A beautiful day in Vienna

Let me get back to a couple of days we spent in Vienna last December. I have already written about its Christmas markets and museums, and I'd like to tell you one more story about a beautiful day we spent there eating the most famous Viennese cake (can you guess which one is it? :)), warming up in a palace (surrounded by art, of course) and visiting a contemporary art exhibition. 

First thing in the morning (and it was a bright and sunny one), we headed to Sacher hotel, where we arranged a meeting with lovely Mrs Artacker, who offered to give us a little tour of the hotel, followed by inevitable visit to the Cafe and tasting of their most famous product, the chocolate cake. The whole history of the hotel started with that cake, when young sixteen year old apprentice (that is, Franz Sacher) got the opportunity to make a dessert for a dinner organized by then Austrian minister of foreign affairs, Prince Metternich in 1832. The chocolate cake that he invented turned out to be divine, as it is famous to this day, with the original recipe still being kept as a closely guarded secret. Franz Sacher's son, Eduard opened a hotel in Vienna in 1876, based on the reputation his father made with the Sachertorte. 

The hotel today makes you feel like stepping back in time; the original interior design with all the chandeliers, festive draperies and antique furniture; the ever polite staff which will always hold a door, take your bag and ask if there was anything they could help with. We sat down for a drink (hot chocolate) and a Sacherorte (because if you're at Sacher, then you might as well have everything chocolate) in a dusky setting of the Blue Bar. The simple, chocolatty flavour (oh, and the texture!) with a hint of fruit was just what we needed on a winter morning in Vienna, all spiced up with the festive atmosphere of the hotel.

Last time I visited the Belvedere palace was when I was fourteen year old Vienna / 18th century enthusiast (as funny as it may sound), but I don't seem to remember much of its art collections. The Belvedere collection is mainly known for Klimt's paintings, his Kiss being the most famous of all (and the most exploited as a print on every Vienna-related souvenir). My personal favorites are his landscapes in the other room, so flowery and colorful, that you could almost smell the spring, the apple orchards, the meadows. 

The Belvedere is also a beautiful Baroque palace, built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy in the first half of 18th century. I have to admit that given its beautiful gardens, water features and the layout of the complex (there is a lower and an upper palace), the nicest time to visit would be spring or summer. Winters in Vienna have their charms and I love visiting then (oh how festive they are!), but I'm thinking now of a visit to Vienna in spring, when all it's charming parks come to life and the weather is warm enough to enjoy Viennese Baroque architecture all day long!

In the neighbourhood of Belvedere palace stands 21er Haus, a 20th century building and a home to the Belvedere's contemporary art collection (you can buy combined tickets at the Upper Belvedere Ticket Office). The building was designed by Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer as an Austrian Pavillion for World Exhibition Expo '58, held in Brussels (the well known Atomium was designed for that same exhibiton, and how different those two buildings are in their approach!). 

Somehow we always end up enjoying contemporary art exhibitions the most, be it that there are significantly less visitors there, or that the architecture itself is always interesting, with its giant open spaces and lots of glass, or that contemporary art in fact echoes the world of a modern man. This exhibition was no exception, and we ended up with a conclusion that we have to visit 21er Haus each time we go to Vienna!

After a couple of days trying to reserve Salm Brau beerhouse in the neighbourhood of Belvedere, we went there without a reservation and (surprise, surprise) got us a table. And how perfect evening to a great day it was! We had ribs and beer (we were in Vienna after all) and they just might be the most delicious ribs I ever had. I don't know if the tiredness and winter air had anything to do with it, but I am still dreaming about that dinner. 

This is the last post about Vienna for know (till the next time I visit), and I would love to hear some of your thoughts. Is all this art talk interesting to you, or too much?

Let me know!

This article was made possible thanks to the Sacher Hotel, Belvedere Museum and 21er Haus, and I thank them for that. We had a truly wonderful experience and we're looking forward to our next visit. 

Viennese Museums: Albertina and Leopold

Vienna is known for its culture: architecture, music, painting, urbanism. In fact, I can without exaggerating say that I decided to study art history because I fell in love with Vienna on my first visit: Baroque palaces, Gustav Klimt's paintings, Otto Wagner's architecture, Hundertwasser's imagination, the museums. And when it comes to museums, the selection is so varied that it's hard to choose which ones are going to fit in your busy traveler's schedule. In my case, I always know that Albertina is going to be on the list- it is an institution really, with one of the biggest prints and drawings collections in the world, a nice permanent loan collection of Impressionists and 20th century art and amazing temporary exhibitions. This time it was Pointillism, one of my favorite painting styles.

Ways of Pointillism exhibition

We came to Albertina first thing in the morning on our second day in Vienna- it was so cold that only a short walk on the main streets of Graben and Kartner Strasse was an option; we were eager to enjoy a nice morning surrounded by art and warmth. Albertina collections and temporary exhibitions are definitely overwhelming to see in only one day- we focused on Ways of Pointillism, The Colour Woodcut in Vienna around 1900 (both temporary exhibitions) and the permanent collection Monet to Picasso. Before I explain why did I love the Pointillism exhibiton so much, just a few words about the style itself. It was derived from Impressionism, but also marked the end of it. It challenged it in a way that where Impressionists painted with little brush strokes, Pointillists used little dots of paint, and where Impressionists painted spontaineously out in the nature, Poinitillists painted in the studio while studying the optics and the use of colour. Curator Heinz Widauer explained it far better than I did in this short video. 

Ways of Pointillism exhibition

Henri Edmond Cross: Provence Landscape, Ways of Pointillism exhibition

I loved the presentation of Pointillism: first of all, the selection of paintings was impressive; there were canvases from Seaurat, Signac, Monet, van Rysselberghe, just to name a few. Second of all: I've never thought of some of the included artists as Poentillists, and yet they did use the technique, like Van Gogh, Mattisse and Piccasso. Third, the presentation was beatiful: the colour of the walls resembled main tones of the paintings (purple, rose), the lights were dim and directed to the paintings in the way that they shined like jewels in the shadowy rooms. I think that we managed to capture the atmosphere on our photos, at least a bit. 

Ways of Pointillism exhibition

We proceeded to The colour woodcut in Vienna around 1900 exhibition, which was chic in design with its lapis lazuli coloured walls and amazing graphics from prominent Viennese Secession artists. Woodcut rose to fame in Europe at the end of the 19th century (after a period of stagnation), inspired by amazing Japanese woodprints which used unusal perspectives, and were definitely ahead of time compared to then European painting. Viennese woodcuts are defined by stylised motifs, square format (Secessionists strived for the clarity of form) and contrasting hues. Amazing exhibition, I wish we had more time for it, but the good news is that all of the exhibited pieces are from Albertina's own collection!

Permanent collection is a must if you're into late 19th and 20th century art (and I mean, who isn't?), and it keeps expanding all the way to contemporary art. There is everything you might want to see- from Monet's Water Lillies to crazy Picasso's ceramic. (How cool is his depiction of a nun being chased by the devil depicted on the photos below?) Also, the collection is not overwhelming and it might be a perfect dose of art for a culturally spent morning!

Colour woodcut in Vienna around 1900 exhibition

Permanent collection, Albertina

The next day we visited Leopold Museum in MuseumsQuartier, a very cool cultural area in the center of Vienna, which hosts about 70 cultular facilites, cafes and shops. The museums are located inside of a number of courtyards, there is no traffic and esentially it feels like a small city inside of the city. Leopold Museum hosts the biggest Egon Schiele collection, as well as other prominent Viennese artists such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoscka and Koloman Moser. I have always been impressed with Secessionist movement and Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna's Workshops) that proceded from it, so I was thrilled to see not only the Secessionist paintings and magazine design but also furniture, jewelry and design objects by Wiener Werkstatte. It is a complete collection of Viennese turn of the century art, and I wholeheartedly recommend you to visit if you are interested in Art Nouveau (Secession is a sort of its Austrian form).

MuseumsQuartier courtyard

Wiener Werkstatte displays in Leopold Museum

Viennese Secession at Leopold Museum

Egon Schiele exhibition at Leopold Museum

The museum is also home to largest Egon Schiele collection in the world, and there is a current exhibiton of his works taking place at the moment. I say current, because some of the works like watercolors, drawings and prints are photosensitive and cannot be exhibited all the time (they are usually being kept at museum's depos). If you're going to Vienna any time soon, I suggest you to take this opportunity and see the exhibition- apart from the Egon Schiele's amazing works, the presentation itself is special, with its contrasting dark interior and flashing rays of light directed into the paintings. It's a dramatic atmoshpere, for sure.

The architecture of the museum itself is interesting as well- a bright cube made out of limestone from the outside with unexpected vistas inside of the museum and breathtaking views of the city center and MuseumsQuartier courtyard from above. We did spend quite some time marveling at the sunset reflected on the dome of the Museum of Art History on the other side of the Ringstrasse (Vienna Ring Road). And after an afternoon spent in the museum, why not have a drink in one of the cool bars inside the Quartier?

MuseumsQuartier courtyard with a view of Leopold Museum

Views from Leopold Museum: Museum of Art History

Museum of Art History, view from the Leopold Museum

Christmas market in MuseumsQuartier

This article was made possible thanks to Vienna Tourist Board, Albertina Museum and Leopold Museum, and I thank them for that. We had a truly amazing cultural experience in Vienna. There is still so much to see the next time. 

Have you ever been to Vienna? Curious to hear about your favorite cultural spots (or they don't even have to be cultural, I'm basically interested in everything Vienna-related). :) 

Any thoughts on this mostly art-concentrated post? Yes, no?

Let me know!

December in Vienna

This year we decided to go back to Vienna. It was my favorite city during most of my younger years, and at some point we were visiting every December, because there's no Advent like the one in Vienna. This time around, I'm a little older, a more experienced traveller, and a bit more demanding, so I started noticing little flaws of Vienna (like crazy amounts of visitors and obligatory dinner reservations for any of the better restaurants)- nonetheless, we enjoyed the city and its atmosphere, and those little flaws gave it a more realistic touch and by the end of our stay, we started feeling at home.

We stayed for five days, and in that period visited four amazing museums and a couple of restaurants (some of them new to us, some of them already tried and liked before), reconnected with our friends that live there, had a couple of cups of mulled wine and punch, strolled around the famouse Viennese Christmas markets, ate the beloved original Sacher Torte, marvelled at all the festive decorations, took a stroll in the Schonbrunn park and all in all did what almost every visitor to Vienna (in December) does. 

This post ist mostly dedicated to Vienna's festive Advent atmosphere, and the market we liked the most, the one in front of the Schoenbrunn palace. We visited first in the evening with Susanne and Michael (our Austrian friends), and then came back for a stroll in the park and some more Kaiserschmarrn (traditional Austrian sweet, serwed with plum jam) the next day. In the evening we drank mulled wine and hopped from stand to stand in hope of warming up a bit (it was a pretty cold week). We tried (and ate repeatedly) some of the local dishes such as Kasespatzle (home made pasta with cheese and fried oninons), Lauch and Speck spatzle (the same thing only with leek and ham), Kaiserschmarrn, and belegte Brot (Austrian style open sandwich). 

Of all the markets we visited in Vienna, the one in front of Schonbrunn had the nicest hand made products as well as tastiest local food. We were very disciplined "window-shoppers" this time, due to the resolution we made earlier of not buying anything we don't need, or have a place to put to, or like so much that we couldn't help it. We did take a couple of photos as all the Christmas decorations, hand made ceramics, gingerbreads and liquors looked so lovely and suitable for the occasion (that is, this post). :)

It was as cold the other day when we took a walk in the Schonbrunn park. We wanted to see and feed the squirrels that live in the park and don't seem to be bothered by visitors. They weren't impressed with the walnuts we brought though. :) The beautiful steel and glass construction of Schonbrunn's Palmenhaus (a large greenhouse next to the Zoo) stood proudly surrounded by bare trees with the background of icy winter skies. Quite a motiv for our photos. All of the fountains in the park were covered with ice, and whenever I took my gloves off to make a photo, my fingers would freeze, so we ended up on the market again, hovering those food stands. And although we decided not to buy anything for ourselves, little holliday gifts were allowed, so we bought a ceramic Lichthaus (model house with a tea candle) for Luka's grandma, to lighten up her cozy livingroom during winter evenings. It will also be a nice reminder of our trip to Vienna when we come to visit her.

Have you ever been to Vienna in December? And what is your take on buying souvenirs that are nice, but still end up just as decorative items in your home?