Vienna is situated on the Danube River, but, unlike Budapest, the older, more-historic parts of the city are not near the river at all. There is a wide canal known as the Danube Canal that was the original course of the Danube, and that runs through the city to the west of the present Danube. It is this canal that the original city of Vienna was built close to.
The riverfront near where we docked presented a face different from the more-historic part of Vienna: Hilton was there with a beautiful waterfront hotel, and there were commercial operations with some names recognizable to anyone who has spent time near a port city (Savannah in our case).
Left-click on image to see larger view. For videos, use controls at bottom right to enlarge to full screen.
Many rooms with a Danube view in this Hilton Hotel.
Our morning tour was of the old part of Vienna, with many historic (and beautiful) buildings. We didn't get a chance on the tour to go inside any of them (except for one church).
The Vienna State Opera House (taken from the bus).
This statue of the Archduchess and Empress Maria Theresia, surrounded by figures -- including a young Mozart -- of contemporary artists and military leaders, sits between the twin Museums of Fine Arts and Natural History and faces the gate to the Hofburg Palace.
One of the two museums -- Fine Arts and Natural History -- that sit opposite each other just off the Ringstrasse. Not sure which museum this is, but they're identical, so when you've seen one...
The Hofburg Palace consists of multiple buildings, built at different times over many centuries, with associated courtyards and gardens. The twin museums (Fine Arts and Natural History) stand at the far end of the large courtyard that fronts the old Hofburg as well as the New Hofburg built around the turn of the 20th century.
Archduke Karl, who defeated Napoleon in battle. One of two statues in the Hofburg Courtyard celebrating Austrian military heroes. This one is an engineering marvel, the heavy (12.8 tons) statue supported only by the connection at the back hooves of his horse. Impressive.
This is the top of the tower of the Amalienburg Wing of one of the older Hofburg buildings. The sundial is late 17th century; the clock is mid 19th century. The yellow globe displays the phases of the moon.
We exited the Hofburg Palace grounds and found ourselves on a commercial street filled with plenty of foot traffic and the occasional small car trying not to hit the mostly unmindful pedestrians. The buildings looked older, but
there were probably also some recent additions that were designed to look older. Business establishments on the ground floor, with perhaps apartments above. Chilly weather, lots of tourists, and it began to rain.
This street greeted us as we left the Hofburg Palace.
A short ways down the street we came upon the Plague Monument, monuments apparently being popular to ward off the plague (see Budapest), or to remember those who perished during the plague.
We made our way back to the bus and headed back to the ship and a late lunch. The afternoon was for relaxing in the lounge; the evening would be a concert of Mozart and Strauss (and family) by the Vienna Residence Orchestra. This was a small group of musicians (think chamber orchestra), with a couple of singers (opera) and dancers (ballet) thrown in for good measure.
