Vienna - AUSTRIA!

Lynette and I were very excited for our next leg of the journey, as our eldest son Joshua joined us in Vienna. What a wonderful way to meet up on the other side of the world!

Our Airbnb was an apartment with water views directly on the The Alte Donau (Old Danube). When we woke up in the morning to a spectacular sunrise, we noticed what looked like lots of birds walking on water. We quickly realised parts of the lake were actually frozen, something we have never seen before.

On our first day we stumbled upon Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Monastery Church) a beautiful 400 year old church which is very popular for weddings in the summer. No surprises there! I would love to photograph a wedding there.

We discovered more beautiful Christmas markets along the way. Lynette had always wanted to taste roasted chestnuts and there was a stall roasting them the traditional way. These were called Maroni chestnuts and are a cultivar of the sweet or Spanish chestnut. They are generally larger, with smaller grooves, and the shape varies from heart-shaped to oval. They are delicious! 

This Christmas market was right in front of another stunning church, The Karlskirche which was completed in 1737. Four years later, on July 28, 1741, the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi died in Vienna and was buried just a few meters from there. 

We had the wonderful privilege of attending a classical concert the next evening at The Karlskirche. It was a unique performance of Vivaldi's acclaimed and revolutionary masterpiece, 'The Four Seasons' performed by the Orchestra 1756 on period instruments in this mystical and authentic setting. It was amazing! Unfortunately no photography was allowed, hence I have no photos to share.

We also saw a wonderful art exhibition at the Art History Museum and saw masterpieces from Dürer to Raphael, Arcimboldo and Titian, Rubens and Velázquez to works by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Particularly noteworthy was the world's largest collection of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, including such famous paintings as The Tower of Babel , The Peasant Wedding and The Hunters in the Snow. Incredible!

Last and not least, we did a grand tour of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace and it's stunning royal gardens. Just incredible! A big highlight for me was venturing into the biggest glass house I have ever set foot in. Palm House was commissioned in 1882. With a length of 111 meters, 2,500 square meters of floor space and 4,900 square meters of glass area, it is the largest palm house on the European continent. 45,000 panes of glass were processed.

I had a blast photographing this amazing architecture, especially enjoying the black and white shots I took. It reminded me of the timeless sci-fi films from the 1950s, evoking images of classic retro aesthetics. I could almost envision Robby the Robot strolling into the scene. Shows my fondness for that era—afterall I am a boomer! If you're not familiar with Robby the Robot, ask Google to see what I mean.

Our next stop for Karp's On Tour is Budapest.