Paintings!

On Sunday morning, we stopped by the Karlskirche again, this time to glimpse the inside. J and K elected to play in the Karlsplatz park, while M went inside.

The dome frescoes have been recently restored, and a 12-story scaffolding system has been left up for the benefit of tourists who can admire the art up close -- those, that is, who can stomach the rickety heights. A shuddering temporary elevator ascends the scaffold, and then you stand on a very squeaky platform, white-knuckling the railing as you try to appreciate the splendor of the baroque brushwork.

A further eight flights of scaffold-stairs continue on to the very top of the cupola, but on the second landing the squeaking and shaking of the construction got the better of M, so he headed for the elevator again, weak-kneed. After that, it was on to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where the Brueghel, Durer, and Velasquez rooms took our breath away, as did the one Vermeer ("The Art of Painting") and couple of Caravaggios.

In one of the 18th-century rooms, we found the above depiction of the Belvedere Gardens in the 1780s. Fun to compare that to the view we beheld earlier in the week (below).

J enjoyed playing with cars on the comfy benches in the Caravaggio room, which we had to ourselves.

 (The Kunsthistorisches Cafe - late 19th-century Viennese elegance)

 

Across the road from the Kunsthistorisches, J appreciated the Museumsquartier's fountains ...

And had fun running around on some wooden platforms, pursuing and being pursued by some new friends.