was founded in 1368 as the Hofbibliothek [Court Library] when Albert III, Archduke of Australia, moved his collection of books from Viennese vaults into a library. In the centuries that followed, the imperial members of the court added to the collection.

    It wasn’t until 1722, however, that Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, commissioned a permanent home for the library in the Hofburg Palace. The result? Reading rooms that are considered to be “the jewel of Baroque secular architecture.” It took approximately three years for the building to be completed. But it was another four years before the frescoes and other decor elements were completed and the Court Library moved into its new home.

    In 1920, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the declaration of the Republic of Austria, the Court Library became the National Library. But that did not take away from the jaw-droppingly lavish Prunksaal that we visited today.

    Sure, we’d seen photos of the library before our visit. Nonetheless, stepping through the door of the State Hall, I couldn’t help but gasp at what my eyes beheld — stacks and stacks of walnut bookcases crammed with leather-bound books; giant mobile ladders everywhere to ensure access to the books on the higher shelves … walnut balconies with gilded decorations providing access to even higher shelves; marble columns with gilded Corinthian-style capitals; marble statues of the earlier Habsburgs … with Emperor Charles VI in his rightful place in the center of the rotunda (though, in our case, the statue was surrounded with panels promoting the current temporary exhibit); frescoes in every direction … including the gigantic one painted in the cupola.

    The cupola fresco — the work of the Imperial Court artist, Daniel Gran — depicts the glorification — deification, if you will — of Emperor Charles VI. It is filled with allegorical symbols of the virtues of his rule, the construction of the library, and the use of sciences and arts by the state. There are also allegorical symbols of war and peace, strength and wisdom, earthly and heavenly spheres. A nearby digital panel helped us to identify the symbols and scenes that constantly drew our eye up.

    My one regret? The stairs leading to the balconies were closed. It would have been amazing to see the Prunksaal from a higher vantage point.

    (If interested, you can click this link (https://tinyurl.com/bdvub56p) to scroll through a Google gigapixel image for close-ups and explanations … and even see the crack in the dome that dates back to the 18th century. No worries; repairs were done back then and the dome is not in danger of collapsing.)    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Vienna: Last Stroll; Last Café

    15 Oktober 2024, Austria ⋅ 🌙 50 °F

    Leaving the National Library of Austria, we decided to go for one last stroll in Vienna … with a purpose. We wanted to have one last coffee break before heading home to the Longship Rinda.

    Our steps took us towards Stephanplatz, and from there we found a café hidden on a side street … Leopold Hawelka. Our Viking Program Director had highly recommended the place, describing it as a coffee house with a “less touristy and more local vibe.” Our table mates at dinner last night had concurred with that recommendation. They were all correct in that respect. Unfortunately, we have to give it a thumbs down.

    It wasn’t the lack of a greeting that soured our experience. Rather it was the service. For one thing, we had a hard time getting the attention of a waiter to place our order … we just wanted a couple of traditional hot chocolates. When the drinks finally came, they were tepid. And then we had a hard time flagging down a waiter to ask for our check. After 10 minutes of this, Mui gave up and went to the bar to pay for our drinks. Nope, no tip was included … none was deserved. Not the way we wanted to wrap up our time in Vienna. But it is what it is.

    On that note, we walked back to Stephanplatz and caught the U1 metro back to the port. We arrived at the Rinda a little before 6:00p, which gave us time to drop off our stuff and go to the briefing for tomorrow.

    The captain expects to arrive in Bratislava around 6:00a. Unfortunately, it will be a short day in port. But at least we will be docked in the heart of town, so we can make good use of the extra hour we will have before the all aboard at 11:30a. Rinda is then scheduled to depart for Budapest. Why such a short day? The captain wants to get us to Budapest before 11:00p to see the “city landmarks a-twinkle.”

    Two new-to-us cities and two new-to-us countries await us tomorrow.    Baca lagi

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  • Fall & Winter 2024

    Welcome to Bratislava, Slovakia

    16 Oktober 2024, Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F

    Following a quiet overnight cruise from Vienna, Rinda arrived in Bratislava … the capital and largest city of the Slovak Republic, and also the fourth largest city on the River Danube.

    As night gave way to a colorful sunrise, we enjoyed our breakfast, fueling up for the first included ship’s tour of our river cruise.

    By the time daylight broke, Rinda was at its berth at the Propeller … formerly a ferry terminal for the vessels that used to cross from one side of the Danube to the other. The pontoons along the shore were all empty; Rinda was tied up at the one smack dab in front of the main thoroughfare leading into Old Town … a perfect spot from which to launch our walking tour of Bratislava.    Baca lagi

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