My last days in Vienna were filled with exploration and coffee. Perola and I walked everywhere marveling at the architecture, impressive statues and ornate churches. The symbol of the double headed eagle of the former Habsburg Monarchy are omnipresent throughout the city.
We drank a hundred coffees and ate many savory Viennese meals and delicious cakes and pastries. We went to the countryside and ate tart grapes on a yellow hill of vines overlooking the city. We scoured the streets for the sites where we will implement image recognition and augmented reality clues to lead players through the art game that we are creating here for fall 2014. We also tied down the final locations for our portals.
Pérola and I plotting portal locations with map of Vienna and a list of possible spots
The countryside over looking the city
Very sour grapes… waiting for the first frost so they can be made into Ice wine
We visited the Museums Quartier, one of the largest collection of Museums in Europe. We went to the Leopold, Albertina and Mumok and absorbed art by the likes of Egon Schiele, Klimpt, Kokoschka and Matisse.
A detail at the top of the arches in a building in the Museums Quartier. The massive building used to be the stable for the Emperor’s horses.
Pestsäule, a “mercy column” stands near the center of the 1st District, remembering the plague of 1679, one of the last big plague epidemics in Europe.
A local who invited us into his cafe for a cup of coffee. He had no idea about the secrets lying just under the cobblestoned streets of Vienna
We tried to find entrances to the underground city without taking a tour… Regretfully that search proved unfruitful. None of the locals we asked knew a thing about it. I was perplexed. Supposedly there is a whole world down there. I chatted with my friend Moses Gates, an avid urban explorer and told him how baffled I was that no one knew a thing about the underground Vienna and he replied simply, “Most people don’t like tunnels.” (Oh… right).
Looking forward to getting to know this side of the city. (photo from Viennareview.net)
There are so many different levels of Vienna and after just a week I know that I have barely scratched the surface. It is a thinking city, people seem to have a lot of time to contemplate, philosophize and create. It was recently voted one of Forbes top 10 best places to live and I can understand why. People are polite, the streets are clean and safe and there is so much appreciation and value for the arts. The people receive free healthcare, generally good working wages and there is beauty and rich history in every direction.
I like Vienna very much. I regret not getting to see the underground city, but it gives me something to look forward to when I am back for a longer stay next fall when we launch our project. Then I will have a chance to dig deeper.
Onward to Venice! We will be there just two days, to have a taste of the city and check out the art of the Biennale before I head to Napoli.
Wiedersehen für jetzt, Wien!
(Goodbye for now, Vienna)…