Vienna Day 1

Yesterday when we arrived in Vienna the temps. were frigid, and for some reason Daniel couldn't get himself warmed up enough. We wandered around a bit, had a great lunch at an Italian restaurant, wandered a bit more, ducked into a Viennese pastry and coffee cafe to get out of the blasting cold for a bit, had a delicious Cremeschnitte, then returned to the streets, where we promptly decided to head back to the hotel so Daniel could take a nice hot bath and normalize his body temperature. Usually I'm the one that gets cold, but yesterday I could have kept going in the Minnesota-like weather, but Daniel just couldn't keep up. Must be the Minnesota blood in me. Remember all, he's from the East Coast, where it doesn't get nearly as cold. 

Today we woke up and headed out into the city early, as we wanted Daniel to get a bit of sightseeing in before his meeting with Adrian at 2 this afternoon. We had breakfast and coffee at a great little coffee shop called Mobel studio, near the Museums Quartier. The owners of the coffee shop own a furniture studio next door, and every piece of furniture in the cafe is for sale. The place was pretty cool with a funky ambience and good coffee, plus super modern furniture and a definite design scene. I think we'll be back there several times before we leave on Thursday. 

After breakfast we went straight to the Leopold Museum, where we spent the next couple of hours. The Leopold Collection is one of the most important collections of modern Austrain art in the world. The museum contains the largest Egon Schiele collection in the world, together with major works by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Gerstl, and Albin Egger-Lienz. The Egon Schiele exhibition was truly amazing, and we really enjoyed learning more about this artist and his work. We also enjoyed the several different works by Gustav Klimt, as well the museum's small but quite interesting furniture collection. 

At noon Daniel left to prepare for his meeting with Adrian, and I stayed on in the Museums Quartier. I went back to Mobel Studio for another cup of coffee and a bit of a rest, before further exploring some of the smaller streets in this part of town. I found several design shops, fashion studios, and art spaces in this area, and then ended up in a more commercial shopping district on Mariahilfer strasser. I was then able to find the Vienna Furniture Museum, which houses the largest furniture collection in the world including pieces by the Thonet Brothers, Jugenstil, Luigi Blau, and Franz West. Unfortunately I didn't know the museum is closed on Monday, so I wasn't able to get inside. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. 

So instead I walked back to the Leopold Museum where I then spent the next two hours, this time with an audio guide in hand. I revisited the Schiele exhibit which I had enjoyed so much earlier in the morning, and this time I listened to a biography of the artist's life as well as commentaries of the different works. I also went back and checked out Klimt again, as well as Richard Gerstl.

After almost 5 hours on my feet, and having skipped lunch, I decided I'd better head back to the hotel. On my way I stopped at one of the many Christmas markets that are all over the city this month. Daniel and I checked one out yesterday but it was dark, and we'd already had dinner, so we didn't get a chance to taste any of the treats.  Today I  bought myself a piece of German/Austrian fried garlic bread and also some sweet cinnamon almonds. Afterwards I took the tram back to the hotel.