I ended my last post on Vienna by jumping down a rabbit hole to learn more about this fantastic beast that hangs out on top of the Bitzinger Sausage Stand with his bottle of champaign. I’m not talking about an Alice in Wonderland hole; I’m talking about its modern equivalent: the internet. I discovered he is modeled after one of the world’s most famous hares. And no, it isn’t Bugs Bunny. Clue: Art. Raise your hand if you know. And it’s okay to brag in your comment.“Waiter, waiter!” Old Tom called. “There’s a hare in my soup.” Neither is it from one of the cards I create.It’s Albrecht Dürer’s 1505 water color of a young hare that is located at the nearby Albertina Museum. As for the champaign, think of it as product placement. My guess is that the French Moet and Chandon Champaign giant would pay a generous bucket of euros for the exposure. First, there are the thousands of tourists and locals who pass by daily. Even more impressive are the millions of people who probably see it in travel photos people take home. Who can resist a bunny? It’s marketing at its best. BTW, Moet puts out 28,000,000 bottles of champaign per year. You can buy a bottle for $51, or, if you prefer, $6,161.While we are on art, our guide for the day told us that locals call this the ‘Grapefruit Building.’ I wonder why? Artists call it the Secession Building. It was built in 1898 to represent a group of artists who broke away from Vienna’s established art institution to participate in a trend of modern art that was sweeping Europe at the time: Art Nouveau. The statement below translates to “To every age it’s art, to every art it’s freedom.”Turning to a little ‘Art Nouveau’ (or Cubism) on my own, I thought this building’s refection might qualify. There was a McD’s just below. It would have made an interesting addition.Peggy is a great fan of architecture. Vienna is full of classy buildings like this. I recall the guide told us that Beethoven lived here as the bus zipped by. It wouldn’t be surprising since he lived in more than 60 locations in Vienna during his 35 year stay in the city. Note the green building on the far end.Several buildings in Vienna had striking green tops. This one belonged to the Generali Insurance Company. I think the globe was meant to imply that the company is worldwide. Apparently it required at least two of Atlas to hold it up. Which brings me to Zeus and Minerva in Albertina Square.A man, a merman and some other creature share the heavy responsibility of holding up the statue of Zeus and Minerva. Minerva is Zeus’s wife (and sister). She had the difficult task of taming Zeus’s wandering ways.I felt sorry for the squished merman. But check out the muscles. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger might be jealous.A much more solemn memorial against war and fascism is also located on Albertina Square. This is one of several statues. After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich on March 12, 1938, Jews were forced to clean the streets of pro-Austrian and anti-Nazi slogans by working on their knees with brushes. The bronze sculpture recalls this humiliation that preceded the merciless persecution and murder of some 65,000 Jewish citizens in Austria during WW II.We had time to walk around in the historic area on our own. Here are a few things we noted. A number of exclusive and expensive shops…A boy squeezing the water out of a fish…This attractive church— The Reformed City Church of Vienna.And for those of you who enjoy finding and photographing unusual doors, we found one covered with cowhide that included a peep hole. I discovered it’s an exclusive night club open from 10 pm to 3 AM, a time when Peggy and I, with any luck at all, are sound asleep.Stadt Park was situated just across the street from our hotel. In fact, our room looked out on it. Given that much of the park is dedicated to Vienna’s great composers, it’s a fitting place to wrap up this post. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert were among the luminaries of classical music that called Vienna Home.Franz Schubert was among the composers who had statues scattered throughout the park.This properly weird scene of a scantily clad musician riding on a scantily clad sphinx was prominently located on the front of Schubert’s statue. I’m assuming that the woman with the lyre is a Greek or Roman goddess of music, possibly Minerva, who was goddess of lots of things.And last, but not least, Johann Strauss. We read that his statue is the most photographed statue in Vienna. Unfortunately most of it was covered in scaffolding as he got a makeover. We were lucky to capture this photo of him (through the boards) playing his violin. And that’s a wrap for Vienna.Next up, we hop on our riverboat and sail down the Danube to Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. This is one of Bratislava’s prominent landmarks, Michael’s Gate.
34 thoughts on “Back to the Rabbit, er Hare: It’s a Wrap on Vienna… The Great River Series— Danube #4”
An excellent tour, Curt. I was happy to come along. I think that your capture of Mozart is gorgeous, and I absolutely love that close-up. If I was there when there was no scaffolding, I may have aimed for the whole statue, and missed the opportunity for this close shot. So maybe scaffolding has its silver lining.
My favourite photo here is the one in reflected glass. Isn’t that just marvelous. And of course the cowhide door is one of a kind!
Thanks Crystal. Appreciated. Peggy and I really could have used a week in the city, or a month. There are a ton of museums I would have loved to have visited.
I did feel we hit the highlights however. I was happy with Mozart. Grin. Had the whole statue been there, I probably would have taken both a close up and the full shot.
I like reflection shots in general, whether it’s glass water, or any other reflective shot. They provide a whole different perspective. This time the glass was special because of its different faces, thus providing the Cubism look!
Looking forward to Bratislava. Our walking tour there was guided by a friend who was on our cruise with us. He left Bratislava before the Warsaw Pact troops invaded in 1968. Years later his son moved to Bratislava and as a result of his experiences there wrote the book, “A Country Lost, Then Found’.
Interesting on your guide. All along the way, we heard about how tough it was for the various countries under the communist regimes. Dictatorships don’t tend to be much fun.
Laughing about hare raising day. I actually have a cartoon card about that as well involving a magician pulling a hare out of a hat by its ears.
Hi Alison. I always enjoy taking reflection shots, wherever they want to show up. Out comes the camera. Grin. As for the lady, she made a great window display. Irreverent may be my middle name. Thanks!
Last photo of gold statue of composer playing the violin is not Mozart but Johann Strauss, Jr. (the ‘Waltz King’) for whom Vienna and Austria is well known.
Given my absolute inability to visit any of the places you show us thanks to current limitations of both money and time, I have a sort-of internal defense against getting too excited about any of them. That said, after browsing through this post, I’d head for Vienna in a minute. It comes across as a terrifically appealing city for a variety of reasons: it seems a perfect mix of modern and traditional/historic, and the art is fascinating. I am curious about all that green on the buildings. Is it a result of copper or some other metal being used, and oxidizing over time? It sure is attractive.
Peggy and I realize how lucky we are and are always thankful, Linda. Vienna is a beautiful city. The green as I understand is the result of using copper. Check out St. Michael’s Gate in Bratislava which is in my post today. An excellent example.
Love the rabbit by Albrech Durer! I missed visiting Vienna when we lived in Germany. What a lovely place! We were so fortunate to live in the tiny burg. I still miss living in the European flavor! Christmas! Where will you be?
Peggy lived in Germany for three years, but that was BC, before Curt. We’ll be here at Basecamp in Virginia for Christmas and celebrate with both of our kids and families. Durer’s rabbit is a beauty. You can almost feel the fur.
I remember learning about Dürer’s water color of the hare and how famous it was for the beautiful detail of the fur. It is a stunning rabbit – worthy of champagne! And I’m with Peggy on the love of architecture and I’m mesmerized by sculpture as an artform. So beautiful and often unusual (like the squished merman). The memorial to the Jewish people who scrubbed the streets is fitting and heartbreaking. Thanks for the tour of beautiful Vienna. A remarkable history.
I’m really glad Peggy and I made it to Vienna, D. It’s been on my bucket list for ages. Beauty, history, architecture, music, sculpture, mythology… The list goes on. We could barely touch on what the city had to offer in our short time there. Thanks.
Down the internet rabbit hole and for good reason, Curt. This was a fascinating bit of history made even more interesting by the champagne. I’d venture to say you’re right, they have profited well from that green rabbit. Sign me up for that tour. French Moet and Chandon Champaign, my fav.
Enchanting architecture and hard to believe Beethoven lived along with 60 other places. Wow. Oh the poor merman holding holding up the fort and how sad is that memorial.
Such a charming city told by a charming man of wit and character. Thanks for taking us a long with you! 💗
Never know what you are going to find down that “rabbit hole.”🤪
I’ve lived-in at least 20, and that’s a lot! Hard to comprehend 60!
Thanks, Cindy, for your kind words,,,
Hi Curt, I thought I had commented when I stopped by a few days ago, but apparently not. So, I’m revisiting. This is such a fascinating tour of Vienna, and what a rabbit hole! Very impressive and worthy of Champagne. Another glass, please? 🙂 I agree with Peggy about the old architecture, and the bronze memorial evokes a tragic piece of history. Thank you for taking us along! I’ll look for your next post! 🙂
Will that be the $50 dollar a bottle of champaign or the $6, 000 dollar, Ms? 🙄 They had two much more graphic memorials, but I thought I could make the point with the man cleaning the street. So glad to have you along!
I’m not picky, so the $50 bottle is just fine, Curt! 🙂 And I think you made the right choice about the memorial. I’m happy to hop on board!
Maybe if I was a billionaire, a $6,000 dollar bottle of Champaign would seem reasonable. 😳
Well, of course it would! Or we could simply splurge! LOL
Laughing. I have no problem with splurging, Lauren. None at all! It’s the things I splurge on…
😄😄😄
I remember the hare. Your picture makes it look much bigger than I recall. I didn’t get a good picture as we were borderline late for the bus and on the run. I remember the church and the fish squeezer too. Maybe you stood in my footsteps. Small world, somehow.
Wandering through Time and Place 
An excellent tour, Curt. I was happy to come along. I think that your capture of Mozart is gorgeous, and I absolutely love that close-up. If I was there when there was no scaffolding, I may have aimed for the whole statue, and missed the opportunity for this close shot. So maybe scaffolding has its silver lining.
My favourite photo here is the one in reflected glass. Isn’t that just marvelous. And of course the cowhide door is one of a kind!
Thanks Crystal. Appreciated. Peggy and I really could have used a week in the city, or a month. There are a ton of museums I would have loved to have visited.
I did feel we hit the highlights however. I was happy with Mozart. Grin. Had the whole statue been there, I probably would have taken both a close up and the full shot.
I like reflection shots in general, whether it’s glass water, or any other reflective shot. They provide a whole different perspective. This time the glass was special because of its different faces, thus providing the Cubism look!
Great pics of Vienna. I have not yet been, but hopefully soon.
It’s a beautiful city, David. Well with the visit! Thanks.
Not a ‘hare’ raising day at all, was it!?
Looking forward to Bratislava. Our walking tour there was guided by a friend who was on our cruise with us. He left Bratislava before the Warsaw Pact troops invaded in 1968. Years later his son moved to Bratislava and as a result of his experiences there wrote the book, “A Country Lost, Then Found’.
Interesting on your guide. All along the way, we heard about how tough it was for the various countries under the communist regimes. Dictatorships don’t tend to be much fun.
Laughing about hare raising day. I actually have a cartoon card about that as well involving a magician pulling a hare out of a hat by its ears.
I can understand Peggy’s love of architecture. The old stuff has character from craftsmen taking their time.
Yes it does, G.
An excellent wrap up of Vienna. I particularly enjoyed the architecture! Looking forward to Bratislava.
Thanks, Diana. I spent a couple of hours going through the Bratislava photos today. I think there are at least two good posts there!
Thank you for this wonderfully irreverent tour of Vienna. My fave pics are the reflected building, and the shiny silver lady.
Alison
Hi Alison. I always enjoy taking reflection shots, wherever they want to show up. Out comes the camera. Grin. As for the lady, she made a great window display. Irreverent may be my middle name. Thanks!
An excellent tour Curt. My favourite picture has to be the reflection. Great spot.
Thanks, Andrew. The timing was perfect for the reflection.
Last photo of gold statue of composer playing the violin is not Mozart but Johann Strauss, Jr. (the ‘Waltz King’) for whom Vienna and Austria is well known.
Thanks. You are right. I went in and made the change. I was even playing the Blue Danube when I started the series.
Given my absolute inability to visit any of the places you show us thanks to current limitations of both money and time, I have a sort-of internal defense against getting too excited about any of them. That said, after browsing through this post, I’d head for Vienna in a minute. It comes across as a terrifically appealing city for a variety of reasons: it seems a perfect mix of modern and traditional/historic, and the art is fascinating. I am curious about all that green on the buildings. Is it a result of copper or some other metal being used, and oxidizing over time? It sure is attractive.
Peggy and I realize how lucky we are and are always thankful, Linda. Vienna is a beautiful city. The green as I understand is the result of using copper. Check out St. Michael’s Gate in Bratislava which is in my post today. An excellent example.
Love the rabbit by Albrech Durer! I missed visiting Vienna when we lived in Germany. What a lovely place! We were so fortunate to live in the tiny burg. I still miss living in the European flavor! Christmas! Where will you be?
Peggy lived in Germany for three years, but that was BC, before Curt. We’ll be here at Basecamp in Virginia for Christmas and celebrate with both of our kids and families. Durer’s rabbit is a beauty. You can almost feel the fur.
I remember learning about Dürer’s water color of the hare and how famous it was for the beautiful detail of the fur. It is a stunning rabbit – worthy of champagne! And I’m with Peggy on the love of architecture and I’m mesmerized by sculpture as an artform. So beautiful and often unusual (like the squished merman). The memorial to the Jewish people who scrubbed the streets is fitting and heartbreaking. Thanks for the tour of beautiful Vienna. A remarkable history.
I’m really glad Peggy and I made it to Vienna, D. It’s been on my bucket list for ages. Beauty, history, architecture, music, sculpture, mythology… The list goes on. We could barely touch on what the city had to offer in our short time there. Thanks.
😀
Down the internet rabbit hole and for good reason, Curt. This was a fascinating bit of history made even more interesting by the champagne. I’d venture to say you’re right, they have profited well from that green rabbit. Sign me up for that tour. French Moet and Chandon Champaign, my fav.
Enchanting architecture and hard to believe Beethoven lived along with 60 other places. Wow. Oh the poor merman holding holding up the fort and how sad is that memorial.
Such a charming city told by a charming man of wit and character. Thanks for taking us a long with you! 💗
Never know what you are going to find down that “rabbit hole.”🤪
I’ve lived-in at least 20, and that’s a lot! Hard to comprehend 60!
Thanks, Cindy, for your kind words,,,
Hi Curt, I thought I had commented when I stopped by a few days ago, but apparently not. So, I’m revisiting. This is such a fascinating tour of Vienna, and what a rabbit hole! Very impressive and worthy of Champagne. Another glass, please? 🙂 I agree with Peggy about the old architecture, and the bronze memorial evokes a tragic piece of history. Thank you for taking us along! I’ll look for your next post! 🙂
Will that be the $50 dollar a bottle of champaign or the $6, 000 dollar, Ms? 🙄 They had two much more graphic memorials, but I thought I could make the point with the man cleaning the street. So glad to have you along!
I’m not picky, so the $50 bottle is just fine, Curt! 🙂 And I think you made the right choice about the memorial. I’m happy to hop on board!
Maybe if I was a billionaire, a $6,000 dollar bottle of Champaign would seem reasonable. 😳
Well, of course it would! Or we could simply splurge! LOL
Laughing. I have no problem with splurging, Lauren. None at all! It’s the things I splurge on…
😄😄😄
I remember the hare. Your picture makes it look much bigger than I recall. I didn’t get a good picture as we were borderline late for the bus and on the run. I remember the church and the fish squeezer too. Maybe you stood in my footsteps. Small world, somehow.
It is pretty big, Dave. But it surroundings made it look smaller. I focused in on it for emphasis.