Beautiful Vienna

Today we were able to get a little earlier start on the day - or at least I did as I had to drop off our laundry at the front desk. We searched for a laundromat close by, but nothing was near enough (after a couple of weeks you will pay anything to have some clean clothes).

After breakfast we headed out to catch the bus to the SchonBrunn Palace - a nice walk through the Platz up to the Opera House. Once we arrived at the palace we took the grand tour which consisted of 40 plus rooms. The palace is beautiful,but not over the top like many of the others - after all it is just the "summer" palace. In all the palaces to date there seems to be a couple of rooms that are influenced by Asia - and SchonBrunn is no different.





The one thing that stands out at this palace is the art. The paintings literally cover the walls in places and depict royalty and royal life.

You weren't able to take pictures on the inside so we can't show you how truly beautiful it is.

Here is my gal and I standing outside the back of the palace with the gardens and the Gloriette
in the background.




The flowers in the background symbolize the Austrian flag - did I mention there is a zoo on the property as well.









This is a shot of the Neptune fountain which leads upto the Gloriette.

You are actually able to go in behind the fountain and take pictures through the waterfall.


The Hapsburgs reigned for many years over Austria and through many wars. A couple of women stand out in Austria's history as well. Maria Teresa (empress who reigned after her father died for 40 years - her husband was Franz 1) and Elizabeth who was the wife Franz Joseph 1 - she was married off at 16 and didn't love her husband as much as he loved her.

Once you catch your breath at the fountain and take in a bit of shade you start to make your way to the Gloriette through a winding path up the hill (nothing like walking in 34c temps up hill). Once up top the views from the terrace of the Gloriette are nothing more than amazing.

In an attempt to avoid having some type of stroke we dined at the cafe in the Gloriette. Did we mention that everything in Vienna tastes good (maybe not good for you). We enjoyed the lunch and the architecture of the building.


Here is Joey standing below one of the monuments that anchors the Gloriette.


There is also a pond in front and behind.









There were still alot of other sites to see on the palace grounds, but we had to get across town to the Military History Museum (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum - say that 3 times fast) before it closed. You can't be 7 euros for a family pass and literally no crowds - in fact hardly any people.

This was a gem and we wished we had more time to spend there. This museum walks you through Austria's military from the early 1500's to 1945. There was also a tank park in the back that unfortunately we had to skip due to time constraints. The pieces are amazing and intact. You would think that for 7 Euros you might a single room, but this place was 2 levels and a couple of football fields long.

It's always nice to have your own tour guide as well (Joey) to fill in the blanks when necessary (even though Austria is not his specialty).

After finishing up at the museum we walked back into town - a couple of kms - princess didn't like this too much ;)

As we headed back into town we passed by the Belvedere Palace and the Russian Monument.

When in Vienna you have to have more schnitzel so we headed over FiglMuller for the largest schnitzel you have ever seen - covers your plate and then some. Joey managed to finish his, but Rhonda and I weren't worthy. We then went for a stroll and grabbed some gelato and headed back for the night.

Tomorrow we are off on our Imperial Vienna walking tour for young Joseph. Sites to include: Hofburg Palace (2600 rooms), Spanish Riding School, VolksGarten and a couple of Platzs along the way.

Our internet connection here is very slow so we will try to post some more photos of the museum tomorrow.

cheers!!