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Published: June 10th 2007
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Belvedere Palace
Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt designed and built Belvedere Palace as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. This is the Upper Belvedere (by far my favorite building in Vienna!). Today was our last day in Vienna. We started by taking the U2 to Karlsplatz, where we transferred to the U4 to Hietzing, which lies on the outskirts of the Schonbrunn Palace area. After walking through the Hietzing Gate we came to the Palmhaus. The Palmhaus is the largest and last remaining palm house of its kind in Europe and houses flora from every continent. I became quite enamoured with a turtle inside who seemed to pose for the pictures I was taking of him.
After the Palmhaus we strolled closer to the Schonbrunn Palace and walked up the winding roads to the Gloriette, a building that was commissioned by Emperor Joseph and Empress Maria Theresia in 1775. We chose not to pay the admission to go inside because the building does not look like there could possibly be much inside. Instead, I took several pictures of the building (with its beautiful reflection in the water below it), and then we made our way back down the hill toward Schonbrunn Palace. Since we had already toured the palace several days ago, we instead went to the gift shop and then walked over to the U-station, where we boarded the
Palmhaus
The Palmhaus, designed in 1881-1882 by Franz Xaver Segenschmid, is the last palm house of its kind in Europe and houses flora from every continent. U4 to Karlsplatz. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the underground (U-bahn) system here is INCREDIBLY easy to navigate here. There are signs posted everywhere that tell you each stop along any particular route so you can figure out exactly which subway to board.
At Karlsplatz we walked over to take a photo of the Otto Wagner Stadtbahn Pavilions, the old entrance to the former Karlsplatz Stadtbahn station. Wagner wanted the appearance of the station to refect the elegance of the city, and the design clearly fits in with the overall elegance of Vienna. We then walked over to Karlskirche and took a picture of the exterior of the church. There was a fee to go inside so we decided against it. After seeing the interior of Peterskirche yesterday, I don't think another church could compare.
We went back to the U-station and boarded the U1 to Taubsrummeng. Our destination was Belvedere Palace, but since the Belvedere Quarter is not included on most city maps of Vienna, it was a bit confusing to know exactly how to get there. Luckily there was a sign pointing the direction when we exited the station, so we walked
Palmhaus
Another view of Palmhaus... in that direction. On the way there we passed a restaurant with a sign that said "Sharon Stone's Choice" with a photo of Sharon with the restaurant owner. I thought that was pretty funny, as well as a reason why I would NOT eat there. :o)
We got to the Upper Belvedere and wandered around the outside to take some pictures. I really wasn't interested in seeing another art museum so we just went into the gift shop inside and then left. I did, however, want to use the restroom, which unfortunately required the purchase of a ticket to use. Luckily there was another bathroom located outside (bathrooms here are called WCs, or Water Closets).
Note to travelers: always carry some 50 cent pieces with you because some of the public bathrooms here require a fee to get in.
As soon as we walked out of the Belvedere it started pouring rain so we hurried over to the Tram station and waited for Tram D. We took the tram back to the station near our hotel and then boarded Tram 1 to ride around the Ring since we didn't want to be outside in the rain. We
Palmhaus
Inside Palmhaus... this is the biggest snail I've ever seen! rode the tram completely around the circle and had decided to go around a second time when the tram suddenly stopped. Since it was raining (and by this time, hailing), we chose to wait it out and remain on the tram. However, after about 30 minutes (or more), the tram still had not moved so we decided to get off and walk back to the hotel. The rain had almost stopped by then so it wasn't a big deal to make the walk. There must have been an accident up ahead to cause all the trams to stop. Several police cars, fire trucks, an ambulance and a press truck had passed while we were sitting there, but we never found out exactly what had happened.
We walked back to our hotel area and chose to eat dinner at Kunin, a Tex-Mex restaurant. The food there was fantastic!!!! I had a Spiegl beer (the best beer I've tried here) and a vegetarian burrito, which was delicious! I certainly cannot complain about the food in Vienna... I did not have one bad meal while I was here. Another funny bathroom side note... the women's bathroom at Kunin had a fish tank
Palmhaus
Inside Palmhaus... in the wall, and looking through the fish tank, we had a clear view right into the men's bathroom, pointed straight at the urinals! I guess people aren't as modest here? 😉
After dinner we wandered around the shopping area but most of the stores had closed already (everything closes here pretty early, and since today is Sunday, even earlier), so we headed back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we take the train to Prague! I hope it isn't raining when we get there!
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Michael
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Awww, the turle sounds adorable. I can't believe you didn't RUSH right into the Sharon Stone cafe! Heeheehee. Nor can I believe you are spying on blokes in toilets :O But YAY you found a good mexican restaurant! :) It sounds with each blog that you're building a stunning collection of pictures. I hope Prague is as enjoyable as Vienna and you have a good journey there and your luck with the weather holds.