only in Austria!

Austria (Part III)

Convention Center and over ground 'Metro' view from our Hotel Room

Arah mastering feeding herself during breakfast in the hotel and she skipped using the bottle right around this time too!  The bountiful breakfast buffet was the most wholesome one I'd ever seen!  Infact fresh cut TASTY tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, seasonal cut fruits and an assortment of Alpine cheese are inseprable part of Austrian breakfast.  Everything natural and organic because the cows are allowed to go out on the green and graze.  This was also the first time I tasted and spotted butter on a dinner dish and actually liked it ( well only while in Austria (smile) 

Venturing around in the old fashioned, hot , steamy but practical 'metro'.  Austrians don't seem to be bothered by the hot buildings, transportation system, etc... though and I even spotted some with woven cardigans on in June...

Schönbrunn Palace

  Arah falling asleep in the Schonbrunn palace again.

The most precious and in my opinion interesting room of the palace. 

Originally called the Feketin Cabinet, this room became known as the Millions Room on account of its precious exotic rosewood panelling which has an exceptionally fine figured surface resulting in beautiful aesthetic effects.  The interior was transferred to Schonbrunn in 1766 from Belvedere palace on the order of Maria Theresa.
Set into sixty one Rococo cartouches in this panelling are Indo-Persian miniatures from the 17th century framed in delicate gilt rocaille work.
In order to fit the miniatures into the asymmetrical shapes of the frames, individual leaves were cut up by members of the imperial family and reassembled into new composition to form new pictures in a sort of collage technique.  The inevitable intervening spaces were then conceded with additional painting of land or skyscapes.  The collage of any one individual cartouche can consist of anything up to 27 different individual pieces.



Empress Elizabeth of Austria(1837-1898), wife of Emperor Franz Joseph



“How beautiful she is!”, shouts the Shah of Persia when Elisabeth receives him in 1873. Men and women of her time enthuse over Elisabeth’s fabulous beauty, and are even more allured by her grace, charisma and the mysterious aura surrounding the Empress. To this day, the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria is shrouded in myth.  Known as Sisi, she went down in history as a beautiful and enigmatic woman who lived a strange and tragic life and suffered an equally tragic end.  She was the embodiment of all the glamour but also the suffering of the Austrian Imperial court in the 19th century. 

All in all,  Austria is the kind of destination that combines historical pedigree with modern conveniences. After all, if you want to sing a few of your favorite things, Austria would top your list!  (smile)