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Mormonen at Vienna Central Cemetery

We came to Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof, the Vienna Central Cemetery, to see dead musicians. The German-only map showed some Konfessionelle Bereiche (“sectarian divisions”) and featured a photo of a “Mormonen” monument – middle right below. How curious!

We made our way to section 57C and saw this statue of Christ and a child facing, presumably, the child’s parents. Given its location, the parents are apparently being welcomed into heaven where the child has already been for some time.

I found an image of the original concept, which will be very interesting to temple-going Latter-day Saints. Note the yin and yang color differentiation at their feet.

The words around the base of the monument are: ich bin die Auferstehung und das Leben; wer an mich glaubt, wird leben, auch wenn er stirbt. In English: I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).

The statue is at the center of several family headstones:

Vienna cemetery – LDS monument

This Mormon section of the cemetery has room for 165 graves and 6 crypts. More info here if you’re interested.

Vienna – Music and Death

Vienna is a cool place for fans of music and cemeteries. On our bike tour we saw monuments to Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, and Bruckner –

Johann Strauss monument – Vienna

Beethoven monument – Vienna

Brahms monument – Vienna

Treble clef in the grass in front of the Mozart monument – Vienna

Anton Bruckner – Stadtpark

Mozart monument – Vienna

Franz Schubert memorial – Stadtpark

The Vienna Central Cemetery (Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is a few miles out of town, a quick Uber ride away if you don’t want to figure out the buses. If you can decipher the map or just wander around long enough you’ll find Group 32A, final resting place of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, and Johann Strauss.

Vienna cemetery – Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss

Vienna cemetery – Beethoven grave

Vienna cemetery – Schubert grave

Vienna cemetery – Johann Strauss and Brahms graves

There’s also a monument to Mozart (who died in 1791 and was buried in a pauper’s grave in the St. Marx Communal Cemetery).

While you’re at it, you can find modern composer Arnold Schönberg (Group 32C), Mozart’s rival (in the movie Amadeus if not in real life) Antonio Salieri (grave 54 along the outer wall of the cemetery), and a nice little honorary grave to Austrian musician Heinz Neubrand.

Also, remember the weird 80s hit Rock Me Amadeus by Falco? His real name was Hans Hölzel and he was buried in the Vienna Central Cemetery after he died in a car crash in 1998 (grave 64 in Group 40).

Vienna cemetery – Heinz Neubrand grave

Vienna cemetery – Falco grave

Vienna cemetery – Antonio Salieri grave

All over town you will see Mozart chocolates (Mozartkugel) for sale. You almost can’t help buying a few but please try to resist. They are filled with pistachio marzipan, which tastes like powdered bones.

Instead, spend your hard-earned euros on the most amazing gummy candies you’ll ever try, at Bärenland –

Favorite flavor: Rote Grütze.

London 2018

Got in some touristing during a business trip to London –

Oxford city tour and countryside bike tour
Lots of tourist sites in London, including As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe, The Churchill War Rooms, and the Tower of London
Windsor Castle

A few of the many photos below –

Windsor Castle

Tower of London

St. Paul’s dome

St. Paul’s cathedral

Oxford countryside bike tour

Bridge – Hyde Park, London

Bridge of Sighs – Oxford

Windsor Castle

Swan – Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park

London

Don’t call me beefeater

Hyde Park

Shakespeare’s Globe

New graduate – Oxfrod

Windsor Castle

St. Paul’s cathedral

Tower of London

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Windsor Castle

St. Margaret’s church – Binsey, Oxfordshire

Guard – Tower of London

Bloodshot eye

Look left, look right, look both ways

Tower Bridge

St. Paul’s cathedral

Raven at Tower of London

The Globe Theatre (Shakespeare) – London

Cannon – Tower of London

Ponchoed tourist

St. Paul’s cathedral

Oxford

Royal Albert Hall – went to BBC Proms

Yellowstone 2018

Reunion time! We explored a new (to us) part of Yellowstone National Park this time: Yellowstone Lake. We stayed in cabins near the Lake Lodge. It was 4th of July weekend, but we didn’t notice the crowds until we stopped at Old Faithful on the way out.

An amazing hike in the area is Storm Point Trail. I felt like I was in Ireland with grassy hills and steep cliffs along the water. And we saw a yellow-bellied marmot yawning on a rock.

Storm Point Trail hike

Yellow-bellied marmot

Storm Point Trail hike

Elisabeth

Storm Point Trail hike

Yellow-bellied marmot yawn

Storm Point Trail hike

Yellow-bellied marmot

Storm Point Trail hike

Over the years I’ve seen a few bears in the distance, but never up close. This time we had front-row seats to a female grizzly foraging and crossing the road in front of us.

Grizzly bear near Steamboat Point, Yellowstone

Here’s the video slide show –

And more photos –

Yellowstone Canyon

Bison out the front door

Cameron and Adeline

Mud pot bubble burst

Yellowstone Falls

Bison

Yellowstone Falls hike

At Yellowstone Falls

Bison in front of Lake Lodge

Bison

Tourists approaching bison

Yellowstone bike ride

Viewing the yellow stone

Bison at Lake Yellowstone

Real funny, Son.

At Yellowstone Falls

Yellowstone Falls

Yellowstone

Morning Glory

Yellowstone Lake

Bison

Yellowstone

Yellowstone Falls

Johannesburg and Pretoria

I fell a little behind in documenting the safari from October. We spent a couple of days in Johannesburg and a day in Pretoria. The different branches of government in South Africa are located in separate cities, so Pretoria is the administrative (executive branch) capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, Bloemfontein is the judicial capital, and Johannesburg is the largest city. It was interesting to spend a day in Johannesburg and get one perspective on the country followed by a day in Pretoria to get a very different perspective.

You can watch the video slideshow version or browse through way too many photos or just go about your life without doing either.

Long drive from MalaMala (near Kruger National Park) to Johannesburg, via the loosely-defined Panorama Route (God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck, Graskop, etc.)

Stand and sit bathroom signs

Giraffe art at the Skukuza airport

Poisonous tree

Lunch in Graskop

Danger sign at God’s Window

God’s Window, South Africa

Flowers at God’s Window

Succulent

Cool tree at God’s Window

Do Not Feed the Wild Animals

Bourke’s Luck

Welcome to Bourke’s Luck

Potholes sign – Bourke’s Luck

Bourke’s Luck

Bridge at Bourke’s Luck

Looking down on Bourke’s Luck

Bourke’s Luck

Rock jumping at Bourke’s Luck

Bourke’s Luck

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

Shadow people at Bourke’s Luck

God’s Window

Succulents

God’s Window

Giant spider in our AirBNB –

Bike tour of Soweto with Lebo’s

Soweto bike tour

A little snack of beef heart and liver on the bike tour

Photo op

Grandpa to many

Kids in Soweto

Climing on the tourists

Soweto

Cool house on Soweto bike tour

Hector Peterson memorial

He told me he hand-crafted the trinket I bought so I took a picture with him. He didn’t.

Near Hector Peterson memorial

Mandela’s Family Restaurant

Mandela House

Aquafresh

Desmond Tutu House

Locals

Drinking something suspicious

Tourists with bike tour guide

Lunch at Lebo’s

Chicken legs for lunch

Wooden bike

Bob Marley sign at Lebo’s

Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers

Blending right in

Finale of bike tour

Soweto bike tour

Street hawker sizes up Michael

Soweto bike tour

Soweto

Kids checking the photos

Kids posing in Soweto

Soweto bike tour

Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, the Zoo, LDS Temple, etc.

Youth event at Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court

Statue outside Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court

Mandela – Gandhi exhibit at Constitution Hill

Gandhi statue at Constitution Hill

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony – Gandhi

Gandhi and Mandela exhibit at Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill

Cells (some haunted) at Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill

South Africa LDS (Mormon) Temple

Shaking hands

Distant view of South Africa LDS Temple from Johannesburg Zoo

Apartheid Museum White card.

Apartheid Museum

Pretoria, including Voortrekker Monument, Kruger House, Church Square, City Hall, Union Buildings, Cullinan Diamond Mine area, and a delicious braai (barbecue) with our hosts