THE SUMMER PALACE

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I have learned more about Austrian history on this trip than any history class I have ever taken. The Austrian-Hungarian Empire was huge and predated many other more famous monarchs. The Habsburgs married their way in to just about every royal family in Europe and beyond. It wasn’t just Marie Antoinette that was married off to forge peace but it appears that just about all of the Habsburgs women were used (literally) for the purpose. Empress Elizabeth, while not a Habsburg by birth was married to Franz Joseph and clearly hated it. She did fulfill her duty (the royal duty that is) and provide many heirs to the throng, but she certainly did not like her life. In fact she is quoted as saying “you are sold in to marriage at the age of 15 take vows you don’t understand and then regret it for the next 30 years.” That being said, she lived a life of utter privilege. She, like Marie Antoinette did not like court life. Sisi (as they call her) unlike Marie Antoinette had the freedom to travel the world without her husband. She was assonated in Geneva on one such trip at the age of 61.

Today we totally changed our itinerary. When planning the trip we did not think we would be able to see the summer palace, however, given changes that took place in our schedule the previous days and the fact that today is May Day, a huge thing here, we were able to substitute this in for other things that were closed today. We spent a good 5 hours there and it was the only thing we did, well it was really 5 things rolled in to 1.

At this point in our trip our bodies with the help of the alarm clock malfunction took over and we overslept. We really needed to rest and our bodies told us that. I woke up to the sound of a marching band; we were just a few blocks from one of the many May Day parade routes. The entire city was pretty much shut down until about 1 pm. Jerry went to buy coffee and was treated to a 20 piece band in full Austrian Costume eating breakfast and playing at a nearby restaurant. I could hear them but he got to see them, of course he didn’t have the camera with him.

Schloss Schöbrunn

First Schloss is not spelled right as you rarely see to ss together (and I am pretty sure you can figure out why) however; my keyboard does not make the symbol for the 2 ss. In any event the Summer Place is about a 10 minute metro ride from where we were staying. I guess in those days it would have been a 90 minute journey by carriage.

The palace is actually much bigger than the Hofburg (winter palace) that we toured yesterday. Again the entire thing was done in the Rococo Style, means something to Jerry just means a lot of gold gilt and squiggles to me. We opted for the classic plus pass. We did get a discount because we had the Vienna Card. The pass we purchased got us the Grand Palace Tour, into the maze garden, the privy garden, Gloriette and the Apple Strudel Show. There is just really; too much to say about the palace so I will just give you the highlights of each.

Privy Garden

We started here as our ticket did not allow access to the main palace until 1:16; they are very precise about their entrance time to sights here. The garden is a small garden to the side of the palace. It had lemon and orange trees amount other things. There was a viewing stage from one end that allowed an overview of the entire garden.

Palace Tour

Just a quick follow up on the ticket times. They clearly post your entrance time and gate entrance on your ticket. But humans being sheep sometimes don’t seem to be able to read, even if it is in your native language. When it was our time to enter at least 20 people were turned away, because they didn’t pay attention to their entrance time.

Unfortunately no pictures were allowed so you can’t see what it looked like. They have done a wonderful job restoring the palace (work still in progress) but unlike Versailles they do not allow pictures of any kind. The tour took about an hour and we got to see most of the public rooms. You rarely get to see behind the public rooms where real life happened. In all of the palaces I have ever been there is an entire building between the walls. This of course is where the servants spent their time, out of site but with access to every room through these passages. Often behind the walls of the public room is also the real bedroom of the monarch. Only in Versailles have we ever seen these rooms.

The Austrian’s did not heat with fireplaces, instead they had ceramic stoves that the servants stocked by using the hallways between the rooms. They were completely wood burning until the early 20^th century when steam heat replaced the wood. Of particular interest to me were the multitudes of dining rooms, from the family dining room to the grand dining hall for state functions. When Empress Maria Theresa (mother of Marie Antoinette) she had 1500 staff with her. In actuality the fast majority of the living space was occupied by the servants not the royal family.

There were several guided tours and we used the free audio guide (well it’s included in your ticket price). The guided tours tend to be, how can I say this nice well just annoying. They stand in your way, won’t move to let you buy and then if you get ahead of them and they are moving to the next room and you’re listening to the audio of the current room, watch out, it can be worse than the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

After the palace we headed outside to the gardens. The gardens are very nice and the view of the Gloriette is amazing, but these gardens are nothing compared to those at Versailles. Versailles is simply breath taking and overwhelming.

Maze

One thing that Schönbrunn has that Versailles does not have is a maze garden. There were three different sets. We started with the one that had a platform viewing in the center. So you enter, thinking how hard can this really be? After about 10 failed attempts and 30 minutes or more later we made our way to the center. We took so many wrong turns; it was frustrating and hilarious all at the same time. Fortunately to get out there was the little known quick exit.

Gloriette

From the maze we walked up the hill to the Gloriette, I am not sure what the purpose of this was as there was no explanation, but it did have an amazing view of all of Vienna. There are two ways to the top of the Gloriette (well three if you need assistance, there is a train) the slow but easier way (if you consider a winding uphill path easier) or the fast hard (straight uphill incline) way. We opted for the fast hard way since we did not want to miss the 4 o’clock strudel show, I mean we have our priorities, my legs will pay the price tomorrow but it’s worth the strudel now.

Once you get to the top of the hill you’re not done, there is the obligatory spiral staircase to get to the real view. I am pretty sure I lost at least 5 pounds on this walk, so two pieces of strudel for me.

Apfelstrudel Show

Our last stop at the Schönbrunn was the apple strudel show. Here you get a nice sample of strudel and a 20 minute lesson on how to make it. You think it is easy, think again. The ingredients may be simple but the technique is not easy. You actually have to make the dough in a similar fashion to pizza dough, yes tossing in the air and stretching. I have a lot of video of this process, but the blog site isn’t letting me post them at the moment.

There is a funny story that needs to be told here. While we were waiting in line, this Russian couple was standing behind us. The wife clearly wanted to see the show, and was asking about tickets, we said they were part of our palace ticket but that you could probably purchase just a ticket to the strudel show. Insert arrogant macho husband, no its free you don’t need to pay for anything the strudel show and sample are all free. I am informed. Well he wasn’t informed he was dead wrong. Sadly for his wife, they were turned away at the door because they didn’t have tickets.

At the end we were given a copy of the official Royal Strudel recipe.

That pretty much sums up the palace. After that we took a tram and metro to Stephanplatz took a picture of the major Cathedral and left. We are not much on churches but we always see the one the city is most noted for. The platz itself was packed with locals and tourists alike. From there we headed back to our neighborhood for a late wine-thirty.

We are breaking with tradition tonight, our last night in Vienna, and instead of having dinner in a more expensive place we have opted for a very popular local hidden gem, although I am not sure how something referenced in Frommer’s travel guide can be too much of a hidden gem. In any event it is suppose to have very good traditional Austrian food and it is run by three local sisters.

The Final Evening in Vienna

As is often the case when we travel, it seems that the most memorable moment or meal happens within a short walking distance of our hotel or place we are staying. In Florence, it was the little café that had a free happy hour buffet, here is was the Gasthaus Ubl, it was literally three blocks down and on the same street we are staying. We did find it because it was mentioned in Frommer’s, but what a find it is. We were the only non-Austrians there; our waitress was wonderful and very friendly and patient with my horrendous German. This establishment is run by three sisters and specializes in Austrian traditional food. It was literally the best schnitzel of the trip so far.

We sat in the very nice gated garden area. However, the inside was also very nice with herring bone parquet flooring. It was just a very warm feeling from the moment you walked in. What I now have to say is about the overall Austrian cuisine. While it is certainly nothing fancy or haut cuisine, it is the ultimate in comfort food. It is flavorful and just makes you feel happy. Of course I do come from good German stock from way back.

I have had a bit too much to drink this evening, and it is your fault Rita J, it has just been a really great day. We are at that point in the trip were we are relaxed no worries (I do miss my Tarragon) and just enjoying the adventure of new and exciting places. Tomorrow we will be in /Budapest, and the language issue will probably prove to be very difficult, but as always we will get by.

Tomorrow on the train, I will give my final thoughts on Austria and Vienna. Until then, just want to let you know I appreciate all your comments, it is nice to know that others can get some enjoyment from our travels, wish you all were here.

On to Budapest.

Today’s Food

Apple Strudel from the Schönbrunn strudel show

Dinner: We both had Schnitzel, mine with veal Jerry’s with pork. Technical names Kalbswiener Schitzel (Veal) and Weiner Schitzel mit Schwein. It was served with a salad, and the surprise was the German potato salad at the bottom of the green salad. For dessert I had Topfenknödel (sweet cheese dumplings with prunes) and Jerry had Tofpenplatschinke (sweet cheese pancakes, they are really crepes) with cranberries.

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Comments

[cristine]

Wow! The palace and the maze look amazing!! Loved the story about the calories by the way. It really does explain so much. It seems like you guys are having a great trip. I really enjoy reading your posts each day and traveling (and eating) vicariously. So happy you're coming back to PDX with some new recipes. I feel so conveniently located to be a taste tester ;)