off to vienna!

After a fourth day in Roma, I boarded a night train headed to Vienna. Even though I forgot my headphones in London (its always something) I actually didn't mind the night train at all - it forced me to read the book I brought along. SIDE NOTE I can't recommend this book enough - more on it later but if you're looking for something to read, go for The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton - it may be more than a bit erudite but it really made me think. And that, I believe, is what the best books do. Anyway...fell asleep and woke up in the Austrian Alps!

(not my pictures, but this is legitimately what it looked like...gorgeous)

I was meeting friends here so as soon as I got to the hotel that morning, we headed out! First stop was meant to be the art museum, but we got sidetracked by the butterfly house...a greenhouse filled with pretty butterflies! We made a pit stop.

Finally got here though - Kunsthistorisches Museum

Inside, there was an exhibition on kunstkammers, or "collections of curiosity,"from the seventeenth and eighteent centuries. Many European monarchs had kunstkammers filled with objects, which were categorized into three broad categories, artificalia, naturalia, and scientifica. Artificalia objects ranged from oil paintings to illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, sculpture, small bronzes, and gold and silver metalwork; naturalia objects included minerals and rare stones, unicorn horns, ostrich eggs mounted in metalwork, or intricately carved rhinoceros horn; scientifica was made up of clocks, calendars, astrolabes, and telescopes. The collection of Rudolf II, who moved the court of the Holy Roman Empire to Prague from Vienna, was one of the most extensive by any European ruler. An avid collector, he actually is known for shirking his emperor duties in favor of spending time with his collection.

The collection was actually dispersed upon Rudolf II's death - his son did not have the same love for the objects that his father did and the collection was dispersed throughout Europe. For the exhibition, many of Rudolf's objects have been reunited once more. Here were some of my favorite objects!

This is the man himself, Rudolf II

This wasn't part of the exhibition, but I loved this little guy.

and these were the paintings...Velazquez, Arcimboldo, and Brueghel the Elder were among my personal highlights

Afterwards, we had tea and chocolate cake (AMAZING) and walked around the city.

That night, we went out to dinner then out to a club, Passage. 

Great first day in Vienna!!