Vienna was one of the places I was most looking forward to in Austria. Aside from Munich, it was the only big European city we were visiting this trip. This history of this country all culminates to its capitol. Napoleon sacked it (twice), Hitler annexed Austria and announced it in Vienna, the Hapsburg dynasty ended here, and famous artists bloomed and parished here. Gustav Klimt is one of my favorites and he was born and discovered here, commissioned by Franz Joseph himself to paint the frescos if the Vienna Opera House and the Kunsthistorisches Museum!

Of course, our plan was to see as much as possible and we were able to do so by purchasing the Vienna Pass. Not to be confused with the Vienna City Card, which was not the best deal for what we were trying to accomplish in Vienna. The Vienna Pass was the best deal for us because it allowed admission into all the major museums we wanted to see during our time there, simply with the purchase of the pass. I purchased the passes about two months before our trip from their website and they happened to be running a deal for 20% off. We also purchased a 48 hour city transportation ticket which allowed unlimited travel on busses, trams, and the subway for only $14. We each paid about $90 total for the pass and the transportation ticket, which gave us free reign on the city for 2 days! Totally. Worth it.

Vienna Sight Seeing Tour

We met at 6pm outside the Albertine and were greeted by a young man from Gratz who led the tour. It was our first evening arriving in Vienna, so getting in a free walking to to get acquainted with the city was a really good plan for us. He gave us a history lesson and some awesome suggestions on where to eat. Turns out that was the only sunny day we had in Vienna!

The Belvedere Palace

Our very first stop the next day was the Belvedere Palace. My suggestion for visiting any famous city with lots of museums is to hit your most important, top priority place first. For me it was seeing “The Kiss” at the Belvedere. The Belvedere Palace was once the home of Prince Eugene of Savoy, a descendant of the rival French court who defected to the Holy Roman Empire and became their most famous and powerful General. Huge wedding celebrations of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI happened here too! If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Woman in Gold”, this is also where they used to house the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.

It’s a bit outside the famous ring road so you have to take a tram or bus to get there, but Google can get you there easily. The grounds were beautiful and picturesque and the sky that day was fantastic! It opens at 10am, so we got there right when it opened so we could explore before it got too crowded. We left by noon because, as expected, it got annoyingly crowded. I only say “annoyingly” because there is something about travelers and their inconsideration of others around them. I was stepped on, bumped into, and downright blocked from observing some of the art I wanted to see by people who wanted the perfect picture on their iPad. Yes, it was annoying. The Belvedere was gorgeous and I got to see a ton of art I didn’t realize was in the Belvedere so I was pleased.

 

 

Transportation to the Belvedere

The best way to get to the Belvedere is by following tram line D. It drops off directly on the west wall and it’s just a short walk south toward the entrance. Though S-Bahn trains can get you there too (S1 and S3). Here are more options:

• Bahn & S- Bahn- Station Quartier Belvedere
• Tram D- Station Schloss Belvedere
• Bus- 69A Quartier Belvedere
• Sub- U1 Station Südtirolerplatz, then a 15 minute walk

My Favorite Famous Art in the Upper Belvedere (Summer 2018)

Viennese art is largely defined by the Secessionists. The Secessionist movement was established in 1897 by Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, and other artists for the purpose pursuing artistic freedom. They were tired of being told to paint classical and baroque silhouettes, imperial portraits, and conservative artistic subjects. They were the epitome of “Modern Art” for their time and were vehemently rejected by the artist community in Vienna. Now Vienna holds their art as the essence to their identity!  I think that’s the thing that makes Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt’s work so captivating!

Gustav Klimt

• The Kiss (pictured above)
• Water Serpents
• Beethoven Frieze
• Judith (pictured above)
• Sonja Knips
• Fritza Riedler (pictured above)
• Adam and Eve
• The Path to Schloss (Later in our trip we actually got to see this path in real life on Zell Am Attersee!)

Egon Schiele

• The Family
• The Embrace
• Dr. Hugo Koller
• Four Trees
• Mother and Two Children

Giovanni Segratini

• The Evil Mothers

Joacob Phillip Hackert

• The Great Waterfall at Tivoli near Rome

Edvard Munch

• Men of the Seashore

Jacques-Louis David

• Napolean at the Great St. Bernhard Pass (This is normally at the Belvedere, but I saw it last year in Paris when it was on loan to the Louvre)