Museums Galore!

      Today we went to Hofburg Palace. There we took a tour through three exhibitions: the Silver Collection, Sisi Museum, and the Imperial Apartments. The silver collection was beautiful, and the first few hundred pieces were very exciting. But as the numbers rolled into the thousands, the smaller things became much less interesting, and the most exquisite the only ones that really grabbed my attention. Of course, there were many exquisite pieces. Throughout this, there was an audio tour that we listened to, to gain knowledge of some of the history behind the pieces. Next came the Sisi museum. I entered knowing barely anything about her, and exited knowing almost everything. She was the Impress of Austria alongside Franz Joseph I. She hated being the center of attention, even though she was beautiful, and longed for freedom from the court. There is so much I learned, but I definitely can't put it all down here. You must look her up for yourself. Our last stop was the Imperial Apartments. These were very interesting, although we were stuck behind a large guided tour which was rather annoying. Again, there is really no way to describe these rooms. Just imagine lots of red damask, and gilded ceilings.
       After a lunch that took a very long time to come to us, we made our way into the Museum of Art. Staring at pieces of art all afternoon is very exhausting, especially when one has been walking around all morning. However, these pieces were beautiful. We saw Raphael, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Brueghel, and many Ruben. There was a special exhibition of Winter pieces, and even Greek antiquities. There was an audio tour that, if listened to in full, would last 6 hours. Not only was the artwork amazing, but so was the building as well. Easily as tall as the palace, and so beautifully decorated in paintings and sculpture that it felt as though I was sin even a grander palace than the Imperial one I had just visited. It was awe inspiring.