Wednesday, 9/16
Today is the day we go out to our favorite place in Vienna, the Schonbrunn Palace. We hopped on the subway just a couple of blocks from our hotel and managed to figure out we were going the wrong direction after just a couple of stops, so we hopped off and got on the train going the right direction ;)
We walked in through the main gate and into the ticket office. I wasn't sure what the wait would be like, but we practically walked right up to the ticket desk. There was a guided tour in English at 11 am, so we just had about a 45 minute wait. We always prefer an actual human guide instead of an audio guide because we find them so much more engaging, so a little wait was ok with us.
Our tour guide was John, British by his accent. He was very informative, and answered everyone's questions pleasantly and with good humor. Our group was only about 10 people, so that was nice too. We took the Grand Tour and saw lots of rooms in the Palace, something we didn't have time to do on our last visit. Lots of information about the Hapsburgs and their dynasty in Austria and Hungary. We're always amazed when we think about the number of people it would have required just to keep a place like that functioning every day during the 1700's-early 1900's. We finished the tour around noon and decided to have a bit to eat at the cafe.
After lunch we headed out to the gardens - our favorite part! The beautiful flowers and fountains, trees, reflecting pond and Gloriette, we think it's one of the loveliest gardens we have ever seen. The gardens also include a zoo and maze and cover 52 hectares, which equates to almost 130 acres. It was quite warm again today, so we took a break at the Gloriette for a cool drink and just enjoyed the view. Lots of people out doing the same thing, just enjoying the beautiful setting and clear sunny weather.
No comments:
Post a Comment