Art History in Vienna

My niece, Katie, hamming it up with the Hapsburgs

Carved ivory pieces from the royal family...amazing

This carved ivory ship moved and the oarsmen rowed.  A clock maker
outfitted it with moving parts that are inside the
hull.

I thoroughly enjoyed touring the Art Museum in Vienna, Austria.
They have a huge Egyptian exhibit, lots of beautiful carved ivory treasures,
unlike any I have seen anywhere.  The building itself was gorgeous,
built by the Hapsburgs to house this collection.

I love seeing the art treasures that survive the centuries.
I like to wonder what those craftsmen and artists knew and how
they made their objects.  I wonder what they would think now
about their creation being in a museum...viewed by thousands
every year.  It would be humbling, or even comical to some of
them, I'm sure.  I am grateful that people have the
foresight to save so many valuable and priceless items.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

"I have been to the Mountain top"

We had the wonderful experience of traveling up Mt. Pilatus.  This is
the beginning of the cog train ride.

It was cloudy at first, and we traveled up thru them

As we got higher, the distant mountains peaked through the clouds!

This is the hotel and cafe on the top...very cool.  They told us
the workers work 7 on and then 7 off.  Once they get up
here, they have to stay!

We came up on the train..this is the way down!

And this is the way down, back into the clouds, and
then safely on the ground.

Wow, what a view and an experience.  Just to see all of God's
amazing creation from such a perspective.  I feel very
blessed to get to see this part of the world.
Bring on some more!

A Few Sketchbook Pages

Around Mannheim Germany town square

A meal in Mannheim, and a day in
Heidelberg

A few sketches along the way

Downtown Heidelberg...my favorite so far

A few scenes along the way...

Just a few pages from my travel journal..more to come!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Good Day! from Germany

We made it!  We flew into Frankfurt this morning, and got underway to
the town of Mannheim

This is the old water tower in the center of
the town.  A lot of the city was destroyed during the WWII
bombing, so alot of the buildings are more modern

This is our hotel...named after one of my
favorite artists!

Here we are at the welcome dinner...woohoo! we made it!

We ate at Koch's...a little Bavarian restaurant, serving local food.
This is a pig knuckle? a potato dumpling, and some red cabbage.
It was quite tasty!

This old mill stone is down around the city square also.
I am now working on my book, doing a little painting
before I hit the bed...like a rock hopefully!
More tomorrow...stay tuned for "adventures in Germany!"

sheltongail@hotmail.com

This and That

A new "work in progress", some clouds and an egret. It's colored pencil, and I
just got started.  Lots more to go.

And this is my little watercolor palette that I take during
my trips.  I have added a few colors, and I will clean it up
a little more before I go to Europe.  I have just a few more days
before we leave.  Will be lots of fun, and I will try to post during the trip.
Hopefully...! Stay tuned!

sheltongail@hotmail.com