Hike Two: Gardens and Hills North of Baden, Austria, Two Days After Hike One
PART ONE: The town of Baden was nice, in and of itself. No wonder Beethoven
liked it.
I was fascinated, as I easily am, by the central square's monument to the plague and its victims. You can see it in the photo below in the central square ahead:
When you get closer to it your see it has the sun on top, which is positive:
The main part is a bit lugubre, looks like a twisting of bodies (can't see it in the photo too well):
But below that there were three inserted tableaus. The primary one was of a woman symbolizing hope in Christ that comes with death:
A second one was of a man fervently praying, with scriptures at his feet showing
he was a believing man for sure:
I could not get over the smile on this woman's face as she reads a holy book and holds a skull. The symbolism must be that even surrounded by death there is hope in the teachings of this book. The smile is a smile of knowing, but it still captivated me:
So I walked through town uphill and found those marvelous gardens. I'll let you pause with me to see and smell
some of these gorgeous flowers on the ground and in the trees. It all begins at the city's Casino (formerly the
main spa):
Just to the right of the above photo the park begins right outside the doors of the Summer Theatre:
And the colors were spectacular:
The park had monuments to composers in it, but I was not so taken with them as I was with the crowds of locals out for a sunny stroll between dark clouds and rain showers. They had their rain gear with them, me too.
Go To Hike Two, Part two: The Wienerwald
Go To First Hike: The Spring Range
Go Back to the Tale of Two Hikes
Go Back To Austria 2003 Pages to see more Lower Austria