Schönbrunn was primarily constructed to be used as a summer retreat for the imperial family. There is a natural spring on the property (for which the palace gets it name), a beautiful garden, woods and even a maze for the children to play in. The Empress Maria Theresia lived at this residence with her 16 children (although 6 of them died). We toured the living quarters listening to explanations on headsets, dodging other large tour groups that always seemed to move when we did.
We next explored the gardens and headed to the Neptune fountain at the far end. Climbing up to the back of the fountain enabled us to take photos of the back of the Palace from a distance. Behind the fountain, further up a small hill was the Gloriette. This structure was originally built to commemorate a victory over the Prussians in 1757. A large pond was in front of it and the Gloriette offered spectacular views of the Palace.
From the Schönbrunn Palace we took the metro to Karlsplatz where we viewed, but did not enter, St. Charles' church. This church was built in honor of St. Charles Borromeo, who cared for so many plague victims.
Nearby was another palace built on the outskirts of the city called Belvedere Palace. This was the residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy who was a notable military commander, originally from France, that came to Austria to be employed by the imperial family after he was rejected by the French. He led many decisive military operations against the Turks and the French. It is understandable why this palace and gardens were designed in French style. The palace is now an art museum. We did not enter the museum, but we did climb the tree levels of the gardens and found many interesting statues and fountains. One fountain was adorned with statues of young children that appeared to be fighting with each other.
Luckily, we came to a cafe on this complex where we could rest and have our traditional coffee with cake lunch. It's a good thing we were walking so much on this trip to burn those calories! We then headed for our hotel, stopping a the grocery store for some healthy smoothies and probiotic drinks. While resting, we spent some time trying to figure out how to buy tickets for our boat trip down the Danube the next day. Then we took to the streets again for more exploration.
We took the tram to the outskirts of the city to find the Hundertwasserhaus. This was a modern apartment building, actually inhabited, that was build in the 1980s. It is known for its architectural form that includes undulating sidewalks and facades with brightly colored walls. The building was covered with plant life and supposedly even had trees growing in the apartments. It was very cool and worth the stop.
Next, we took the tram to the Prater, an amusement part that housed a ferris wheel from which you could see the entire city at the top. We did not ride the ferris wheel in Budapest because we hoped to ride this one in Vienna. Little did we know that the Prater amusement park looked like Geauga Lake and was filled with lower class carnival people. (Are we snobs, or what?) We walked from one end of the park to the other, hoping it would get better, but it didn't. We came to the ferris wheel, which was hardly moving. We weren't even sure it was running! Consequently we decided to forgo the ferris wheel ride, especially since it was getting late and we needed to find our way home.
We ended our day back in the Spittleberg district and had dinner in an Indian restaurant. I had the chicken masala with naan. It was delicious!
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