Food for the Soul

Vienna works. It is nice when things work. The coffee machine in our airbnb apartment works, the elevator works, the sauna downstairs is always working. The Vienna Underground is efficient and easy to use. You buy your ticket from a machine that takes a card, everything is clearly signed, there are no awkward turnstiles or machines that check your ticket. They must rely on the honor system. And I never had to wait more than a minute for the train to arrive.
We decided to go our separate ways this afternoon, and I got out at the nearest station to Belvedere Palace. It was not immediately obvious in which direction I should walk. Vienna has a different breed of tourist. They don't expect little brown signs, neither do they expect to queue.  The Vienna tourist is the type that uses the metro,books on-line, and visits the gift shop on the way out. They know what they are doing. I didn't, but fortunately my iPad did. I was able to use Google Maps to provide me with a map and a little blue dot to tell me where I was and in what direction I was walking. It is nice when things work.

Efficiency is nice, but the soul needs feeding too. That is why I wanted to visit Belvedere Palace today. I had missed it last visit, and felt the need of some art and beauty. I visited the gardens first, and nearly didn't continue.  I could have lingered there longer with the mass of flowers, fountains and pathways. I walked through the first halls and found interesting exhibits of art and sculpture. The painting above by Klimt, entitled "Music",  was salvaged from above a doorway in an old home.
The Upper Belvedere palace houses a larger collection of Klimt's works of art, including "The Kiss". I enjoyed the Van Gogh, and Monet, before discovering a curious display of heads. They were sculpted by a well known artist, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, who suffered in later life, and began to sculpt faces that showed his pain. At this point a guard approached me and told me to stop taking photos. How was I to know? There aren't any signs, but I did notice that not one other visitor was taking pictures.

Feeling uplifted, from the artwork and beautiful views, I headed back into town. Before leaving the center I stopped by St Stephens Cathedral. The choir began to sing inside, and the sound brought tears to my eyes. Everything about the cathedral lifts your spirits, its towering spires, its arched windows, its high ceilings, and the sound of music rising up to fill the space.