Most festivals take place at a certain place or a certain time of year. The Redbull Flugtag, however adheres to very few rules. Sponsored by Red Bull (yes, the famous energy drink that gives you wings) the Flugtag is a wet and wild event that occurs at various spots all over the world each year. The official goal is to create a homemade human powered flying machine that glides as far as possible off a long pier with a 30 foot drop off. Unofficially very few of these quirky crafts do anything even close to flying and become more of a comical fall into the waters below. This is where all the fun for the thousands of spectators comes in.
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Hofburg Palace :: Vienna, Austria
Throughout the years Hofburg Palace in Vienna has been home to some of the most powerful people in Austrian history including the Habsburg dynasty who used it as their main winter residence (Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer home). Today, the palace serves as official residence of the President of Austria and is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Since 1279 the Hofburg area has been the seat of government for a variety of empires and republics. Hofburg Palace has been expanded throughout the years to include various residences, museums, a chapel, the Imperial Library, the treasury (Schatzkammer), the national theater and even a riding school and horse stables. The palace faces Vienna’s historical Heldenplatz plaza which features an amazing statue of Archduke Charles of Austria.
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The Schatzkammer Museum in Vienna, Austria is a dream vacation tour for the both the wealthy and the underprivileged. Even the world’s richest people could not ever afford the many treasures therein any more than the pauper as each piece is priceless. Art renderings in portrait (or in precious metal and precious stone) were gathered for centuries through acquisitions by marriage and gifts to the empire. Pretty understandable why it’s called “Schatzkammer” (Schatzkammer is German for treasure vault). This guarded vault chamber was the place where the rulers of old, much as affluent people today, protected their wealth and more expensive items. The Imperial Treasury of the Hapsburg Rulers is located in Hofburg Palace and houses a collection so vast it encompasses over 1000 years of relics! The collection is divided into 2 separate sections; one religious and one secular.
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Schönbrunn Palace is major tourist destination and also one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria. Placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996 due to its importance as a work of Baroque art, it is a wonderful monument featuring fountains, statues and even a zoo. With a history dating back to medieval times, the land was originally owned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and held a mansion named Katterburg. The area was fenced and filled with game to serve as the court’s recreational hunting ground. Over the following centuries the property was transformed into a manorial estate. In 1569 the Habsburg’s came into possession of the estate from Maximilian II and it included a house, watermill, pleasure garden, orchard and stables. During the 1600’s a palace was added to the grounds by Eleonore Gonzaga, wife of Ferdinand II. Schönbrunn Palace is also the birthplace of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and the majority of his 68 year reign was spent living there. During this time, he recognized Schönbrunn Palace as a work of art and had it remodeled in accordance with its history.
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