Walking on the Dead.

Sorry, I've been behind on my blogging.  And, for future reference, I hate that word.  "Blogging."  Ugh, it sticks in the back of your throat and is a completely unsatisfying noise. 

First off, I love cemeteries.  I love the mysteriousness of them.  I love imagining the lives of the people who are buried there, what they saw and who they know.  I love what they chose to represent them to generations to come.  I love it even more when those monuments fall apart and the names are worn off. 

In any case, awhile ago James and I went to the Zentral Friedhof- the Central Cemetery.  We actually didn't get to the Cemetery of the Nameless; it turns out it takes, like, 2 hours to get to by public transportation and isn't terribly impressive.  That being said, the story about it is totally interesting.  So I'll diverge for a minute.

Friedhof Der Namenlosen.  Just sounds mysterious.  In the days before CSI, people would drown in the Danube and, due to a vortex in the Danube (I'm psyched I just got to use that phrase), they would wash up at a particular spot on shore.  Being as they had invariably swelled and bloated and were probably looking a little worse for wear, they weren't able to be identified.  So the kind people in Simmering, Vienna decided to dedicate an entire cemetery to those lost and nameless.  The last person was buried there in 1940.

Super fucking cool, eh?

Anyway, back to the Zentral Friedhof.  It's the biggest fucking cemetery I've ever seen.  And I've seen a fair share.  We were in there for about 3-4 hours and probably saw about an eighth of it.  And it was incredible. 

So, feast your eyes on some of this business.

 You're welcome for the nightmares.

Biggies like Johann Strauss are buried here.

 Franz Schubert

 Memorial for the big guy, Mozart

Hugo Wolf has two people gettin' it on next to his face for all of eternity.

Well, y'all, it's getting late and I leave for Kiev and Chernobyl stupidly early tomorrow.  There's tons more, plus some great pictures from Luzern, but alas, you'll have to wait with baited breath for my return.  I'll leave you with this super creepy baby.

He even creeped out Armande.  Yikes.