Beautiful Vienna

Since my parents have been to Vienna, I was very lucky to have my mother give me some excellent tips on what to see and do while I'm here! 

 

My day starts with Contiki Tours showing us some of the highlights around the outer circle of the city centre. 

 

We got a sneak peak of Vienna's main shopping area, Karntner Strasse.  Pretty sure I'll be coming back here on my own later today!

 

 

But I can assure you it won't be to buy a Rolex or a Whopper!

Our next stop is what I've been waiting for all day.  Swarovski!!!

 

 

Swarovski Wien is in the heart of the Austrian capital on Karntner Strasse, and now invites visitors into a sparkling, creative world of  amazement and shopping!  Swarovski crystal is made right here in Austria.  And they say you can get a better deal here.

 

After a presentation on the history of Swarovski and how the crystals are made, we were free to browse these magnificent works of art. 

 

Okay then, let's go inside and see if there is something I just can't live without!

This is a definite contender!

 

Oh I am ready to take this piece home with me!  Oh wait, it costs about as much as my house!

 

Gotta wear shades to cut the glare from all these crystals!

 

 

I don't know, I just can't seem to stay away from this piece!  Maybe it was meant to go home with me after all. Excuse me miss, can you bag this up for me??

Well all this shopping has made me hungry!  Lucky for me, Vienna has these great Sausage Stands all over!  This Würstelstände is where I decided to have a Kasekrainer.  I had heard that when in Vienna, one must have one of these delicious sausages with cheese!

 

And I just can't turn anything down that involves cheese!

 

Now it's time to satisfy this sweet tooth of mine!  Vienna is also famous for their sweet shops!  And a must have is a wafer called, Manner! Please come in with me and take a look around.

 

It's hard not to want to buy these tasty delights. They have samples throughout the store to help you decide on which sweet treat you want!

 

Now that my tummy is full, I spend the rest of my day waundering around this beautiful city enjoying the mix of ancient and modern architecture.

 

 

 

Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial

Just a little bit of history about Mauthausen Concentration Camp: 

On August 8, 1938, just a few weeks after the Nazi occupation of Austria, prisoners from the Dachau, concentration camp near Munich, were transferred to the Austrian town of Mauthausen, near Linz.

They were brought to the rock quarry there, known as the "Wiener Graben", where they began to build the granite fortress-prison of the main camp, mostly with their blood, bodies, bare hands and backs. It was known as the “mother camp” for all of Austria, comprising some 49 sub-camps. Between Aug. 8, 1938 and May 5, 1945, about 195, 000 persons, men and women, were forced into these camps. Most of the people were imprisoned under the Nazi “protective custody” laws, that is, they were considered dangerous to the Third Reich of Germany and Austria, and therefore, these two nations, now joined, had to be “protected” from these people because of their racial origin, nationality, political affiliation or religious belief. It should be noted that Austria contributed more volunteers for the SS, per capita , than did Germany.

 The Mauthausen camp was one of the most infamous in the entire Nazi alternate universe of human destruction. Many people, most of whom were innocent of any crimes, were tortured to death in its rock quarry, and in the tunnels of Mauthausen-Gusen, the most infamous of the sub-camps. The policy of death through work was instituted by Chief of SS, Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler. Prisoners were to be given only the most primitive tools, and also, whenever possible, they were to work with their bare hands. This policy was known as “Primitivbauweise”.  In Mauthausen it resulted in a harsh, stone world, deprived of any human kindness and compassion. It is there today still... sitting on a small mountain-top in the astonishingly beautiful and bucolic Austrian countryside, maintained by the Austrian government.

The Czechoslovakian Memorial

Menorah memorial set by the state of Israel