Melk Abbey Visited…read morethe abbey on an all-day tour starting in Vienna, then heading to Hallstatt and Salzburg. We were only there for 45 minutes, so I just had time to run in and admire the beautiful church. That was more than enough to know I have to return to Austria to properly explore the abbey and the entire Wachau Valley. What a place!!!

My friend and I spent a few days driving around Lower Austria and Burgenland at the beginning of…read morethis month. Melk was our first stop after leaving Vienna. We were there for the Melk Abbey and for an afternoon in the Wachau Valley. The Melk Abbey makes a visit to Melk totally worth it. The abbey was founded in 1089 (!!!), but the Baroque abbey you'll see when you visit was built between 1702 and 1736. The abbey sits at the top of a rocky outcrop in town, so it's a little bit of a walk through town and then up to the abbey (but not as strenuous as it seemed when we were looking up at the abbey from town). There's a lot to see at the abbey - the church, the library, the views... You can't take photographs inside the abbey, but you can see pictures of it online to get an idea. It's really stunning. It was really beautiful, and I'm so glad we made a stop in Melk to see it!

It's an interesting building as there are hardly straight walls. I liked the exhibitions though not…read moreoverwhelming except for the alpine exhibition in the basement.

The new building of the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich is a creative addition to the European art…read morescene. Designed by the brothers Bernhard and Stefan Marte, it has instantly transformed the Lower Austria State Museum in Krems an der Donau into a destination museum. From outside it appears almost like a canonical head piece. The inside gallery spaces are open, there is a top floor terrace overlooking the Danube River, and the public spaces on the ground floor are invitingly done. Especially wow is the cafe with lots of windows and yet a cool lighting and design scheme. Oh yes there is also the art. The permanent collection is small but of course has paintings by the world-famous favorite son of Niederösterreich - the great Egon Schiele. And there will always be several special exhibitions going on at any one time. Krems is about an hour northwest of Vienna right on the Danube River. It has always been a pretty city to visit with great local wines. Now there's another reason to head to Krems!

This is pretty much the main reason why I went to Vienna. I've been a fan of Pieter Bruegel since…read morehigh school and this museum has the largest collection of his art in the world. I pretty much spent an hour sitting and looking at their exhibition of his paintings. While most of the art here is Renaissance or just after (and mainly Dutch, German, Italian, and French), there's other good stuff as well. If you like Spanish paintings, there's a lot of Diego Velasquez. Many of the exhibits have German and English descriptions of the art, but there are some that just have German, especially the ancient Greek/Roman and Egyptian parts of the museum. Of course, there are exhibits on relics from the Austro-Hungarian empire. The second (or kinda third) floor of the museum does not have much in terms of exhibits but has an extensive coin collection from that former empire. I liked some of the model ships they had to entertain the royalty during their long dinner parties. Knowing that I would go to other museums, I opt-ed for the 7 Museums annual pass for 53 Euros (as of this writing). It's worth it only if you go to at least two other museums. Just going to the Neue Hofburg across the street and the Imperial Treasury further down will equal the price you paid. I went to those, along with going to Kunsthistorisches another time and Imperial Carriage Museum at Schoenbrunn Palace. You also get re-entry privileges in case you wanted to get some food, because the cafe seemed pretty "touristy" here. Note, this pass does not get you into the Sisi Museum (or related ones) There aren't a ton of restrooms at this museum, so plan accordingly. You could probably cover this museum in about 90 minutes.

We visited this museum in the afternoon of the same day when we had visited the Belvedere Museum in…read morethe morning. If I had it to do over again, I think I'd split up the two art museums on different days. This museum is adjacent to the Hofbrug palace. It was designed as a museum originally, and the Hapsburgs spared no expense on the interior decor. I think I bought tickets in advance, but they were not assigned a time (or even a date). It was just 'one entry'. I suppose that is thanks to the museum's interior size - rooms are generally huge so crowding probably isn't much of an issue. You enter from the front stairway and have your ticket checked. As at the Belvedere, you need to check large bags in lockers that cost 2 Euros but which return your coin at the end. The lobby is a circular tower. There is a hole up through several floors. The 2nd level is a cafe and you can take an elevator up to a 3rd level and have interesting views back down to part of the ground floor. The layout of the museum is on 2 floors. Most people ascend to the upper floor first as that is where the more famous works are located. Here you'll find paintings from the 1600s forward. You'll see works by Velazquez, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Reubens (among others). The audio guide here had the 'select a number' when you encounter a numbered work you wanted to learn more about. It was worthwhile. The rooms are large and the paintings are spread out enough to allow a good flow. I never felt claustrophobic in here. The main stairway up to this floor is breathtaking as well. The ground floor had Egyptian, Greek, and Roman stuff on one side. This also had the largest collection of Roman jewelry I've seen too (maybe the only large set of it). There was at least one room dedicated to all manner of rings, necklaces, etc.). On the other side / wing of this floor is an odd collection of small statues and other odds and ends from the Hapsburgs. This was my favorite art museum in Vienna. I would definitely recommend a visit.

WARNING! The art of Egon Schiele, and his disciples, is not for the faint of heart, conservative…read moreminded, or the prudish. You're going see nudity, in a creepy, not beautiful way, but somehow your eyes can't turn away. Cesky Krumlov is a small town, and on the outside this Art institute looked equally small...but its actually very large inside! The building is shockingly large inside, with 3 stories packed with art! Again, this isn't your typical art museum...be prepared to be shocked, wowed, disgusted, impressed, baffled, and mind blown. Those original early 20th century German Expressionists had some very unique perspectives on life. Can't describe this in words...so just look at my pictures I've posted...and I did not post the Rated R pics. 220CZK/$10 for entry, worth every penny for art lovers, or art likers such as myself.

Not what I expected but I came on free admission. Otherwise I would be disappointed that I did…read morenot get to see anything related to Schiele's work. Currently, there is a expressionist painter and sculptor/installation artist on display. The one section with Schiele's studio and memorabilia was closed. Check calendar before commiting.

Frau Redl ist ein Juwel als Kulturvermittlerin. Die Geschichte des Thronfolgers und seiner Frau…read morewurde so lebhaft und menschlich dargebracht. Selten wurde Geschichte so gut vermittelt.

In the wonderful Niberlungengau of Austria (a scenic less-touristy region along the Danube River…read morethan the Wachau), lies the castle belonging to the Hohenberg family and the final resting place of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Yes That Franz Ferdinand! This peaceful setting is a far cry from the dusty streets of Sarajevo where he was assassinated in 1914 - a murder that led to the Great War or World War I. This is a beautiful castle surrounded by a pleasant park. The museum is filled with memorabilia about Franz Ferdinand and his family - his descendants still live here. The tombs of the Archduke and Duchess are here to be visited underneath the lovely church. And when you are finished touring, the cafe is a perfect place for a bite to eat and some local wine to drink....especially on a warm sunny day when you can sit out on the terrace overlooking the Nibelungengau and Danube River. Schloss (Castle) Artstetten is def worth a visit - and you'll learn some history at the same time!

Museum dedicated to Roma culture in Brno. Elaborate exhibit that is an excellent education into the…read morehistory of Roma in Czechia. The museum is situated in a neighbourhood that was rundown and depopulated as a result of the war. The neighbourhood is still recovering, but don't let that keep you from checking out this important museum.

This is a truly special museum, with a mix of Romani (Gypsy) history/traditional handicrafts and…read moremodern Romani arts. They do a very good job on their temporary exhibits and have nice gift items to boot. Highly recommend!

This museum was incredible. The lady who let us in told us they had privately collected the…read morevehicles, all Czech made, over at least 3 generations. They put a lot of love into the display, with colorful (but creepy) mannequins everywhere. We definitely were not expecting finding something this cool when randomly picking a small town to visit in the Czech Republic. Any car buff traveling through through the area should consider stopping in. We were very impressed.