Salzburg, part 2

In my last post, I left off on Saturday evening this past weekend in Salzburg. I woke up early, packed, ate breakfast, then set off for the Sound of Music tour. We started at a castle where the lake scenes were filmed. The actual house is not the house used for the movie, only the view from the house.

The gazebo use to be on the grounds of the above castle, but some hooligans kept throwing rocks through the windows.

And the gazebo! The doors are locked because an older lady, who went in and was singing and dancing on the benches fell and harmed herself. I think she had the right idea, but now no one else can have their I am 60 going on 70 moment.

The above house was used for courtyard scenes, including when Maria jumps off the bus, swinging her guitar walking up to the yellow house.

We weren't on the this bus. Ours was lame. But it looks cool!

The church Maria and the Baron were married in.

Apparently this view was a sweeping view in the movie, but as you can see, the rain hindered us seeing it. We did see killer slugs that were ginormous. No pictures though.

On Monday (yesterday), we visited a church on the outskirts of Vienna, called Kirche am Steinhof. It is a stunning example of Art Noveau. Otto Wagner, the architect, who was not religious himself, catered the church to the visitors' needs. You see, the church was built on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital. The gilded dome looks like a lemon, and the less than pleased Austrians called going to the hospital, "going to the Lemon."

The church, upon entering, is not what you'd expect. Clean, white walls. Tiled floor. Mosaics on the right and left, and multi-media piece in the center. Art noveau. Everywhere. Wagoner adhered to the theory that out of function comes form. For the Kirche am Steinhof, he took that philsophy very seriously. The floors were tiled so that they could be easily cleaned. The pews were wider for the patients comfort, with rounded edges to avoid accidents. Copper lined the bottom six inches of the pews so that the constant cleaning wouldn't ruin the pews. Doors placed as emergency exits in case of a fit. The Holy Water fountain dripped a few drops at a time, rather than a pool to splash your hands around in. Every detail was designed to benefit those in attendance.

The above mosaic was stunning. Marble, copper, gold, glass--the piece was multimedia and incredibly deliberate. 

The figures in the stained glass on the East and West walls represent the mercy needs of the physical body and the spiritual soul. Each saint represents a need that he or she was particularly able in during their lives.  

The chandeliers were cool because when you stood directly underneath them, you could see a star. Wagoner was incredibly involved in planning even the smallest of details; for example, he picked all the lamps, even the Easter candle holder.

Today, after our test (I think I did well), we visited the Kunsthistoriches museum. We took a tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but the tour was very long. I was nearly hyperventilating walking past rooms of Ruebens, Bruegels, Monet, Rembrandt, Bosch and NOT going in them. We looked at wall paintings done by Gustav Klimt in his early career with two other artists. Because this year is 150 anniversary of Klimt's birthday, a special bridge was built to view closely Klimt's previously overlooked painting in the atrium. Frankly, with such precious items in the building, I had a hard time JUST focusing on Klimt. Yes, I'm in Vienna, blah blah blah. But I'm talking ROOMS of Ruebens, paintings that go to the ceilings, Albrecht Durer, Tizians, Veronese, rooms of Carvaggios. CARVAGGIOS. Sofa's EVERYWHERE for you to sit on and look, and contemplate, and interact and cry, because I'm going to cry. Very much. In every room. For instance, walking past this, I nearly passed out.

Hans Holbein, Jane Seymour. You know the third wife of King Henry VII, mother of his only son, Edward. It's more the subject matter that floored me, because I've seen this copied into so many books, because literally, I mean literally, I have read every available biography for Queen Elizabeth.

I refrained from taking pictures because I need more time there. I need weeks there. Maybe months even.

The tour focused mainly on the architecture of the actual art museum. Which was cool? I don't know. I wanted art. Yes, architecture is a function, an application of art, but I wanted paintings! Sculptures!

The atrium was cool though.

Paintings by Klimt. I wasn't supposed to take pictures; I felt really bad because the last thing I would want is to contribute to the harming of a piece by taking pictures. I wish the tour guide had said something. Klimt was incredibly thoughtful in the space he used. He was allotted the space between columns. So it's this weird triangle canvas. He painted them on canvas in studio, and the canvases were then glued to the wall. Klimt attempted to tell a story in each of his spaces. He worked through time periods and cultures, Medieval, Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman, each demonstrating a political undertone. He ingeniously layers cultural symbols to create a intensely detailed wall painting that can barely be seen from the ground floor. That the bridge temporarily built to view the paintings was intact the month I happened to be in Vienna is pure chance.

We're visiting the Freud Museum tomorrow and afterwards I plan to visit the Albertina, since it's open later on Wednesdays. Another day of art for tomorrow! Until then, good night my friends.