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Published: September 30th 2011
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Today was like most mornings, up early, breakfast and then at 7:45 a.m. we met our city guide, Angela, who was going to spend most of the day with us showing us this beautiful city. Our first stop was at the Schonbrunn Palace. It is easy to see why we had to leave so early this morning. We were the 1st in line to go through this spectacular palace and spent very little time waiting in line. The Schonbrunn Palace means “Beautiful Fountain.” The palace was owned by the Habsburg’s from 1200 to 1918. It is rich in history and we learned about the family and viewed many of the rooms. During the time of the Hapsburg Dynasty there was no electricity or running water. The palace is full of frescoed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, huge mirrors and gilded ornaments. Some of the wings, which were servant’s quarters and are now shops, were being refurbished. We next went out back to the formal gardens which were still in full bloom. While there, a photographer came to take our customary group picture. I was really happy that we had chosen this optional tour as it would have been a shame to miss it.
We also viewed St. Charles Church, Imperial Hofburg Palace, the Parliament and State Opera House.
Hofburg Palace is the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs for over 6 centuries, from the 1st emperor Rudolph of Habsburg to Charles I in 1918). The palace now houses the offices of the Austrian president and a number of museums. The Kaiserapparements are the former imperial apartments of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth.
At this time, the group began to splinter a bit as some wanted free time to explore and others wanted to go to the Lippizaner Stallion training. These magnificent horses are born black and it takes many years before they turn white. I would have loved to go watch but had made plans to go to the Treasury.
Next, we traveled back to the center of the city to visit the fabulous Imperial Treasury of the Austrian and Holy Roman Empire. There were crowns with many valuable gems such as pearls, diamonds and rubies. There were many garments that had intricate stitching done by hand and some of these garments were worn only once. It was truly amazing. Our guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour
fun with her sense of humor. Afterwards, we were let loose for a leisurely lunch and she pointed us in the direction of the Original Sacher Torte (chocolate cake). We were joined by some fellow travelers, a young woman from Singapore who was traveling by herself (she was very delightful) and a nice couple from Melbourne, Australia. Afterwards we were off to meet our city guide again for a tour of the Opera House. This was truly amazing. We got to hear a young woman auditioning for a job and then we went into the actual hall and sat and watched the workers on stage preparing the set for the evening’s performance. It looked like quite a production. We even got to go backstage which was huge and had lots of moving parts (floors going up and down and moving sideways. The backstage area was huge and there is a different program every night so you can imagine the work that goes into just 1 show.
Once the tour was done we hurried back to our hotel room hoping for a nap before getting ready for our next optional excursion which was a dinner, drinks and entertainment at a
restaurant in the countryside, Marchfielderhof. We were greeted with several of the wait staff standing outside the restaurant waving as we arrived and rolling out the red carpet as we approached the front door and then the cutting of the red ribbon. We were escorted to our tables and had a choice of about 6 or 7 choices, plus unlimited drinks. Next, we were serenaded by a trio playing violins. It was a fun evening but not yet over, because we had to go back to our hotel and pick up a few people from our tour group to go to a wonderful concert of Viennese Classical music including some of the most famous works of Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed by highly acclaimed soloists and dancers. Everyone enjoyed themselves very much.
This is the 2nd night of our stay here in Vienna and we must leave tomorrow, have our bags outside our doors at 7 a.m. and on the road by 7:50. Hmmm, I wonder what surprise is in store for us tomorrow.
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Sandy
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What a day that was! I got exhausted just reading your entry. How exciting for you to have all those memories. The evening sounded lovely and romantic!