The Palace Gardens

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Geo: 48.22, 16.37

This morning Dee still wasn't feeling to well, so she hung out at the hostel while Jess and I went off to see Schonbrunn Palace. The Austrians seem big on pastries, so we easily found a bakery and bought a few goodies to eat on the tram. The tram line out the front of the hostel went straight to the palace- too easy! About 10 minutes ahead of us we saw a huge palace and knew that this was our stop- and we were worried about missing the stop, which is not possible now that we had seen the palace. There were many ticket choices, but the next English speaking tour had just left and there wasn't time to wait for the next one. So our only option was the enjoy the gardens- which were huge and tiring!

The gardens were beautiful, especially with all the deciduous plants. Autumn was in full swing and all around. We saw many statues, fountains and ponds scattered around the gardens. We walked all the way up the hill to the Gloriette. From here we could see the whole royal grounds. During our walk, we saw quite a few brown squirrels and an emu! There were a few emus fenced off, so not roaming free, but it was nice to see them. After a couple of hours in the garden, it was time for us to head back to the hostel, pick up Dee and our bags and catch the bus to Vienna airport.

At the airport Dee finally found a gold charm that her mum would like- finally! To celebrate we shared a piece of sachertorte- a chocolate cake that originated from Vienna. They are now fans of it too. I had a great weekend in Vienna, great weather and a beautiful city.

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Photos

01 Schonbrunn Palace
Only part of the huge palace as
seen from the front.

02 The Palace
Sun shining on the palace.

03 Me
Me in front of a beautiful deciduous vine.

04 Viennese squirrel
The squirrels here are dark brown - different to the ones in London.

05 Palace
The back of the palace.

06 Gardens
A fountain in the middle of the pond.

07 Me
Me standing in lots of leaves.

08 Horse and Carriage
This was tempting, there was a lot of walking to do in these gardens!

09 Statue
One of the many beautiful statues.

10 Looking down
At this stage we were half way up the hill to the Gloriette.

11 Gloriette
Reflection in one of the many ponds.

12 Gloriette
The Gloriette.

13 Palace from Gloriette
Looking at the palace from the Gloriette.

14 Jess and I
Us at the Gloriette, palace behind us.

15 Gloriette
The garden building which has a cafe on the ground floor.

16 Squirrel
A curious squirrel.

17 Emu!
We were very surprised to see an emu here!

18 Trees
Some of the many trees growing in the garden.

19 Flower
A gorgeous flower.

20 Statue
Another water feature.

21 National coloured flowers
Red and white flowers- the colours of the Austrian flag.