After eating our full at Figlmullers, we took a double decker bus around the city for a break on our feet. We sat on the top and just took in the sites. There were headphones and you could hear Mozart and other famous musicians from Vienna playing music. I learned so much just from that tour.
Dad had us get off at Schonbrunn Palace. Although we didn’t go in, we walked around and looked in the windows. We also walked around the gardens. There was a coffee shop at the very top of a large hill. Although my feet were so achy, we climbed up and enjoyed a drink up there. The scenery was beautiful and I can’t imagine how it looks with flowers! I had never been to a real palace before, so this was really neat. Wikipedia says, Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial summer residence located in Vienna, Austria. The 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country. Since the mid-1950s it has been a major tourist attraction. The history of the palace and its vast gardens spans over 300 years, reflecting the changing tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. What really stood out to me is that Mozart played there and essentially began his career there. His family traveled three weeks so he could play for the imperial family and he was only six years old.
After exploring the palace, we got back on the bus and toured the rest of the city. I felt like we got to see so much on the bus because on foot, it was difficult to see a lot. We learned that Vienna has the oldest zoo in the world and it began in 1752. We also saw the Vienna Armory, although we didn’t go inside. Dad did have us jump off for the breathtaking Belvedere Complex. The pictures we took in front of it were fantastic and it looks brilliant reflected in the water. Wikipedia says, The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of the city, on the south-eastern edge of its centre. It houses the Belvedere museum. The grounds are set on a gentle gradient and include decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and majestic wrought iron gates. The Baroque palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Belvedere was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling Habsburg dynasty. This period of prosperity followed on from the commander-in-chief Prince Eugene of Savoy’s successful conclusion of a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire.
Other places we stopped at included an underground food court where we tried different foods and shopped. This underground space connected to the subway and also was below the Vienna Operahouse. I had to go to the bathroom. There was a very interesting bathroom called the Opera Toilet. You pay to go in and literally listen to classical music while you do your thing. The space is decorated like an opera and there was a mirror on the inside of the bathroom stall to take a commemorative picture. (I did). Some of the souvenirs we picked up included coffee liqueur, chocolate truffles, magnets, and a little music box that played Mozart.
What a fun, quirky pic.
Tiffany