St. Charles's Church / Vienna

What I absolutely loved about Turkey was that there was a beautiful mosque at every corner I looked. I remember I tried to count all the mosques I saw during my trip and attempted to take as many pictures of them as possible. I think the number was twenty-something, which I think is quite impressive considering the fact that I was on a group tour and couldn't wonder around as I pleased.
I was reminded of this lovely little memory when I saw beautiful churches here and there while biking around Vienna.
My encounter with St. Charles's Church was a complete coincidence. The bumpy cobblestone road I had chosen was hurting my butt through the seat and just when I was about to take a smoother road to the side, I looked up to find a magnificent clock tower, which actually turned out to be the backside of the far left tower of the church.
It turns out I had pedaled towards Karlsplatz and landed myself just outside of one of the most outstanding baroque structured churches- which was an incredible stroke of luck, in my opinion.

Another reason why I was instantly reminded of the mosques in Turkey was because of the two tall columns adjacent to the dome.

After parking the bike outside the church and praying desperately that no one would take it, I took a look inside the church.

There was a lift inside the church, which took me near the ceiling of the dome. The frescoed ceiling was of the ascension of a saint, supported by the Virgin Mary. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was so terrified of the height and absolutely petrified of standing on a frail piece of wood that didn't look like it could support more than 2 people, that I could only manage to get two shots of the ceiling.
My fear really made me wonder how artists back in the 18th century managed to paint the frescos so up high, and made me respect and admire their courage, let alone their talents.