We visited the Belvedere Palace today, which is just around the corner from our hotel. The highlight of the visit was the large collection of Klimt paintings, including the ultra-famous “The Kiss.” The museum also has an extensive collection of Austrian and German paintings by lesser-known painters. I found the paintings by women especially good, as they seemed to capture the individuality and personality of their subjects so well.

While the Belvedere is just a minor palace compared to the Schönbrunn or the Hofburg, it is nonetheless a palace, with all the marble, gold accents, sweeping vistas, statues, fountains, etc. that one could wish. I find it quietly satisfying that where once these were the exclusive previews of the aristocratic uber-wealthy, they are now visited by the People, who gain experience, knowledge, and pleasure from these former haunts of the rich. I look forward to the day when we can tour the gaudy, overblown mansions of the likes of Dr. Oz, Joel Osteen, and other multi-billionaires. I shall take pleasure in dribbling melted ice cream on their marble terraces.

We ate outside in the museum cafe. The food was delicious. There were some yellowjacket-type waspy things that thought so, too. They haven’t anywhere near the mean aggression of an American yellowjacket. Those girls will take you down if you get in their way.

David, Susan, Linda, and Clod all departed today. We are staying for another two days, then on to Amsterdam again for a couple of days before returning home. We spent the afternoon doing nothing, which felt just right. Tom and I are both still feeling the after-affects of Covid and are more tired than usual.