MAK it Yourself

In my quest to get the most out of Vienna, a couple of weeks ago, Jake and I decided to brave the Museum für angewandete Kunst, or, the Museum of Applied Arts. It's free on Saturdays, 90% of its appeal. Not that I don't like furniture. It's a necessary part of life! I am not too keen on calling it art, though.

The Viennese seem to be perpetually atwitter about applied arts, however: just think of the hundreds of antiques stores that dot the city! And don't get me wrong, there were plenty of cool things in the museum.

Here are some pictures: 

Do-up of Rococo room

Persian rugs and imperial family:

Habsburgs

 

Porcelain figurines: 

Coffee pot:

Stained glass windows: 

Blown glass and cut glass dishware: 

Do-up of industrial kitchen:

Batik wallpaper: 

Furnace or samovar (What are these called?):

Ingenious recycling plan that uses dead people as pigeon feed and fertilizer (ultimately doing away with cemeteries and landfills, but keeping the distinctly loveable Wiener Schmäh):

Cake decorator, like used at Aida and other Viennese bakeries:

...and right behind the cake display is the dead-body-recycling display:

yum?

A "wool" coat made out of human hair: 

and shoes!!

Gustav Kilmt museum exhibit #3092 in Vienna -- his other mural sketches:

And finally, a view of the building:

 Like 85% of the public buildings in Vienna (including university buildings, public toilets, spas, museums, theaters, and pre-war carnival pavilions), the MAK is an extraordinarily beautiful building. I guess it goes to show, time and again, that Vienna is a city that was built for an emperor! No skimping on the marbled columns, hand-painted ceilings, or mosaic glass windows. After all, what emperor in his right mind would have a budget?