The Kiss

Vienna is back in my good books today – courier drivers stopped for me on pedestrian crossings (!!), the sun was out in force and the temperature rocketed to 24 degrees, and I was on a hunt for art and beauty. I have seen the film ‘Woman in Gold’ and was curious about the art of Gustav Klimt. The Belvedere Palace is where the paintings in this film were kept originally before being returned to their owner (and now on display in New York); and they still have several Klimt paintings on display. The most famous of these is ‘The Kiss’, which is so so beautiful I come back to it four times just to make sure I’ve seen it enough. Gold leaf and other precious metals are used in the painting (which is huge), and it literally stops you in your steps. Klimt is most famous apparently for his gold period, but there are many other stunning examples of his work here. This painting though is a stunner. I can understand why (rightly or wrongly) the museum wanted to keep the painting of Adele Bloch-bauer, because together these two paintings would be quite the drawcard. There’s a lot to see at the Belvedere – highly recommend booking a ticket online for the upper gallery where ‘The Kiss’ is housed, you have to select a time slot to go in, and based on the crowds I encountered today you wouldn’t want to rock up only to find it is sold out. The Palace is also set out in similar style to Versailles in France, so apart from the art, it is a gorgeous setting. I definitely found the beauty I was after (and more cake), and had a happy day wandering in this pretty city. Check out the film if you haven’t seen it, pretty sure I watched it online back in NZ. Oh and the soundtrack for today is Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing 🙂