Christmas Markets

Most Viennese Christmas Markets (”Christkindlmarkt”, “Adventmarkt” or simply “Weihnachtsmarkt”) are not so much for shopping as for eating and drinking. From midday until the late hours of the night, people gather at Christmas markets to drink mulled wine, punch, and chat to one another and the occasional stranger. Entry to all of these markets is free.

• Maria-Theresien-Platz : A relatively new market between the two museums and en route to/from the MuseumsQuartier (MQ). It is easy to maneuver than some and the quality of the goods is better than most.

extracted from wikitravel…

merry xmas~~~

the opera house~~~

Museums

Museumsquartier (The Museum District) is the new cultural district of Vienna since 2001. Though a lot of museums and cultural institutions are situated there, it is not only a place for art. It is also an urban living space and people go there to spend some time, sitting in one of the cafés or perhaps playing boccia. The Leopold Museum and the MUMOK are situated there.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Vienna

sadly… i 走马看花～～ no time to go in at all~~~

somehow when u r on holiday… even the road seems especially nice

WIEN = VIENNA~~~ vienna = english; wien = german~~~

Vienna (pronounced /viˈɛːna/; German: Wien [ˈviːn]) is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area, which means more than 25% of Austria’s population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre.

extracted from wikipedia

we set sail at night from bratislava, and arrived at vienna in the morning… the plus of a cruise holiday…

no need to pack n unpack… time spent sleeping = time spent travelling too…

wake up in time for breakfast then time for sightseeing lo~~~

everywhere else was crowded n full of ppl… so i took this ‘lonesome’ shot~~~

have ppl been stealing these benches that they decided to ‘label’ it?

or is it part of the Fixed Assets labelling for Audit purposes? ;p

presenting to you~~~ TA DAR~~~

Schönbrunn Palace (German: Schloss Schönbrunn [ʃøːnˈbʁʊn]) is a former imperial summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

the gate…

the view directly outside the palace…

sorry no photos allowed in the palace~~~ so… make a trip there yourself!!!

http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/home.html <– check it out!!!

see see see… xmas market rocks… there’s one outside the palace too~~~

we had time to walk around the old town area… of cos we had to check out the xmas fair~~~

the nice nice xmas tree, n the simple lighting decor~~~

plenty of shops, food n hot wine!! n performances~~~ but dun understand tho~~~

finally… a nice pic of the castle while we cruised to the next destination~~~

next stop~~~ wien!!

vandalism~~~

per karlina the tour guide, american ‘embassy’

a new year, a new beginning~~~

that’s what i hoped for when i was in japan…

praying for courage, praying for the right decision…

may u find your direction too~~~

despite moving into the new year… i m still going to blog about my eastern europe trip ahahha

where did we stop? budapest?

so… next up is bratislava~~~

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bratislava is the capital of the Slovak Republic and, with a population of about 429,000, also the country’s largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries, and it and Vienna are the two European national capitals closest to one another, at less than 60 kilometres apart.

this is where we docked…

n this is one of the lovely building from where we docked… so real yet so unreal~~~

The cityscape of Bratislava is characterized by medieval towers and grandiose 20th-century buildings, but it has undergone profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century.

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle, on a plateau 85 metres (279 ft) above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transition period between the Stone and Bronze ages and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia.

the view of the old town from the castle

The cityscape of Bratislava is characterized by medieval towers and grandiose 20th-century buildings, but it has undergone profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century.

Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town.

Michael’s Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and it ranks among the oldest of the town’s buildings.

Other prominent 20th-century structures include the Nový Most (New Bridge) across the Danube featuring a UFO-like tower restaurant.