Vienna Rest Day 2

August 20, 2017

While I have seen many sites in Vienna, I have not seen everything. So Kenneth and I teamed up to go explore some new places, and he had Naschmarkt in mind, so off we went. I had heard about this section of town, and we had considered staying there but had opted to be closer to the town center. Unfortunately, today was Sunday . . . and, unbeknownst to us, the market is closed on Sunday! It was a nice walk nonetheless, as the sun had returned and the plaza is quite large, even if all shuttered up. OK, something to do on my next trip (and yes, there will be a follow-up trip!).

So we wandered back towards town à pied. But not for long, as we stumbled across the Secession. Per Wikipedia:

"The Secession Building is an exhibition hall built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession, located in Vienna, Austria. Secession refers to the seceding of a group of rebel artists from the long-established fine art institution."

Think of it a little as the Impressionists when they rebelled against the established art structure in Paris in the 1880s. In that respect, this was Vienna's version. The building is beautiful, and we spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the various exhibits, including the famous Beethoven Frieze.

The Secession Building (Wiener Secessionsgebäude).

From there, we continued on our way, passing the opera house along the way.

Vienna State Opera House. No opera tonight; my suits are at home!

After that, it was only a short walk to our hotel for a rest before dinner at Griechenbeisl, another well-known restaurant, allegedly the oldest in Vienna. It's famous for its long history of, well, famous visitors, many of whom have left their signatures on the wall. While we did not dine in the Mark Twain room, I did manage to visit . . .

Dinner. I am usually on the higher end of the price range, followed closely by Happy.

Historical marker with cannonballs still embedded in the walls from the siege by the Ottomans in 1529.

The Mark Twain room contains the most — and most famous — signatures.

Dinner was followed by, of course, ice cream!

Tomorrow, Bratislava!

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