Maggi's Worldwide Adventure: It took 4 weeks to get me to a museum

After my trip to Neusiedl am See, I finally made it to (a lot) of museums. It just so happened that Saturday October 5 was the "Long Night of Museums", which allowed me to spend 11 Euros and get into as many museums as I could from 6pm to 1am. Then, Sunday was Wien Museum Free Day (the first Sunday of every month). There are about 14 Wien Museums. So I took advantage of these cost-saving opportunities.

On Saturday, I went early to see the Natural History Museum from about 2pm to 6pm; I also purchased my Long Night ticket before the crowds began to swarm. The building that houses the museum is worth the visit alone. It's an old building with typical Hapsburg splendor--the ceilings are painted with frescoes, there are marble statues, and the grand staircase is fit for royalty; the collections were opened to the public in 1889. There are also some unique exhibits, with the largest meteorite display in the world, and the Venus of Willendorf, the oldest human figurine at 25,000 years old. I most enjoyed the minerals, the dinosaurs, and the tiny, fabricated, creature (whose darn name I can't find!!).

Outside the Natural History Museum

A giant turquoise pendant

A bejeweled tree

Me and a skeleton

Pteronodan

The tiny mythical creature that was fabricated
from bones of other animals. Anyone know the
name of this?

Grand staircase

Since I didn't know what each museum housed and didn't want to spend too much time devising a plan for the Long Night, I decided to follow Vicky for the evening, since she had a solid plan in place. We made it to eight museums on our 11 Euro ticket, probably saving about 70 Euros. We went to the Leopold to see Klimt and Schiele paintings, the Seccession Building to see Klimt's famous Beethoven friese, the Academy of Fine Arts to see Bosch (The Last Judgement) and one Rembrandt, the Albertina for Fauvism painters, the Hofburg National Library, the Papyrus Museum to see a Book of the Dead, the Ethnology Museum to see Montezuma's head dress, and the House der Musik to play with the various hands-on exhibits. The only disappointment was the House der Musik, and that was mainly because there was a group of college-aged kids being loud and annoying.

Klimt

Seccession Building

My own modern art

State opera buildling

National Library

Egyptian papyrus with news about the rising Nile
waters, 575 AD

Book of the Dead

The parliament building lit up at night.

My fearless museum partner, Vicky

On Sunday, I visited 4 museums for free, plus an outdoor exhibit of Roman ruins, plus one cheap museum. I took the UBahn up to Heilegenstadt for the Beethoven Museum. The actual museum that was part of the free day was pretty small and disappointing, but right next door there was a small-fee private exhibition with more information. It was cool being in a spot where Beethoven spent some of his summers composing music, trying to let his hearing heal. I also purchased the "Heilegenstadt Testament", which Beethoven wrote to his brothers about his hearing loss and last wishes.

Beethoven Museum

Me in Beethoven Museum, the ceiling was really low.

Beethoven's preferred type of piano, the Broadwood

After that I headed to the Roman Museum, which is a tiny museum, but packs a big punch. I learned all about the Roman military city of Vindobona. There are actual Roman ruins under the streets in Vienna, and they had excavated some and put a museum around them so people can learn about Romans in Vienna. Learning about the in-floor heating, the hot baths, and the manner in which sewage and running water were provided was really neat. Then I saw the Roman ruins at Michaelerplatz, which is an open-air exhibit of Roman ruins in the middle of the streets in central Vienna. I hadn't planned to go there on that day, but got "lost" and stumbled upon them, which I was glad for.

The red shows Vindobona, the Roman military city.

The officers had in-floor heating!

Clothing embellishments found in Roman Vienna

Modern compared to Roman implements.

Ruins at Michaelerplatz

I went then to the Otto Wagner Pavilion. Otto Wagner was a prolific architect in Vienna in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His buildings can be seen around Vienna, and there is a small museum dedicated to him in one of this rail stations. After seeing this small exhibit, and walked outside and saw Charles Church and then headed to the Wien Museum. Unfortunately, this museum was packed full and I only got through the first floor before deciding to leave. Maybe I'll go back another day!