Day 6 - Vienna



Gardens & looking up to the Gloriette



Dec 19th - On our second full day in Vienna, first up was a trip back to Schonbrunn Palace (Schloss Schonbrunn) - much less crowded today & no wait to begin our tour. Rob had read in a guide book that this place was comparable to Versailles in France. It is definitely impressive from the outside! The self-guided audio tour took about an hour, and went through a number of rooms - I can't imagine this was just the summer home! Everything is absolutely ornate & beautiful inside, with lots to look at. We were in rooms where Marie Antoinette lived and where Mozart played his first royal concert at the age of 6 to Maria Theresa & family.

After the inside tour, we made our way around back to see the grounds - beautiful! I bet in the spring/summer when there are blooms, that these gardens must be amazing. We walked a long trek from the palace up the hill to the Gloriette. From up here, we took in another amazing viewpoint of Vienna.





From Schonbrunn on our way back to the apartment, we made a stop at the Naschtmarkt - no, not a Christmas Market :) This market is open every day except Sunday & is a 2 block row of stalls where you can get anything from fruits, veggies, olives, spreads, fish, meats, spices, and so much more.



After a short rest at the apartment (my feet really needed a rest!), we decided we should probaly go check out the inside of St. Stephan's Cathederal (Stephansdom) that had been providing us such a wonderful view from the outside from our apartment. As you can guess, the inside is massive and very beatiful - the entire back wall in the balcony houses the pipes for the organ...would love to hear that in operation! Interesting (albiet grusome) fact - the interanl oragns of the Habsburg family are buried in the catacombs here...their hearts are in another cathederal, and the rest of their parts in yet another. Next, we trekked over to the Hofburg Imperial Palace to walk around outside the buildings & grounds. Another impressive palace at least from the outside (we did not tour the inside).

Last stops for the day were for dinner - at a place we think must have invented the schnitzel (well, not really, but their website makes you think that, it is amusing to read their story on their website - Figlmuller - the pork schnitzel is actually bigger than the dinner plate! We followed dinner up with a stop for dessert...well dessert for me anyway...I've heard Vienna cake is supposed to be scrumptious, and I'm not one to pass up what must be tried :)

Time to call it a night as we have an early morning train to Prague! We have thoroughly enjoyed Vienna & all it's grandeur and architecture.

Schonbrunn & Vienna from the Gloriette

Beers for the day: Nothing new (shocking, I know! Though Rob did get an Edelweisse while I was enjoying cake)