Not the Hoff

I started to write this post last week but it got delayed as I haven't been at all well. I have been laid low by a nasty bug and was unable to focus on writing anything for very long. I had to stay home from work and spent the time dozing on the sofa, and I never usually sleep in the day. Bob the cat applied feline care in the form of sitting on me and going to sleep purring. The fact that I feel a bit better is patently down to his ministrations. I am now as weak as a kitten but at least I'm on the mend.

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Anyway, while I was in Vienna I was amused to find old episodes of 'Knight Rider' on the TV, dubbed in German. In fact 'The Hoff' turned up quite a bit. I had heard that he was big news in some European countries and this confirmed it. Lately he has resurrected his career in the UK, through a largely tongue in cheek take on himself but elsewhere, 'The Hoff' seems to be a serious force in entertainment.

I was much more taken by a different 'Hof' (see what I just did there?), namely the Hofburg Imperial Palace. This was the first of the palaces that I saw, being located in the Inner Stadt, not too far from the hotel I was staying at. I was walking through Vienna, on the first day I was there and turned down a very well appointed street, full of designer shops to see this domed and high arched entrance at the end, bathed in sunlight

The facade was quite impressive as it was richly adorned with fountains and statues, including ones of Hercules and Archangel Michael. The photo below is part of a water feature at the corner of the building, where the pigeons liked to bathe and then preen their feathers.

The Hofburg is a palace that has been home to the powerful Habsburg dynasty, who were rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It served mostly as the winter residence, while the Schönbrunn Palace, further out of Vienna, was the preferred summer residence. The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics and it currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria

The palace was immense, having been expanded over the various generations that inhabited it. It currently encompasses six museums, a chapel, the president of Austria's offices as mentioned previously, the national library, the famed Winter Riding School and a park. One of the museums contains an impressive collection of arms and armour where I spent a couple of happy hours. The collection mostly belonged to the past Emperors and included practical as well as dress armour and diverse weaponry. The photo below shows the jousting armour of the Emperor Maximilian I.


Inside the Hofburg the interior was a homage to marble with marble staircases, marble bannisters and marble columns. It was vast and sumptuous and my photo below really does not do it justice. As I walked up these stairs I wondered at the powerful and rich people that had walked there before me.

The Hofburg is big. You could easily spend a couple of days looking around this alone. The photo below shows one of the inner courtyards where there was a cafe (just out of shot to the right of the picture). I spent a leisurely lunch here, eating wurst, followed by torte and washed down with Viennese coffee, watching the tourists all pose by the monument. There is so much to see and do in Vienna that it is easy to rush around looking at this and that, but it is equally important to take time to stop and stare, to drink in the atmosphere and rest before moving on.


Of course, I saw so much more in Vienna, including visiting two other palaces which I will post more about soon.