Day 11 - Modern Vienna Culture

Before we viewed Rodin's The Danaide we ventured out to another Viennese cultural experience, the laundromat. There aren't any good ones in the city center, so with smelly bags in hand we boarded the subway for a couple of stops. Big, clean and efficient, as expected of Austria, this laundromat also works by speaking to Alexa...in German. Oh well, the touch display had an English option.

Off to the Albertina Museum for our daily dose of culture, Impressionist, Expressionist, Cubism, New Objectivity, pre-surrealism.... early 1900s works this time.

Wow. There are many works I could stare at for hours, like the Rodin sculpture above and this Evening Landscape by Franz Sedlacek.

Each room had something really eye-catching. I took a bunch of pictures and notes, but it's just one of those places you should see for yourself.

There are also images for which I am at a loss to why this is art. From the following collage: one of these hangs on a refrigerator, one is a Joan Miró, the other is a Picasso. You be the judge. Could be my friend has a budding genius in the family.

Modigliani was the featured artist when we visited. His preference was portraits. He kept a sketch book with him, reducing images to essential features using a style called primitivism. I noticed a lot of pointy chins, exaggeratedly long necks and vacant eyes. He also painted his fellow artists, such as Diego Rivera and Picasso.

Last but not least we were introduced to a current artist, Scheibl. He works on a massive scale. I could easily see these in high end hotels. Here's my favorite, Calving from 2020. How's that for current?

Heads spinning once again we fortified ourselves with beer and würst then hopped on the hop-on-hop-off bus for the Schönbrunn gardens. Hofburgs just didn't do small scale anything.

They must have a whole army of gardeners. There is not one weed or bloom out of place.

We finished the day with another delicious Italian meal in Naschmarkt, an outdoor market lined with restaurants, wine bars, cheese bars... you get the idea.

Time to pack up. In the morning we're finally heading to Slovenia!