Linz and beyond

(Having trouble moving the photos around. So here are all the pictures of things I talk about in the text. Top are pix of art museum in Vienna, then picture of new "Ars Electronica building in Linz, then two general photos of Linz, then two photos of contemporary art museum in Linz.)


On Wednesday afternoon Rich and I, along with Clint Andrews, his colleague from Rutgers who is also in Europe doing research took a train to Linz. 90 minutes on the Rail Jet- high speed line.
Linz is an industrial city on the way to Salzburg, but it is undergoing a transformation into a major arts center. We went because Rich and Clint were looking at development they call a “Solar City. ” It is a large development with a master plan by major starchitects such as Foster, Rogers and others. They each designed one of the sections also, as did other architects and the whole thing is supposed to be done with energy saving techniques and sustainable design features. They seemed to be pretty impressed by it- some of the buildings more than others.
Since we had such a short time in the city, I decided to stay in town and look around rather than go out with them. The town is actually kind of cute- runs along the Danube and there is an historic heart of the city along with numerous really exciting new buildings. I went to their new contemporary art museum and that was pretty cool. Designed by Zurich architects Weber & Hofer.

There is also a large park with a sculpture garden along the river right next to the museum.

Buildings in Linz were interesting-different and much more colorful than Vienna- almost looked like a Mediterranean town with all the colors- The main square has a large column erected in thanks for having survived the plague.

But most important- I went for coffee to the bakery that says they created the Linzer torte! Cute bakery and it was good- but not like the Linzer tortes we know. This one was more like a coffee cake, with a layer of jam in the middle, and the jam is red current, not raspberry! Very important distinction according to them! So now you know!
Anyway, I was getting a cold and it got worse all day. Glad to get home that night. I just hung out the next day and by Friday was doing much better. So I went exploring for yoga studios. I have been asking around and found quite a few but all in German of course. So I decided to go talk to some in person to get a feel for whether I could deal with it. I think I found one and it is right near Rich’s school. Maybe I can get him to go with me!
In the afternoon Rich and I went to the main art museum. We had been thinking about doing a walking tour, but it was pretty cold today and we thought it better to be inside. This museum was fantastic. They have an incredible collection of Nederlandish art- biggest Breugel collection around, among others, and we didn’t even get to most of the rest of the museum! Also saw a really fascinating exhibit of connoisseurship about Vermeer’s work, The Art of Painting.
Spent the night at home and watched the final episode of the Wire—can’t believe there is no more!
Pictures of the art museum building and us having afternoon coffee there.