Austria Summer 2018

This summer, we turned to Europe to visit Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. This blog entry is just the Austrian part. More to come …

We visited Rifat Jabeen Khan and her daughter Sania in Vienna. We worked with Rifat in Saudi Arabia. This view is toward downtown from her balcony. You can see the Riesenrad (Vienna Giant Wheel) in the Prader amusement park.

This is the Danube River right under her balcony. We went out walking along the river three or four times. 

This is Rifat with us. Her daughter took the picture!

This video shows where Rifat works. She is employed by the United Nations in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency is housed at the Vienna International Center (VIC).

Rifat said that all visitors HAVE to take this photo with their country's flag.

The UN adopted these 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the aim of achieving them by 2030. Wouldn't if be nice if we were REALLY working on them?

We stopped by the Riesenrad (Big Wheel) to look at it again. We rode it on a previous trip. It was built in 1897 and was the world's tallest Ferris wheel until 1985. It was also featured in the movie "The Third Man."

After our visit in Vienna, we took a train to Graz, Austria. This is the view down from the funicular (cable railway) which takes visitors up to the Schloss (castle) in the middle of town.

Here is the view out over Graz from the top. The valley is pretty much filled in with houses and businesses. 

This is Jim posing with one of the towers on top of the Schlossberg.

We took three self-guided walking tours around Graz. The first one was about Modern Architecture. This is the Kunsthaus (Art Museum) in Graz seen from the Schlossberg. This is an example of Graz' modern architecture. It was built as part of Graz being named the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003. Graz is well known for a number of new buildings.

This is another modern building in Graz. It is the Island in the Mur. The Mur is the name of the river and the island isn't an island at all. It is an artificial floating platform.

The building represents a giant seashell with two connecting footbridges and has an amphitheater, playground, and café on board.

This is the Lift im Berg (elevator in the mountain) which you can ride down from the top of the Schlossberg. It lets you out in a tunnel in the middle of the mountain.

This is Esperanto Square. It was named this to honor the International Language Esperanto. Jim is fluent in the language and a strong advocate for it.

This is the information sign about the inventor of Esperanto.

This memorial in the square is for "The hope for world communication in peace and freedom."

Another walking tour was of the Old Town. This is the Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Church) in Franziskanerplatz and is considered one of Graz' oldest churches (finished in 1277). Look at the sky and you will see the weather we had!

This square boasts the town's Glockenspiel. It plays different melodies three times daily. The wooden statues up on the tower wear traditional costumes and dance to the music.

This is inside the Dom (Graz Cathedral). Emperor Friedrich III built it in mid 15th Century. It is both Gothic and Baroque on the interior.

This is looking through the nave of the Dom towards the altar.

  This the mausoleum which is the final resting place of Emperor Ferdinand II. It was built early 17th Century and is right next to the Dom. This is the first oval dome built outside of Italy.

Our third walking tour was of Religious Buildings. This is the Kreuzkirche (Church of the Cross). It is an Evangelical Church built between 1912-1914 (just before WWI !) next to a city park.

We greatly enjoyed our stay in Austria. Our last morning in Vienna, we went on a walk with Rifat along the Danube River. This is a sunRISE, not a sunSET.