Vienna Travel Pictures

Vienna, the capital of Austria, lies to the east of the country. It is a very metropolitan city, blending in remnants of bygone grandeur as centre of the K&K Monarchy which used to control borders much larger that it's current ones. It has countless old palaces, residences, museums and churches, an efficient underground (but also ancient trams), a tall TV tower with a viewing platform, the Danube river, the Prater amusement park with it's giant wheel, the playfully designed Hundertwasser Haus, good restaurants, the Grinzing suburb with it's Heurigen white-wine 'pubs', nightlife and so much more. The Viennese are a jolly, tolerant lot with a broad dialect and a strange respect for titles which didn't disappear with the end of the monarchy. A very enjoyable, recommended city, most of which can be toured using public transport.

This old factory in the Kaisermñhlen part of down has since been demolished. It's a strange shot: you might notice that the shadows are all haywire and don't correspond to the lighting.. let me know if you know what's happening :-)	A church tower in the city surroundings
View onto the Danube, the Donauturm tower and the 'UNO City' complex of buildings to the right of it	Hilltop church overlooking the city
Early morning shot of the Donauturm and UN buildings	View onto the city from the Donauturm. At the bottom is the Danube river with a boat on it, the pointy dark church a bit above the middle is the Stephansdom, the most famous church of the city, and just left below it you can see the giant wheel (Riesenrad)
The giant wheel or Riesenrad moves very slowly and prides good views of the city from the top. Two copies of the wheel were made, the other was destroyed in England	The giant spokes of the Riesenrad resemble a bicycle wheel
The giant wheel by night	The gorgeous Postsparkasse Building
The strange Kugel Mugel sphere in Prater was built by a guy who decided to set up his own "country" in this object, complete with barbed wire, a border check post (the red and white gate), stamps, money and passports. It says something about the Viennese sense of humour that authorities tolerate the structure.. What a prank!	One of the extravagant sarcophagis in the Kaisergruft, where Austria's former emperors are cremated. In a strange practice, their hearts were removed and transported to Muri, Switzerland, where they are to this day
The neo-roman Burgtor on Vienna's Ring by night	The Heldenplatz by night
The playful strangeness of the Hundertwasser house attracts hordes of tourists. I don't know how people can actually live in it	The Belvedere, overlooking the Schñnbrunn complex on a small hill. The left portion was mostly destroyed during WWII and was later reconstructed
Large Schloss Schñnbrunn as seen from the Belvedere	One of the countless rooms inside Schñnbrunn, the Chinese Lacquer room
The Hofburg, former residence of the Habsburg rulers of Austria	One of the rooms inside the Hofburg, on the left a large painting of Sissy, Austria's most famous empress
Railway tracks near Floridsdorf, a suburb	A fisher waiting for a catch on the Danube