Two Girls From Texas in a Car: VIENNA - THE CITY OF MUSIC AND ART

Vienna has always been a cosmopolitan city. From its place as the Roman Celtic settlement on the Danube River has been the meeting place of the nations and cultures. Today, the many-peopled city of the Habsburgs is again at the center of a borderless Europe, as its imperial palaces and art museums mingle with modern installations and the challenge of cultural encounter.

The result is a creative explosion on the stages and in the streets. Having lived through war, siege,voctory,defeat,the death of an empire and the birth of a republic,foreign occupation,independence, and the new internataionalism of the European Union, fortunately, the Viennese character-a devotion to the good life-has endured.

KARLSKIRCHE (Church of St. Charles)

The Black Plague swept Vienna in 1713, and Emperor Charles VI vowed that if the disease abated, he would build a church in thanks for Vienna's deliverance.

The green copper dome is 236 feet high, a dramatic landmark on the Viennese skyline. Construction began in 1716 by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach in 1716.

WIENER KONZARTHAUS - BERKSHIRE CHORAL INTERNATIONAL CHORUS -

Joseph Haydn - Mass in B-flat major

This is my favorite Alto friend , Mona Adams, and the reason I came to Vienna!!

Director Daniel Ochoa

Franz Schubert - Mass in E flat major

The soloists....

Fascist Monument -

Alfred Hrdlicka sculpture

St Augustin Church - Gothic

IMPERIAL APARTMENTS

This was the imperial family residence of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth (Sisi) and their children.

Franz Joseph, had a narrow iron bed , sleeping like his own soldiers.

IMPERIAL TREASURY (Shatzkammer)

Reached by a staircase from the Swiss Court, the Schatzkammer is the greatest treasury in the world.

The imperial crown, which dates from 962 is so big, that it is padded.

Studded with emeralds, sapphires,diamonds and rubies, this 1,000 symbol of sovereignty is a priceless treasure.

The oldest uncut emerald in the world.

The golden rosebud tree

Coronation robes of the imperial family, some dating from the 12th century.

KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM ( Museum of Art History)

Across from Hofburg Palace, this huge building houses many of the truly fabulous art collections gathered by the Habsburgs as they added new territories to their empire.

The museum is renowned for the works of Pieter Bruegel , the Elder;

Albrect Durer

Wolf Huber of the Danube School

Joseph Heintz

Vermeer

And the crucifixion by a Chinese artist - Yan-Pei-Ming

Also, in the courtyard was Ai WeiWei Back Pack exibition and the Zodiac sculptures.

BELVEDERE PALACE

The Belvedere was built as the summer home for Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1723.

Composer Anton Bruckner lived in one of the buildings until his death in 1896. And the residence of Arch duke Franz Ferdinand, the slain heir and a World War I spark.

Today, the tourists are teaming to see Gustav Klimt 's art after the movie with Helen Mirren , "The Woman in Gold".

The "Woman in Gold" is actually hanging in the Neu Gallery in NYC and now belongs to Ronald Lauder. The niece of the "woman in gold" had to sell it to Lauder to pay the legal fees (40%) of the sales value.

ST. STEPHAN'S CATHEDRAL

A basilica built on the site of a Romanesque sanctuary, it was founded in the 12th century. The cathedral is one of the greatest Gothic structures in Europe, rich in wood carvings,altars,sculptures and paintings.

The pulpit of St. Stephan's is the enduring masterpiece of stone carver Anton Pilgrim.

the carved Weiner Neustadt altarpiece.

MOZARTHAUS

This is the only surviving apartment in Vienna inhabited by Mozart. It was while he lived there from 1784-1787 that he composed "The Marriage of Figaro".

Mozart was a compulsive gambler, and although he received a significant amount of money for his compositions, he died owing debts to his friends.

UNITED NATIONS IN VIENNA

This branch of the UN was founded in 1980 after NYC and Geneva. There are 193 members of the UN. This region focuses on Climate control, Nuclear treaties, and Human Rights. It's most important role is the development of technology. The two official "working "languages of the UN in Vienna are English and French. The other languages used are Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

HAUS DER MUSIK (House of Music)

This full scale museum devoted to music

is both hands-on and high-tech Wandering through the building's halls and niches, you encounter reminders of the great composers who have lived in Vienna - Mozart,Beethoven,Schubert,Brahams, Mahler, and Strauss.