Mike and I have talked about visiting Vienna since we really started doing serious travel about 15 years ago. He had visited in the 1960’s and had some very fond memories of his time here. He has always wanted to come back to Vienna to revisit some of his favorite spots. Schoenbrun Palace was one of those places. After visiting, I can see why he wanted to return. The views, and the experience, were priceless….
My favorite hotel clerk suggested that we go to the Palace on Sunday because the weather was supposed to be clear. He said that we really didn’t need to go into the Palace. After all, one palace is about the same as the next. But he said that we really should spend some time in the garden. He also suggested that we go early in order to beat the crowds and the tour buses. You don’t have to tell us twice! We were up and on the metro by 9:00 am (early for us). Surely, this would be early enough to beat the crowds! We even decided to delay breakfast until we got to the Palace and get something there. “The early bird gets the worm”, as they say. So, we were off!
As we exited the hotel and rounded the corner of our street, we were whipped into a frenzy by the wind! UH OH! Maybe this wasn’t the best idea ever. But, who knows, maybe it would get warmer and less windy as we went. When we got off the metro, it was still cold and really windy. So, we decided to get a snack and decide our next move.
The snack turned out to be a very dry and stale brioche and a decent cup of coffee for each of us. This cost us a whopping $30 Euro. WOW! We were even more discouraged now. So, the negotiation began. Should we stay and tough it out, or should we go. In the end, I decided that I would stay and at least look at the garden. If it was too cold, I could always go back to Vienna and see something else. The others decided to join me. We were all glad we decided to stay.
Schoenbrun Palace is rivaled only by Versailles, which is outside of Paris. They are often compared and rightly so. They are both spectacular in size and the gardens are very comparable.
As we walked into the courtyard of the Schoenbrun, it was suddenly warmer. YIPPEE!! There is a God! We walked further into the garden and wound our way through some smaller garden areas and then moved into the main courtyard area. This was where we got a real treat!
As we stood at the back side of the Palace, there was a lovely fountain directly in front of us. As we looked further up the hill, we could see a small pond with some statuary behind it. There was a wide spiral walking path leading up the hill to the statuary. The path was set in a well-manicured green lawn. It was stunning. We decided to walk to the top, as the height of the statuary promised a spectacular view of the city as we looked back toward the Palace.
Carrie and Gene are faster walkers than Mike and I, so they went ahead. Mike and I meandered up the path at a very leisurely pace, stopping now and then to sit and take in the view of the city and to take some pictures. When we reached the top, we stopped for a coffee and small snack and then slowly headed back down. It was the most relaxing afternoon I have spent in quite a long time.
When we reached the bottom, Mike remembered that he had visited a small museum that featured carriages that had been used in the past to transport the royal families. He suggested that we try to find that and take a look. What an interesting museum. There were carriages for every function that you can imagine…..formal functions, everyday functions, hunting, funerals, play dates…… HA!. There were even carriages that were specially made for the transport of the children of the royal families to different types of functions. These were mirror images of the larger carriages that their parents rode in. Lots of pomp and circumstance! This was very interesting. Easy to see where the feelings of entitlement were fostered.
The most interesting thing to me was a history of Empress Elisabeth, the wife of Franz Josef, the one-time emperor of Austria. Elisabeth was a fascinating woman. She was the cousin of Franz Josef and married to him at the young age of 15. Marriage, bearing children and ascending to this position at such a young age, was very difficult for Elisabeth, who was really just a child herself. She struggled with the public scrutiny and criticism.
She was very bright, though, and paid attention to the things that were going on around her and formed some very strong opinions of how things should be and how people should be treated. She also had a soft spot for the lower classes, which was definitely tabu. Her views were not popular with the royals or the Austrians, and she was ostracized. As a result, she traveled extensively and never really returned home. The history said she felt the most free when she was traveling. I can relate to that….but, I am always ready to go home in between trips. (Need to see my beloved cat….you know how it is.) In the end, Elisabeth was assassinated at a fairly young age. Very sad.
I found Elisabeth’s story to be very touching. She was a very forward thinking woman with very strong opinions…and, she wasn’t afraid to share them. To top if off, she was living in a time in history when this was not the norm for women, especially those of royalty, and so was deemed unacceptable. These views made her something of an outcast.
I like people who are not typical. They challenge me and I find them interesting. In fact, most of my friends fall into that category….and, I think of myself in that way. I am always doing something or another that is out of the norm. I kind of like it that way!
I think I would have liked Elisabeth….maybe we would have been friends. You never know. I can tell you this, though, I would have liked to travel with her and have been a guest at her beautiful summer palace, Schoenbrun……priceless…….
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