Afternoon Vienna Part 1
1. Man, I'm having to use a lot of parts for this city. Sign of a great trip. After breakfast, I wandered toward the Hofburg palace area.
Statue on the way. Vienna is so pedestrian friendly. They pretty much clear out the inner city of cars. It was great to enjoy the city, Wiener style. (I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THAT!!!)
Along the way, there were Christmas tree stands everywhere. The whole city smelled like a Christmas tree. With the light rain all day and cold, it just smelled cosy, even though the temperature made me question my sanity in coming to Vienna in December.
Hofburg palace! As you walk through the arch, to the left was the Spanish horses arena (didn't see them this time, but next time for sure). To the right is the Imperial apartments (more on that later).
First, I went to see the Hofburg Treasury. I had high expectations because I had heard from a friend that it rivals the London Tower treasury, which is tough to do given the history and legacy behind the jewels held there. My personal opinion was that it was better than the Tower of London because you could get really close to the jewels and take pictures. Some of the jewels weren't as impressive, but the overall experience was better than the Tower. RS gives it three pyramids, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Crown of Rudolph the II (1602 - Holy Roman Emperor) and his scepter and orb:
One of many of the emperor's robes, all housed in special lighting for preservation. The robes were gorgeous - impressive that many of them are from the 1500-1600s.
Cradle of the King of Rome. Designed for the son of Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie Louise (Hapsburg daughter). The eagle on the front is not yet ready to fly, symbolizing the growth period for Napoleon's son. Sadly, it wasn't used that much. Apparently it was just for show.
Anyone need a baptismal fount? This golden fount was used by the royal family to baptize babies into the family of God.
This is the traveling baptismal fount that was used in a pinch.
Baptismal gown used for the ceremonies.
Bejeweled sword - because it's important to stab someone in style.
Hair amethyst. It was huge...wish there was a scale object in the picture. One heck of a broach. Not sure if that's what it is, but if I was an emperoress, I would wear it as a broach.
Just pretty. No description.
2,680 karat Emerald. It's roughly cut to ensure it didn't break.
492 karat Aquamarine.
Crown given as a gift by the Turks to the Hungarians, who were part of the Hapsburg dynasty.
What good crown doesn't come with a box?
Gorgeous gold roses. Why have fresh flowers when you can make them out of gold? It was a lot of fun to take pictures of.
Anyone need a communion cup?
Imperial Cross - Apparently, the inside contains pieces of THE cross and THE spear that pierced His side. Not sure how I feel about the 'relic' thing as there is a tendency to create idols out of these objects. The case was pretty impressive with the jewels though.
First picture - a bejeweled cross. Second 2 - crown dates from the 900-1000s (probably Otto I - Holy Roman Emperor). Includes portraits of Solomon and David, as well as symbolism for the 12 apostles (12 jewels on the front panel) and the 8 gates of Jerusalem (8 sides). The last picture is another communion cup.
Overall, the Hofburg Treasury was awesome. I know that sounds like a surfer describing a wave, but it was really awesome. Tip: Get the audio guide. I did not and I left my RS book in the bag I checked. Doh. Audio guide was free with the ticket, but I missed the stand somewhere. Wish I would have had that. But the fact that you can take pictures means you can study up later.
Part 2 of the afternoon coming up....
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