Hundertwasser Haus

The Ringstrasse is the great boulevard that encircles historic Vienna, arguably the greatest boulevard in Europe. "Lord of the Ring Roads," some say. It replaced the Medieval city walls and fortifications, by decree of King und Kaiser Franz Joseph, who not only ordered its building but specified its size and which important state buildings would go where along the road. (Napoleon III had already demonstrated the utility of wide/straight-shot boulevards in inhibiting people from taking to the streets and barricades). Pretty much all the important 19th century state buildings, palaces, opera, museums, parliament, parks, what have you, are somewhere along the Ringstrasse, all of them in the neo-classical/heroic/baroque style appropriate for a 19th century empire. There are tours and tour buses that just do the Ringstrasse. Or you can simply ride trams #1 and #2 such as we did one day back in 2012.

Riding along, appreciating all the stately and imposing architecture, we had one of those "What was THAT?" moments, looking out the window at the Hundertwasser Haus, an apartment building designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (a made-up name) back in the 80s. We spent the next couple hours examining the place and a neighboring site and educating ourselves about Herr Hundertwasser's work, world-wide. It is anything but stately and imposing, his principal architectural principle being "no straight lines." He moved to New Zealand later in his life (figures) and built an estate there that was, for the most part, in tune with nature, his other dictum. We have twice visited the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa, North Island, reported here, and here. We're not fans, really, but will certainly go out of our way (a little) to see his work whenever possible, mostly for stimulation and amusement. The Hundertwasserhaus was just a half mile or so from our apartment, so we had to see it again.

Surrounded by stately and imposing buildings...

Just a reminder that, no matter how stately and 
imposing your place is, there's no controlling who's
going to move in next door

Inside the adjacent "Hundertwasser Village," a
tire store Hundertwasser converted

"No straight lines" and a significant challenge for
people with balance issues

One of the numerous trinket shoppes of Hundertwasser Village

The bar

Another boutique

Required reading

So, Hundertwasser designed the toilets at Hundertwasser Village,
and, with my previous experience at Kawakawa, I had to go; I had
to go anyway

Deep thoughts...

One of the few men's rooms where you can flash a camera without
(much) fear of being seen as a pervert

Back in the courtyard

Hundertwasser creations in the vicinity

Not least, the Vienna trash-processing facility

What a crock!

Vienna By Night

Our evening did not end at the Prater. We had enough energy left to take the subway to StephensPlatz and from there to wander around eventually to the Hofburg and the Rathaus before tramming back home.

At an eatery near the cathedral

Gents in fine traditional attire

Stephensdom

Us, there

Plague monument

Among the entrances to the Hofburg complex; the palace of the
Habsburgs

Under the Dom

Entrance to the Sisi Museum: Franz Josef's wife;
we watched an interesting first season of a Netflix
movie/series, The Empress, while in Prague; we visited
the Hofburg in 2010 or 2012 (or both; and the
Schonbrunn Palace, too; plus Versailles last summer,
and Fountainbeau), so we're passing on all the opulence,
etc., on this visit

We saw the prancing ponies in Slovenia a few
years ago, at their stud farm, so we're good in that 
department too

Interior courtyard, tour groups still going strong

Riding to the rescue

Main Hofburg

Austrian Parliament

Guarded over by Pallas Athena

Prater, 2022: By Night

A few nights later, we returned...

Old World target range; never seen an archery version before 

We have now found the Extasy, Vicki's 2010 ride, and are reading
the many different warning signs that go with it

Thus

And thus

And, most ominously, the one that says no loose long hair allowed

And they're off

The most disturbing thing about this ride is that it goes up, does its
gyrations, then comes back down to a full stop, then goes through
the whole routine again, backwards...I'm sure it's not the wildest
ride around, but wild enough; you can have the audio/visual experience at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydmRTFrGvlU&ab_channel=
kirmesfanmopohl 

As close as I'll get to any of these crazy rides; sitting in the spare
parts pile outside Extasy

But still adept at Skee Ball, Vicki's favorite

Prater, 2022: By Day

The Prater is a huge public park, dating from 1766, when the King und Kaiser opened it to the public. Previously it had been his deer park. Today's Prater is a huge public park, a tenth of which is the amusement park, the Wurstelprater. The main entrance to the Wurstelprater is just three blocks or so from our apartment, across the tracks, so we visited twice recently, once during the day, once in the evening. It's not a theme park, but lacks nothing else as an amusement park, including even some of the city's more popular eating/drinking establishments. We had visited the Prater, memorably, in 2010, but had to go back if only to find the crazy ride that Vicki did then.

2010...it looks pretty tame; until it begins the upside down/inside
out dual orbits, first going forward, then backward, a very fast,
long ride, all to harsh loud music and strobe lighting..."Extasy"

FF to 2022...near the entrance, the Wiener Riesenrad, operating since
1897, for many years the world's largest Ferris wheel

Prater version of the mushroom ride grand-daughter Penelope
favored at Gilroy Gardens...

Much taller version elsewhere in the park

Three different rides going here

Newer attraction, goes much faster, small, open cabins with see-
through glass flooring

City of spires; and thrills

Pano inside the Schweizerhaus, the most awesome place in the Prater for us; we could not believe
how crowded it was...mid-afternoon, mid-week day

Assembly-line beer

Thus; waiting for the foam to settle a bit before going on the
next waiter's tray; note the pallets of mugs waiting in the background

We were especially awed by the plate of potato chips, better than Lay's,

but €5?! 

Feuer Dorf...little alpine/nordic cottages you can rent, cook in,
entertain...see illustration

Evidently popular in the winter

Artsy shot depicting the complexity of it all