Week 4: Places
3 August - 9 August: back in Austria
The Albertina is a gallery that houses, it claims, a collection mainly of photography and graphic design. It has acquired a new collection of paintings, of modern artworks which is incredible, ranging from the Impressionists to the present day. It also houses several state rooms which have very interesting histories (for example, Ludwig von Köchel who is famed for cataloguing all 600 of Mozart’s pieces, was private tutor for 15 years to the four sons of Emperor Joseph - subject natural sciences - in the yellow Rococo Room). There was also an interesting photographic exhibition on Body and Language which I particularly enjoyed. I have been so hungry for some culture and stories on this trip and I don’t know why I haven’t made it a priority. Sadly we had to rush away after only 2 hours, as we had an evening engagement. I will come back to visit when we come back to Vienna. We will return one day; this is a rich, wonderful city.
I watched Forever My Love, a compilation of 3 of the Sisi films made in the 1960s. I am not sure whether they are Austrian or German films, but they are about Empress Elizabeth and her escapades while married to Franz-Joseph. Outgoing, compassionate, sporty, brave and wild … we hope to find out more when we go to the Sisi Museum later today. I don´t know how true the storylines of these films are, as I picked up a biography (but didn´t buy it!) on her in the British Bookshop here in Vienna. It tells the tale of her lonely life and how she eventually ran away from her husband and 4 four children and stayed in the spa country (was I right in reading, for 35 years?) until she was stabbed in the back by some crazed Italian rebel in the late 19th century. But I rather liked the feisty character of the screen Sisi (Romy Schneider), and the schmaltzy sweet relationship she had with the Emperor (some unknown, to me, who looks a bit like JFK). These aren´t quite Hollywood films, but they induce the warranted nostalgia of the life of a princess and have wonderful scenery of Austria – Vienna in particular. I would like to go back and buy that biography. Sisi seemed a fascinating person and as this tome is by Joan Haslip, who used to work for the Italian section of the BBC. It should make for a good travel read.
The Albertina is a gallery that houses, it claims, a collection mainly of photography and graphic design. It has acquired a new collection of paintings, of modern artworks which is incredible, ranging from the Impressionists to the present day. It also houses several state rooms which have very interesting histories (for example, Ludwig von Köchel who is famed for cataloguing all 600 of Mozart’s pieces, was private tutor for 15 years to the four sons of Emperor Joseph - subject natural sciences - in the yellow Rococo Room). There was also an interesting photographic exhibition on Body and Language which I particularly enjoyed. I have been so hungry for some culture and stories on this trip and I don’t know why I haven’t made it a priority. Sadly we had to rush away after only 2 hours, as we had an evening engagement. I will come back to visit when we come back to Vienna. We will return one day; this is a rich, wonderful city.I watched Forever My Love, a compilation of 3 of the Sisi films made in the 1960s. I am not sure whether they are Austrian or German films, but they are about Empress Elizabeth and her escapades while married to Franz-Joseph. Outgoing, compassionate, sporty, brave and wild … we hope to find out more when we go to the Sisi Museum later today. I don´t know how true the storylines of these films are, as I picked up a biography (but didn´t buy it!) on her in the British Bookshop here in Vienna. It tells the tale of her lonely life and how she eventually ran away from her husband and 4 four children and stayed in the spa country (was I right in reading, for 35 years?) until she was stabbed in the back by some crazed Italian rebel in the late 19th century. But I rather liked the feisty character of the screen Sisi (Romy Schneider), and the schmaltzy sweet relationship she had with the Emperor (some unknown, to me, who looks a bit like JFK). These aren´t quite Hollywood films, but they induce the warranted nostalgia of the life of a princess and have wonderful scenery of Austria – Vienna in particular. I would like to go back and buy that biography. Sisi seemed a fascinating person and as this tome is by Joan Haslip, who used to work for the Italian section of the BBC. It should make for a good travel read.
posted by Chasing Paradise at 11:42 AM
1 Comments:
She sounds fascinating, Jane. I will try to track down that book or maybe the films about her.
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