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Vienna, Austria
Feb 26-29, 2004

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pic picFebruary 27, 2004 - Vienna, Austria
Our first stop was at the Donnerbrunnen Fountain a few blocks from our apartment. Since it had snowed during the night there was just enough snow for a quick snowball fight!

The fountain is in the middle of the Neuer Market (big farmer's market) and was designed by Georg Raphael Donner in 1737-9. It is Providentia, the divine providence, with four cherubs and four figures representing the Austrian rivers, Traun, Enns, March and Ybbs. During Maria Theresa's reign the naked statues were removed because they were 'improper', but were later replaced.

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After the fountain we headed to St. Augustine then meandered over to the chapel to listen to music for a little bit. (it was warm in there). By then it was lunch time so we went back over to the Stephandom church area to find a place to eat (good Italian place right in the same square, warm and tasty). We decided to wander around inside Stephansdom, after stopping to pet the horses.

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Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral - consecrated in 1147) is the seat of the Cardinal-Archbishop. The spire (Steffl) is 137 meters high and is the city's most famous landmark and what we decided to ascend via the spiral staircase (also called the Südturm, or south tower). There are 343 steps and the kids counted them all the way back down to make sure that was accurate, since it seemed like a lot more going up!

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The kids in the tower (Nora, Mackenzie and Lucy) and views from the windows. The tile roof is covered with almost 250,000 tiles, part laid out in the Habsburg coat of arms. Lastly, Nora and Mackenzie at the entrance to the South Tower after our climb, so at this point it's the exit for us!         Next page