Ho Hum, Another One!

Another day. Another art gallery. Albertina, a short walk from our hotel. But first we saw a supermarket near the hotel. Think the David Jones of supermarkets. Over three floors, but not a large area, everything was beautifully displayed. Not long aisles but rectangular shelving you could move right around. Wonderful preps led rolls, paninis, salads. Coffee to go. Stairs or a glass elevator in the middle of the store. Next we visited St. Stephen's that dates at least back to the 1400s. Wonderfully ornate, interesting interior without the opulence of some Italian churches. I asked Rob to take my picture, but he snapped some old lady by mistake. (He told me it was me, but, really ....) After coffee in Stephansplatz, outside under a covered area, where we watched the passing parade of tourists and locals, we wandered off to The Albertina. First we used the audio guide through MORE royal apartments. Seriously, how many chandeliers and gilt trims can one take? Then we explored their "Monet Bis Picasso" display. An overview of 130 years of art history concluded with around thirty works by Pablo himself, including several ceramic pieces. Then we were enthralled by US photographer Joel Sternfeld's retrospective, covering more than three decades and some 130 works. We basically bypassed four further exhibitions within the Albertina and finished with their Contempory Exhibition. Tired from all this Culture, we sought refuge on the lawn, under trees in the nearby Burrgarten. It is a perfect day here in Wein (Vienna). It is a cloudless sky and around 25 degrees. Strolling on we went past the Palace Gate, through Heldenplatz, looked at the Theseus Temple in Volksgarten and wandered our way through narrow streets, all bordered by an array of amazing buildings. One I loved was actually quite modern. Haas-Haus was built in the early nineties of glass and bluestone marble. It stands opposite St. Stephen's Cathedral and fits admirably into the cityscape. We had lunch down one alley too narrow for cars, where we again sat at an outside table. In a medium size open area called Gra-Ben I found the 'Plague Column', a towering statue to the local victims of the Great Plague. So we are at our hotel again, which overlooks Kartnet Straffe, the main pedestrian shopping mall. Music from street buskers and the murmer of crowds can be heard below. Tonight we will visit Konzert Haus for another musical performance. It's just another day, really.