Vienna - Day 4

Up, and out.  

Once again, past the Spanish Riding School:

and the Hofburg:

For another visit to Cafe Central:

Fried eggs and bacon for Amanda:

and Sacherwürstel again for me:

After a leisurely breakfast, out and heading towards the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which had been closed on Monday.

Along the way:

A bust to commemorate Leopold Figl:

Past the sculpture "Earth Water Fire Air" by Robert Margreiter:

Past the Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice:

A view of one of the second-world-war 'flak towers':

Our destination:

Inside.

A few of my favourites:

"Winter Landscape (January or February)" by Lucas van Valckenborch:

Hunters in the Snow (Winter) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder:

"The Visit to the Leasehold Farm" by Jan Brueghel the Elder:

The (Great) Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder:

"Woman at the Window" by Jacobus Vrel:

I do like a nice Rothko, even though I clearly had the shakes when I photographed this one:

"Winter Landscape with Ice skaters and Bird Trap" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder:

Magnificent architecture:

A scaffolding installation provided a closer view of the ornate mural decoration by Klimt high above:

For a museum cafe, this was quite impressive:

and chocolate cake and lemonade was much enjoyed:

Back through the Hofburg:

to Peterskirche:

followed by Stephansdom:

The cathedral was very busy, and the entrance to the nave was barred except to those on paid guided tours, which I thought a great shame:

We strolled around the side aisles and then left, heading for Mozart's house on Domgasse:

However, when we got there we both admitted that we were simply too tired to take much interest in a visit that was going to cost around £10 each, and decided to cut our losses and return to the hotel.

A 45 minute rest and we headed out for our reservation at Figlmüller:

We had forgotten just how small it was inside, but not how large the schnitzels are:

Figlmüller's signature schnitzels are made with pork, not veal, and ours came with mixed salad and rösti potatoes - yum:

A lovely nostalgic return visit - but probably nothing can top the memories of our first.  In 1991 we called in during the day to make a reservation for later that evening, and the large bluff Austrian gentleman who made the reservation for us had a great laugh as I gave my name in both English and German, to help him understand.  "Ya, ya - sehr gut", he guffawed, "Jung Mann - ha, ha - sehr gut!"  When we returned later that evening he served us.  In those days, looking at the menu was something of a formality: "Ya, ya - schnitzels, Brot, Salat", he had boomed in a way that brooked little argument...

As we left I managed to get this picture which shows how, desperate for more space, the restaurant had been granted permission to extend about four or five feet out into the alley running past it, thereby creating a bottleneck for those waiting to gain access and those simply rubbernecking as they passed by:

As we headed back to the hotel, Amanda was taken by this crocheted jacket.  I told her that at 900+ Euros she would be making her own:

As we cut through a courtyard I was impressed by this low-tech solution to an old problem:

This apartment doorbell pull cord was located at waist height in the courtyard:

The cord to which it was attached stretched up past the first:

and second and third floors until it disappeared into the fourth floor:

I wondered idly how often the cord was pulled by mischievous miscreants passing through.

Past the Fiakers outside the cathedral:

and back to the hotel, where Amanda caught up on some reading:

before we headed out for a return visit to Porgy and Bess.  At least the weather was better this evening:

We were there to see the Makoto Ozone Trio.  By contrast with last night, this evening our table was about five rows back and we were crammed in like sardines.  In spite of this, we both managed to get good views of the stage and settled in:

A short video clip of the concert taken by someone else can be found here.

After two great sets the band took their bows:

L- R - Makoto Ozone, James Genus and Clarence Penn:

Makoto announced that he had managed to get 15 copies of his latest CD through customs, and that these were for sale.  Since the merchandise table was upstairs I rushed up, to find that tonight they were being sold down by the bar, so rushed down again - and managed to buy one of the last CDs, get it signed by all the guys and thank them all for a great evening.

A slow walk back to the hotel to collapse after a long but happy day.