Day 3 - Sisi Museum (or the Hofburg)

Hofburg, imperial crypt, Albertina and Freud

Today I went to the Hofburg; the main palace for the Habsburg of the Austria-Hungarian empire. To get there I had to walk past:

Maria Theresa garden with statue

And then past the Bank museum and to the Hofburg itself. Again I wasn't able to take photos inside but it was a nicely laid out focusing on their most famous resident, Empress Sisi (Elizabeth). There were recreations of iconic dresses, key portraits and her jewellery. they also had mock ups of her train carriage (she moved around alot) and you get to see the coat she was killed in. The museum is spread across the imperial apartments so you get to see more of the Baroque rooms of a similar style as they were also designed by Empress Maria Theresa. It was interesting to see Sisi's suite and her exercise room and Franz Joseph's office where his desk has a giant portrait of Sisi in front of it. You also get to hear Franz Joseph say his famous phrase: "It was nice, we were well pleased".

I left the Hofburg but was too late to go the Spanish Riding school morning practice so I headed to the Imperial Crypt. It was beautiful and sad to see these great figures especial those who came to a tragic end.

This is the crypt of Empress Maria Theresa

Look at the beautiful ceiling!

And the decoration from the back are so lovely

Emperor Maximilian of Mexico
(nobody asked the Mexicans so he was assassinated not long after arriving)

This is Franz Joseph, Sisi and their son Rudolph
(He came to a tragic end as did Sisi)

This is Empress Zizi who was the last
Empress of Austria (unofficial)

The ceiling in Franz Joseph's crypt

 Before I went to the Albertina to meet with my friend so we could go to their latest exhibition, I checked out the iconic Sacher Hotel (where the famous Sachertorte was invented and whose recipe is still a closely guarded secret) but there was a massive queue so I had to make do with a Sachertorte from the Do&co catering team at the Albertina.

Hotel Sacher

Sachertorte at the Albertina

The Albertina was lovely and frankly one of the best art galleries I have ever been too. Easy to navigate, interesting exhibitions and great, air conditioned spaces. Here are some highlights:

Waterlillies - Monét

André Derain - Tress in the morning light

Natalia Gontsharowa - The Blue Cow

A Lichtenstein called lemons and glass

Marcus Kaiser - Large green picture

The Albertina used to be home of the Prince of the Naples and two Sicilies
which I think is reflected in the decorations on this floor.

A rather unusual Picasso

Afterwards we went to Demels which is another famous cafe in Vienna, We went to try the famous violet ice cream but as they seemed to have modernised it and now blended it with blackcurrent in a sort of sorbet so I  opted for the Punschkrapfen (a rum soaked fontant fancie) :

The outside of Demels

Then we headed off to Schottentor to see the Ephrussi Palace and go to Freud Museum.

Ephrussi Palace

Close up of the decorations at the top of the Ephrussi Palace

VoltivKirche

Freud Museum

I wasn't sure about the Freud Museum. It is in the original apartment Freud and his daughter set  up their psychoanalysis practices so I except to see more of their set up but understandably it is part museum and only one room set up like Sigmund's therapy room. My friend is a big fan of Freud and she really loved it so it was worth it for that.

We had a another go for the Bao Burger place but came up short as it had started to rain and the restaurant was full so we ended up at a a Asian fusion place on the same street called Gasthaus Sapa.

Me enjoying my Frühlingsrollen before I dropped it in the dip!!

At this point the heavens opened and with the threat of a thunderstorm we headed home to enjoy watching the rain from the lovely apartment.