Chasing the Third Man

After leaving Prater, I took a stroll around the Ringstrasse.  It was pretty cold and windy today.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the symbol of Vienna. Construction commenced in the 12th century. Today, it is one of the most important Gothic structures in Austria.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is 107.2 meters long and 34.2 meters wide. It has four towers. The tallest of these is the south tower at 136.44 meters. The tower room, from which there is a gigantic view across Vienna, is reached via 343 steps. A total of 13 bells hang here. However, the best-known bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Pummerin, is located in the 68.3 meter-tall north tower. It is the second-biggest free-swinging chimed church bell in Europe. On the roof of St. Stephen's Cathedral, colorful roof tiles were laid to create the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna. The interior of St. Stephen's Cathedral was changed again and again over the centuries, right through to the Baroque period.

At 4pm, there was a Third Man walking tour lead by a woman that wrote a book about inside information about the film and it's historical significance to Vienna.  There were only about 1/2 dozen people in our group.  It was still windy and cold, and didn't make for a very pleasant walk, but the woman was really knowledgeable and I'm glad I went on it.

This is the Wien River at Sradtpark where some of the sewer scenes were shot.  Orson Welles refused to go in the sewers because he was afraid of rats, so his scenes had to be shot on a sound stage in London.

This is one of the exits used for the sewers.

Akademisches Gymnasium high school in Vienna.  It is the second oldest secondary school in Vienn.  Erwin Schroedinger and Franz Schubert studied here.

The front of Harry Lime's apartment - 2014

The front of Harry Lime's apartment - 1949

This is a Russian stamp from WWII indicating that building was cleared of any unexploded bombs.

The horse stalls from the Spanish Riding School.

Another Christmas Market

The doorway where Harry Lime was hiding. -  2014

The doorway where Harry Lime was hiding. -  1949

Our tour ended at the lovely Schubert Restaurant, where a zither player was waiting for us.  I stayed and had some dinner. It was so cold and windy, I just wanted a break and planned to go straight back to my hotel afterward.  To my surprise, after I left the restaurant, the wind had died down and the temperature had climbed about 10 degrees.  I ended up wandering around town until I killed the batteries in my camera.

Christmas Market at the town hall.

Apple punch.

Live sheepies and piggies and goaties at the Christmas Market at St. Charles Church.  This was it for my camera batteries.  I was dead tired anyway and was going to have to head to the airport at 5am anyway, so it was time to say goodnight.  Gute nacht Wien!