A Matter of Imperial Taste

When in Vienna, the "Silver Collection" tour at Hofburg Palace should not be missed out . The Imperial Chancellory wing in the Palace displays an impressive collection of the court's silverware, cutlery and many unique tableware . I was'nt quite sure whether I wanted to take this tour to see some Silver collection for cutlery ! Now, the tour name "Silver Collection" has very little to do with Silver . There is so much and so much more on display and all this after some of the collection was passed on to Austrian Republic post the end of the Monarchy.

Empress Elisabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I, was lovingly known a Sisi . Her life has been a research subject for long and a lot of documentation has been put in place. She detested the rigid protocols of the Habsburgs/royalty and followed her own mind. Quite a non-conformist for her time!
Sisi was known to be obssessed with her beauty and youthful figure and she paid immense attention, from exercise to diet to 2 hours of hair care that was part of her daily routine, to maintain her youth & beauty.  
Her life had been tragic from time to time, from losing her first born daughter due to illness to losing her only son at his hunting lodge. She could never recover from these deep wounds. She herself was assassinated by an Italian anarchist while she was travelling to Geneva.
Many of her items are part of the Museum collection at the Hofburg and the court's cutlery/silverware also has many items from her personal choice .

A few images from the vast array of display and elaborate collection .
(all images here are with the humble Cell Phone camera ) . 

Handpainted florals on porcelain

The upper shelf displays the collection  especially designed for Emperor Franz Joseph I for his hunting lodge, at the request of Sisi

Very delicate and fragile artwork on dessert cups

Art for fruits !

The images here do not justify the grandiose of these very artistic collections . For art lovers and connoisseurs ,you will not want to miss this .

Note : You can get the Sisi ticket which allows the Grand Tour at Schonbrunn + Sisi Museums at Hofburg + Imperial furniture collection. 
Interestingly this ticket is valid for 1 year and one is entitled for a single visit to the mentioned attractions on any day during the validity of the ticket.

Vienna - A Visual Treat

While I was planning for Vienna last year, I came across a lot of mixed reactions from various travelers from across the world . Broadly there were 2 different opinions, either they loved it Or had some reasoning towards what did not sync with them ,but I for sure wanted to include it in my itinerary . For me this was one of the 3 destinations on my "introductory" trip to Europe, ( the other two were Prague & Cesky Krumlov) .

With barely 3 days to explore/wander by the city which has so much to see, disheartened but I had to skip few points of interest .Vienna is an exquisite work of art . Its easy to lose track of time amidst the grandeur of Ringstrasse, the circular ring road attracting most visitors for its architectural beauty . 

Vienna was the capital for most of the 400 years of Habsburg Dynasty (For a short period the capital was shifted to Prague) . The  regality and the Imperial taste is evident all over.

I had an early morning direct train from Prague that got me to Vienna before 11.00 am. The uber swanky Vienna's main railway station kept me occupied for a while , I could have spent half a day here itself..!

A short stay of 3 days was not really enough time if one wants to explore slowly.  Vienna is a visual treat . A city so elegant, with very impressive buildings, super efficient and well networked public transport system that helps navigating the city easily, the coffee culture, the coffee houses , the concerts and absorbing the architectural splendours that has the aura of bygone era and art in every detailing. I enjoyed my first visit but would like to come back to explore more and all that I had to skip on my first visit .Here are few images.

Schonbrunn palace : with 1441 rooms this was the imperial summer residence and  today is one of the most popular landmarks in the city 

View while walking towards the Gloriette

With the setting sun 

 Karlskirche (St.Charles Church) : This is a notable baroque church ,but due to restoration work at that time could not make images from different perspectives .

The Dome of KarlsKirche

 Hofburg Palace and surrounding complexes : The palace served as the imperial winter residence. The resplendent interiors and the museum collections are worth visiting (A separate post to follow).

The entrance to Hoffburg Palace

 

The immaculate streets and structures of  Vienna's old town

Museum of Natural History : There are 2 near identical palatial museums facing each other . The one below is Museum of Natural History and the other is Museum of Art History, within the same complex .

Naturhistoriches Museum

From the Sculptures section in  Kunshistoriches/Art History Museum

Stephensdom/ St. Stephen's Church :  the 12th century Gothic church soars over the city and is one of the most important religious sites in Vienna.

Peterkirche /St. Peter's Church

Burgtheater : In 18th century, Empress Maria Theresa wanted a theater next to her palace which was later moved to a new building , it's current location . The structure was severely damaged during World War II and has been later restored. This remains as an important venue to stage some of world's notable performances.

There are many other attractions and landmarks to be seen and experienced in Vienna . Depending on one's interest you can extend your stay , but 3-4 days  are definitely required