After a full night of sleep, and fortified with a GREAT breakfast in the hotel dining room (there is nothing like a European breakfast buffet!), we grabbed an Uber into the center city and spent more than three blissful hours at the Albertina, an often-overlooked art museum about one block from the State Opera House and three blocks from the Hofburg Palace complex.

The Albertina was one of many family palaces owned by members of the Hapsburg family back in the day. Today it housed a beautiful private collection that ranges from Andy Warhol to Claude Monet, as well as hosting special exhibits throughout the year. We were lucky enough to be in Vienna while a collection from the royal family of Liechtenstein (another Hapsburg connection) was on loan to the Albertina.

Titled “Rubens to Makart” the collection was just a small sampling of the royal family’s holdings and included sculpture and bronzes from the 17th and 18th Century:

Painted depictions of everyday life from the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries from artists like Van Dijk and Breugel and (including this amazingly lifelike painting “The Tax Collectors” by Quentin Massys the Elder) and a bunch of portraits of rich Dutch merchants and their wives, who look like they just stepped off a cigar box.

And of course, Rubens (these are my two favorites: Venus after her bath and a sweet portrait of the author’s 5-year old daughter, Clara).

The museum’s permanent collection featured a bunch of contemporary art, as well as a few French Impressionists. Mom remarked that she was glad we had visited the Musee d’Orsay in Paris two summers ago since we were able to immerse ourselves in the d’Orsay’s extensive Monet collection. Mom is not a fan of cubism.

I found myself quite intrigued by two very different early 20th Century works by Austrian artists. The first is this gorgeous depiction of New York City by an artist named Thoeny:

And the other is this very dark painting by Sedlacek called “Ghosts in the Trees.” From a distance, the figures look like birds:

Then you get closer and see that they really ARE ghosts.

Cool, right? Mom was not a fan of this one, either.

After getting our fill of culture, it was time for an afternoon snack! So we dashed across the square, dodging horse-drawn carriages, buses, tour groups and construction, and settled in at the very genteel Cafe Mozart for some refreshment.

Instead of hot chocolate, we opted to beat the 60 degree temperatures outside and enjoy some of the cafe’s signature fresh ginger lemonade. Lovely. Plus, there was a photographer shooting some new publicity photos of a cute young guy dressed in a Cafe Mozart uniform, I guess for some new publicity photos. And yes, I did flirt with the cute young guy as he stood next to our table awaiting his cue.

Refreshed, we took a quick walk to the other side of the pedestrian zone, checked out the gift shop at the Haus der Musik (mom was looking for music-themed gifts), then back to our hotel to rest up for another early dinner.

We did make one final stop to buy essential “take-homes” from Austria – Mozart truffles for mom to give to her friends and tubes of authentic mustard. There is NOTHING like it in the U.S., believe me.

We finished our day in the hotel restaurant where we we had a very nice meal and observed the interesting array of hotel guests who wandered in for food and drinks while we were there. Had our first “dog in a restaurant” sighting of this trip, a large spaniel mix who sat quietly under the table.

Tomorrow’s weather looks good, so we are thinking about going to the outdoor Naschmarkt, a combination flea market, food market and crafter’s market. Or maybe do something else. We’ll see. Regardless, it’s going to be another great day in Vienna. And there WILL be pastries!