This is Part II of a continuing series of travel photography posts documenting a 29 day, 6 country European dad-daughter trip we embarked on back on December 6th of 2023. My first post in this series covered our first three stops: Paris, Brussels and Prague. This post will cover the remaining three cities starting with “The City of Music” and the capital of Austria: Vienna.
VIENNA
On December 20th, we hopped aboard an ÖBB train from Prague to Vienna (about 4 hours, very comfortable) and checked into the Hotel Royal in the Historic Centre of Vienna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our hotel was right around the corner of Austria’s most important Gothic building, St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral is one of the true centerpieces of Vienna. Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th century and its interior changed repeatedly over the centuries until it was finally given its current Baroque appearance.
The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere palace, which consists of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere). It is both one of the oldest museums in the world and a venue for contemporary art.
The Galerie is also home to one of the most recognizable paintings in the world, “Der Kuss” (The Kiss) by the Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt.
Then, of course, you have Vienna’s Christmas markets – considered one of the finest in the world. The most famous is on Vienna’s Rathausplatz, the square in front of the town hall.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is one of the foremost museums in the world, with rich holdings comprising artworks from seven millennia – from Ancient Egypt to the late 18th century. More on this absolutely fascinating museum in a future post…
One of the highlights of our stay in Vienna was sitting in the front row watching the Vienna Royal Orchestra perform music from Johann Strauss Jr. and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the beautiful ballroom of the Haus der Industrie.
Following the attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853, the Emperor’s brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian inaugurated a campaign to create a church to thank God for saving the Emperor’s life. That church, the Gothic Votivkirche (Votive Church), was completed twenty-six years later on April 24, 1879. We’re not Catholic but being that it was the first year that we were not going to be amongst family for Christmas, we attended a midnight mass on Christmas Eve at this cavernous church.
MILAN
On Christmas Day, Miranda & I hopped aboard a Austrian Airlines flight and took the 85 minute flight to our next destination, Milan, the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. We checked into the lovely UNA HOTELS Century Milano, a short walk to the city’s most treasured attractions – attractions like the majestic Duomo di Milano.
Construction of Milan cathedral began in 1386 when the style of Gothic cathedrals had reached its peak. The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete with the final details completed in 1965. It is the largest church in the Italian Republic (the larger St. Peter’s Basilica is in the State of Vatican City, a sovereign state) and one of largest in the world.
The Duomo Pass Lift costs 20€ and allows you to visit the interior of the Cathedral, the Cathedral Museum, the archaeological area and go up to the Duomo Terrace by elevator. Rooftop on foot costs 10€ and allows you only to go up to the Duomo Terrace.
The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci (Cenacolo Vinciano) is one of the most famous paintings in the world. This artwork was painted between 1494 and 1498 and is located in its original place, on the wall of the dining room of the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It was also far bigger than I would have imagined…
A lesser known attraction in Milan (and probably for good reason) is the San Bernardino alle Ossa church, best known for its ossuary, a small side chapel decorated with numerous human skulls and bones(!) due to an adjacent cemetery running out of space in 1210.
The Pinacoteca di Brera (“Brera Art Gallery”), established in 1809, is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century. It was a truly remarkable museum.
We spent three full days in Milan before hopping aboard a Vueling Airlines flight and heading to the final destination on this trip…
BARCELONA
We arrived in Barcelona on Friday, December 29th for the final 6 days of our trip, checking into the Hotel Barcelona Catedral located in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter and around the corner from the Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, also known as the Barcelona Cathedral.
Our first order of business was to pay a visit to the beautiful Palau de la Música Catalana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to catch a New Year’s Eve concert by Carlos Núñez, a Spanish (Galician) musician and multi-instrumentalist who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe.
And we also got plucked out of the audience and onto the stage for the grand finale! I passed my Xiaomi to a lady in the crowd (just handed it to her and asked her to record me!) and I recorded from the stage with my iPhone…
The Barcelona Cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. Although the actual Gothic church was already completed in 1448, the appearance of the church has been changed over the centuries through conversions and additions. The last major conversion was completed in 1913 with the completion of the middle tower.
We visited several excellent art museums in Barcelona starting with Moco Museum, which houses an inspiring and enlightening collection of Modern and Contemporary art.
After spending New Year’s Eve in Lisbon last year, we braved the busy streets of Barcelona and took an Uber to Plaça Espanya for Barcelona’s best drone and fireworks display at the Font Màgica de Montjuïc. Despite arriving around 10:30pm, it was remarkably easy to walk through the plaza to get a good spot to see the show – and the crowd was very well behaved. One of the highlights of our trip.
Built for the 1929 World Exhibition and restored in 2005, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya houses a vast collection of mostly Catalan art spanning the early Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
Little did we know that the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world, had been sold out for over a week. The church was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who took over as chief architect in 1883 and devoted the remainder of his life to the project. At the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. He is buried in the church’s crypt.
The Palau Güell is a mansion designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí for the industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell. It was built between 1886 and 1888. It was Gaudi’s first major building in the city. There are a total of 20 distinctive chimneys designed by Gaudi which serve to ventilate the house.
The Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM) was perhaps one of the most remarkable art museums I’ve ever visited (and I’ve been to more than a few!). Their “Realism Now” Exhibit features some of the most amazing contemporary figurative art you’ll ever see. A MUST-SEE exhibit that runs until June 1st, 2025. More on this in a future post…
Dad-Daughter Trip, 2024
Now, I enjoyed every city we had visited up to this point but Prague had been my favorite and I really didn’t think that would change. Then we arrived in Barcelona. I mean, I’ve been in several cities in Spain: Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, Cordoba, Seville, and others – but there was just something about Barcelona that made it stand out. It’s gritty and spirited and just has a certain energy about it, a vibe, something you can’t quite put a finger on but it’s there. My (our) favorite city on our 29 day, 6 country trip? Barcelona.
That’s all for my two introductory posts in what will be an extended series of photographs from our trip. Stay tuned for images from our time in Paris, featuring a look inside the Sainte-Chapelle, Palace of Versailles, and the Musée du Louvre. SUBSCRIBE HERE to not miss it!
All photographs in Part I and Part II of this series taken by the remarkable Xiaomi 13 Ultra, a camera phone that features a variable aperture 1-inch main camera and Leica(!) co-engineered Summicron lens. And yes, I also had my Sony A7RV camera and a few good lenses but the Xiaomi has become my go-to camera when I want to get around without the bulk of the Sony attached to the 24-105mm f/4 G lens plus a camera bag carrying my 35mm & 85mm lenses every day. The Xiaomi has proven itself more than capable for capturing images and video, indoors or outdoors, in a pinch.
