The Belvedere and the doctor

We haven't posted for a few days because we haven't been having a very good time.

We docked in Vienna on Monday night and, all of a sudden, the pleasure of being on a river cruise disappeared. Instead of waking up to a beautiful view of the Rhine/Main/Danube, we were sandwiched between two other boats in the very busy Vienna docks. Now, if we opened our window, we were quite likely to be staring into someone else's bedroom. 

The next thing that happened that wasn't so good is that Ian got really sick. A cold virus has ripped through the ship. I would guess around 50% of the passengers (including us) have caught it. For me, it was about 2 days of feeling average but, for Ian, it has turned into a full-on sinus and chest infection along with conjunctivitis. To top that off, he also fainted in our cabin and hit his forehead on a table on the way down. He is now sporting 2 big red marks on his shiny head.

By Tuesday night, we decided that he needed a doctor. Luckily, there is a great mobile health service available. He had an online appointment with a doctor on Wednesday morning and was prescribed antibiotics for his chest and sinuses and drops for his conjunctivitis. I hopped on one of the ship's e-bikes and rode to the closest pharmacy to pick up the drugs. Hopefully, now that he is on antibiotics, we will see an improvement and he can get back to enjoying his holiday.

Once I had fulfilled my Florence Nightingale duties, I left Ian asleep in our cabin and took the Metro into Vienna to visit the Belvedere. This is a beautifully ornate palace in Vienna which houses an amazing exhibition of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present. It has the largest collection of Gustav Klimt's paintings in the world. Although I was a little rushed because I had to get back to the ship before it sailed for Budapest, I absolutely loved it! The variety of art is incredible. The Klimt paintings are really impressive and the setting is like an artwork all in itself.

Fun Fact: we just watched a movie called Woman in Gold. It is all about one woman's legal battle with the Belvedere to reclaim one of Gustav Klimt's most famous paintings (Woman in Gold). The painting was of her aunt and it was completed in Vienna in the early part of the 20th century. The family was Jewish and had to escape Vienna during WW2. The Belvedere fought and fought the case to give the painting back but was eventually forced to.



















Comments

  1. Corks10 September 2025 at 19:43

    Oh no, poor Ian. Get better quickly buddy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dani C11 September 2025 at 01:06

    Oh no! Nothing worse than being sick on holidays. Fingers crossed the drugs kick in quickly and the head knock is ok

    ReplyDelete

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