Ringstrasse Vienna In the latter half of the 19th century, the walls around the inner city were torn down and many federal and municipal building erected. You see here the Heldenplatz and Volksgarten (trees and green, public gardens today), the Parliament in classic Greek style, the City Hall in Gothic style, and the Burg Theater in baroque style. The massive General Hospital looms behind City Hall, and the Vienna Woods form the backdrop. In the foreground is the memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Napoleonic wars.

Ringstrasse Museums 2010-08-01: Here a very 'touristy' view of downtown Vienna - but from a different perspective. The Ring itself is not visible - no reason to show all those cars. What you see are the Art History Museum (left) and the Natural History Museum (right), the modern art and smaller museums (back) and the statue of Empress Maria Theresa in the middle. [and unfortunately, in the far back one of Vienna's anti-aircraft towers built in the 1940s and too massive to destroy easily]. I visited a friend whose office is on the top floor of the Imperial Palace (Hofburg), crawled out through a window onto the roof and took this picture. Very similar to the museum roofs in the picture - not a place for people like me with vertigo. Many many thanks for the amazing comments on my castle ruin picture yesterday - who would have thought - first page on SM Popular!

Flower Garden The Blumengarten Hirschstetten is one of the municipal gardens and greenhouses, responsible for ensuring that Vienna's parks and streets have flowers and trees throughout the year. It used to be open to the public only one day per year, but is now open to the public four days every week (except in winter), with spacious park grounds. The tent in this picture is perhaps for a wedding.