Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were back in Munich, where our journey had begun.

Our final full day in Munich—as well as our final full day in Europe—was devoted entirely to the Residenz.

In the morning, we visited that portion of the Residenz open only during morning hours. In the middle of the day, we visited the Residenz Treasury. In the afternoon, we visited that portion of the Residenz open only during afternoon hours. In the very late afternoon, we visited the Cuvilliés Theatre.

The Residenz Antiquarium, through which both morning and afternoon visitors must pass, is one of the most magnificent spaces in the world.

We were delighted to be able to experience the Antiquarium twice.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Innsbruck.

While exploring the city by foot, we saw the Tiroler Landestheater, the city’s opera house.

The Tiroler Landestheater is a very bad building.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we drove the entire length of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

The drive was breathtaking.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Graz.

We were given a thorough—and delightful—walking tour of Graz by one of Andrew’s former schoolmates from Andrew’s Vienna days.

One of the buildings we passed on our walking tour was the Graz Opera House.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Vienna.

We explored Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, although we did not visit the crypt or climb the tower.

We did not see Saint Stephen’s at its best. Much of the building was encased in scaffolding, and portions of the exterior had been power-washed and portions had not.

Andrew said the exterior looked better before the restoration project began. Apparently to persons who have known Saint Stephen’s over the years, it is jarring to see white stone, since the original stone had been blackened by soot for over 500 years, with the result that Saint Stephen’s had become accepted as a beautiful black structure sporting a remarkable roof crafted from colorful patterned tiles.

A white stone base makes Saint Stephen’s look foreign to all but newcomers.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Vienna.

That evening, we attended a thoroughly incompetent performance of a thoroughly incompetent production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at Theater an der Wien.

Before the performance, we were pressed for time, so we dined at a small, modest, family-run, typical Viennese restaurant. The restaurant offered two fixed three-course-dinner options—and nothing more.

Our dinner was more than satisfactory—and we made the opera performance with time to spare.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Salzburg.

In the very late afternoon and early evening, we spent three hours aimlessly walking around the center of Salzburg, taking in its rampant commercialism.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Munich.

That afternoon, we spent a couple of hours examining antiquities at the Glyptothek.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Munich.

In the early morning, while exploring churches, we caught a portion of the morning mass at Saint Anna Damenstiftskirche, a small 18th-Century Baroque church in central Munich.

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we were in Munich, Germany.

We spent most of that day simply walking around the center of the city as well as visiting churches.

One of the historic attractions we visited that day was Hofbräuhaus, which my father particularly wanted to see because of its associations with Adolf Hitler. We examined the exterior of Hofbräuhaus, but we did not go inside to examine the interior, as Hofbräuhaus still serves as a beer hall—and we are, basically, teetotalers.

We saw most Munich attractions associated with Hitler in our long, self-guided walk through the streets of Munich that day, a walk that made us thoroughly exhausted by late afternoon.

The Towers Of Frauenkirche

The towers of Munich’s Frauenkirche, with the colors of Munich on the left and the colors of Bavaria on the right.

The Vienna State Opera: An Artist’s Rendition

Another view of the Wiener Staatsoper—the front façade, on Vienna’s Ring—may be seen in this clumsy watercolor from the early 1900s.

The artist: the man responsible for the building’s destruction nearly half a century later.

The Vienna State Opera, May 1945

The rear of the Wiener Staatsoper in May 1945, only days after the end of World War II.

Capitulation Never!

The Austrian Parliament in April 1945, immediately after the conclusion of The Battle Of Vienna, at which time Vienna became a Russian-occupied city.

The fate of Austria had not been decided at any of the wartime conferences involving Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, so Stalin took it upon himself to capture and occupy Vienna before any other power might do so. Indeed, The Russian Army was prepared to advance upon Berlin no later than February 1, but Stalin delayed the Russian march toward Berlin by a full two months in order to assure that the prize of Vienna first became his.

The Russians were to continue to occupy Vienna until 1955.

The posters proclaim "The Bolsheviks: Capitulation Never!" and "The Anglo/Americans: Capitulation Never!".

Things did not quite work out that way.

Street By Street, Block By Block

April 1945: Russian forces engage in street fighting during The Battle Of Vienna.

From the right half of the photograph, it is seen that the day was a sunny one, although the gloom and smoke of the left half of the photograph leave a very different impression.

Ludwig II Lying In State

Ludwig II of Bavaria, lying in state in 1886.

Ludwig was responsible for the splendor of Herrenchiemsee, which we visited during our trip to Bavaria and Austria in 2009. Our day in and around Lake Chiemsee was one of the most memorable days of that particular trip.

My entry about our visit to Herrenchiemsee is the most-visited item of my weblog.

Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, as seen in a 1912 postcard.

And, No Doubt, The Crowds Roared . . .

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in the plaza outside Munich’s Central Train Station in September 1938.

All buildings in the photograph were destroyed during the war, and none rebuilt to pre-war designs.

Munich’s current Central Train Station is an unattractive, utilitarian building, of basic and cheap construction and materials. The building is not in keeping with the great beauty of central Munich, and needs to be replaced.

Klagenfurt Rathaus

It was one year ago today, on August 7, 2009, that Andrew and I, my parents, and my brother and sister visited Klagenfurt, one of Europe’s most beautiful—and most undiscovered—cities.

The photograph below shows Klagenfurt’s Rathaus, situated in a former palace belonging to some long-forgotten Carpathian noble family.


I would like to back to Klagenfurt, too.

Zell Am See

The narrow inner streets of beautiful Zell Am See, which we visited last August 7 (and we were to have lunch at the outdoor cafe on the right).