Vienna, Part 4 Belevedere, May 6

 The Hare with Amber Eyes about how the Ephrussi lost everything when the Nazis took over Austria in the Anschluss.

Today, Michael and Nancy went off to mass at the church at Karlsplatz. We walked to find the Ephrussi Palais having just read the book

 

It was a lovely walk around the Ringstrasse which took us past Parliament. In the park many runners were gathering for the world-wide Run for Wings which raises money for those who are wheelchair bound. Evidently, they run for 30 minutes. Anyhow, everyone was in good spirits on a beautiful day, raising money for a good cause.

   From there, we continued on to the Ephrussi Palais which is only marked by a small plaque. It really makes you think about anti-Semitism and how quickly a society can be taken over by fascism.
  From there, we walked across town to the Belvedere Palace where we were to meet Michael and Nancy. We passed by some amazing old palaces along the way. But - it was a LONG walk and we were tired and hot before we even arrived.

    The Belvedere was owned by the Dukes of Savoy and now is a museum of art housing the largest collection of Gustov Klimt paintings. (He is the most famous Austrian artist.) It was quite interesting and also included artists who had to flee from the Nazis and some who were put to death. Sobering.

     Afterwards we went to a brewery and had dinner. Michael had ribs, Nancy had goulash, Mark had a plate of a variety of meats as well as cabbage and a dumpling and Barbara had fish and potatoes.

Then, we walked home via the Karlsplatz where we lingered and watched some people doing the tango.

    Another good day but with about 8 miles of walking. Whew.