A few days in Vienna - last day

Just like the previous day, I had breakfast at a cafe, this time Cafe Sperl. I actually searched for it because it was listed on Vienna's tourist website.

Snooty waiters again, but I was used to it by now, so I didn't mind. Plus the place was, once more, really beautiful.

I tried to sketch a small part of it. I'm not sure adding colour was such a good idea, but since all my sketches are more a way of practising than finished products, I can't say that I regret doing it.

I had to call the lady back because she was forgetting her mobile phone

I went to the Schmetterlinghaus (butterfly house) immediately afterwards. This time I was able to enter this small piece of tropical atmosphere. The arched glass house is really pretty and pleasant, particularly when it's so cold outside.

However, I was a tiny bit disappointed to find only one type of (really beautiful) butterfly. I had imagined being surrounded by many colourful winged beauties, like in a movie or something, hahaha. It was probably not the best period of the year to go there, I guess.

There were "owl butterflies" everywhere

After my visit there I remembered that I hadn't actually seen that much of the city as such. The cold was not really inviting me to stroll around. So I decided to do the typical hop-on hop-off bus tour of the centre, stopping here and there for a short walk and photographs.

Which only confirmed to me that Vienna is really a very beautiful and grand city. You can feel that it used to be the centre of an empire, with all its past grandeur.

I had lunch at Cafe Landtmann, which I had spotted from the bus. Apparently it was and still is a very popular place with intellectuals. Freud, for example, used to go there.

I entered what must have been the nicest cafe yet, with even a coat check at the entrance. Very chic. For some reason, I was expecting something a bit more bohemian, like a Parisian cafe in Montmartre.

I think I was one of the only tourists there. Around me I saw many meetings taking place. Must be a great way to do business.

The waiters were very friendly and I had the biggest Apfelstrudel in my life.

These two were not doing business, I think.

I still had time to go to the Museumsquartier, a logical addition to my improvised museum marathon. Apparently that area used to be the court stables before it was renovated. Today it gathers many museums and other cultural places.

I first went to the Leopold museum because I had seen posters advertising exhibitions on early works of Schiele and Klimt, plus an exhibition of Kupka, and I wanted to continue exploring my newfound appreciation for Schiele's art in particular.

I was sad to learn throught the audioguide that the artist died aged 28. It's so young and such a pity for the art world...

I stopped at the Leopold cafe for a quick bite and went to the neighbouring Mumok (museum of modern art) afterwards. I have to admit that modern art, conceptual art and the like are always hit or miss for me. I have a hard time seeing most of the works as art instead of just ideas. Plus many of them seem obscure and sometimes even flimsy to me. It's often like the author is not really trying to share something with the viewer, and I miss that connection.

The Mumok was hosting a collective exhibition called And Materials and Money and Crisis. The title seems quite self-explanatory, but appart from 2-3 pieces that fit the concept, I didn't really see the point of most of them. At least in this context.

There were a few pieces I found interesting, though. Probably more as concept than as art, but in any case appealing. One of them was a room in which the atmosphere had been changed so it was full of mist. There was a whole explanation on atmosphere, climate, pollution, etc. I think I liked it because it was an installation to which the viewer was supposed to actively participate, and the message seemed relatively clear.

It looked roughly like this. The image is not very clear, but since the room was full of mist, it's fitting.

The title was very long, something like: Sea, Salt, Water, Sand, Climate, etc., etc.

So Mumok was the last stop on my discovery of Vienna. There is a very nice cafe there as well, with beautiful cupcakes to choose from. 

My trip was very short, but successful and I will definitely want to go back to see more and maybe sketch outside next time. The people are very helpful and friendly (except for a few snooty waiters ; but that's probably because I chose the "wrong" places). I didn't have time to see any of the court buildings, the equestrian school, the Freud museum, Schönbrunn, etc. 

That will be for next time.

A few days in Vienna - day 2

My second day in Vienna started with a big breakfast at Cafe Schwarzenberg. It is a beautiful and elegant place. One thing you would not see in Luxembourg: people having beakfast in a stylish cafe in the middle of a Wednesday morning. although I have to say that many of them looked like business people having a meeting or something.

I was disappointed once more by the snootiness of the waiters. Like being snob was a requirement to be a waiter in such a beautiful place, haha.

And again I had to think of Prague: the friendliness of the waiters there doesn't quite express itself in a manner you would expect either. However, they seem more bothered by their clients than snob there, haha.

I had the time to make a quick sketch of the place and later added shadows with a pencil I bought in MAK the previous day.

The piano was calling to me: Sketch me! Sketch me!

After gaining strength from my delicious breakfast, I went to the Belvedere, where Klimt's Kiss is exhibited.

I first visited the lower Belvedere and the temporary Emil Nolde exhibition they had at the time. I knew of the artist, but not much, so it was really interesting to discover his art. I fell in love with one of his paintings, Meer III.

I had a short break on a bench with a direct vue of the upper Belvedere, which I quickly sketched, and a nice chat with an old lady sitting next to me and admiring the vue. She told me it was the first time she saw the Belvedere with snow. Lucky me!

Groups of children were passing by and telling me I made nice drawings :)

The upper Belvedere is bigger than the other one and has a big variety of art and other items. There was even one room with stuffed animals. I don't really like those, but the strange bird attracted me and I continued sketching other animals.

There was also a stuffed tiger, but the look on its face was so sad and strange that I couldn't bring myself to even try to sketch it.

The fierce hyena was more interesting

The upper Belvedere not only hosts a few of Klimt's nicest works, but also very beautiful paintings by Egon Schiele. Not the usual nudes you would think of when talking about the artist, but, in my opinion, more interesting works.

I completely fell in love with Die Umarmung (The embrace), for example, and had to sketch it. The colours I added later are not at all like the original painting, though.

Call me crazy, but I actually like Schiele's embrace it more than Klimt's kiss

I had lunch at the Belvedere's Menagerie. A small pink cafe with huge portraits of Sissi and Frank Joseph.

There was a group of Asian women at a table nearby. They looked both cute and funny, specially the older lady, so I quickly sketched them. I don't think they noticed me.

To my horror, my nice Hiro pen went dry in the middle of the process, so I continued with a Pentel brushpen. I added colour later.

I think they were Chinese

In the afternoon I searched for the butterfly house. Yes, I go to Vienna, not to see Sissi's palace, but to see butterflys, haha. Unfortunately, when I finally found it, it was almost closing time, so I decided to postpone it to the following day.

And anyway, the Sacher Stube, where the famous Sacher Torte comes from, was in the area and also an item on my list, so I went there instead.

Another very cute place, where the friendly waitress was dressed as a soubrette. I am amazed at the number of cute pink walls I see in cafes around Vienna.

The blonde woman was smoking an electronic cigarette very stylishly. I didn't think that was possible.

I finished the day at the Albertina where I found an exhitibion of paintings from various periods, from Monet to Picasso it was called.

I'm not particularly a fan of Monet, not in the strictest sense, but I really enjoyed a painting of a pond of waterlilies. The sky was mirrored in it so wonderfully, I was quite in awe.

Most rooms at the Albertina were closed because of the humidity. However, one room with beautiful statues of the muses was accessible, so I quickly scribbled their names and drew their major characteristics for future reference. I think I should have written down what they stand for as well, for there are a few ones I don't remember already. Oh well, there's always Google for that.

The statues were much more beautiful, I assure you, haha

A few days in Vienna - day 1

Last week I spent a few days in Vienna on a much needed short vacation.

Discovering a new city and sketching to my heart's content are two ways that really help me blow off some steam.

I had my breakfast at the airport, so of course I had to do my warm-up sketches then and there.

The airport's bakery

As I finished my first sketch, a group of Portuguese taxi drivers sat at the table in front of me and started playing cards. Yay!

I wonder what game they were playing.

Then I had to draw the classic air plane view. I'll have to start being more creative with these. They usually look pretty much the same.

Is that food and beverages I spot in the distance ? :D

I arrived around noon, so after leaving my luggage at the pension, I immediately went to the pub nearby to have lunch.

Cafe Ministerium has this nice old charm that I was looking forward to see in Vienna, so I was not disappointed.

However, I did find the waiters were a bit snooty, which surprised me.

The huge Wiener Schitzel I ordered was quite delicious, though.

To colour or not to colour - that is the question.

The first item on my list was everything Hundertwasser-related. I was very curious to see the Hundertwasserhaus for real and then to go to Kunsthaus Wien, where many of his works are exhibited.

I loved everything I saw and learned about this artist. He was such a visionary, in my opinion.

I specially like his concept of seeing a person's house as their third skin, and love the fact that the lucky inhabitants of the Hundertwasserhaus have the prerogative to customise their windows as far as their arms can reach. Plus the concept of tree tenants is just genius!

I made a compilation of various motives I liked from his paintings and added all the quotes that were written throughout the exhibition as well.

"The straight line is godless!"

In the evening I still managed to go to MAK, the Museum of Applied Arts. It was open until late and, as an added bonus, the entrance was free!

There were quite a few interesting items to see, but I was too tired to sketch any of them.

Before going back to the pension, I stopped at MAK's bar to have a quick bite and a couple of beers.

The waiters here were very friendly and the bottle lamp was so appealing that I made one last quick sketch for the day.

Seriously cool lamp!

All in all it was a successful first half day in Vienna. I was surprised at how much some residential parts reminded me of Prague. But then again, I guess it makes sense.