Vienna 4: Schönbrunn to the Danube

   We were up early in the morning on Saturday and, after some granola and tea, took the tram to the Schönbrunn Palace. The summer home of the Hapsburg family was stunning, ornate, opulent, and steeped in history. The walls had the stories of the Emperors, Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette, Sissi (Elizabeth von Bayern)... written into them by the royal family and a the best artists of the period. After touring the personal apartments we walked out to the gardens. Funny, it was a pretty popular place for Vienna's morning runners! Warm, just everything ready to bloom... We didn't walk up to the Gloriette, but next time! (tea, Mom?)

   The next stop: Belvedere, yet another Schloß/Palace, where we met the three boys who came up from Graz. Two baroque buildings filled with different galleries. The first section was medieval art. It was so interesting, walking through scenes of the crucifixion with my friends from Turkey. Mediha said that she would try to find me an english translation of the Muslim version of the story. Upstairs we found romantic, expressionist, modern... all sorts of pieces. The most famous is probably "the Kiss," by Gustav Klimt. His artwork did not speak to me as much as the portraits in the "interwar period" gallery. In the lower palace (a 5 minute walk away through the gardens) there was a modern exhibit focusing on the impact of industry and mechanism on art in the past 150 years. A little more abstract, but very cool! Even so, after 3 hours of sensory bombardment and processing Manet, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh,  and a so many others, I was ready for a change of pace.

    I discovered that I really prefer travelling in smaller groups. Two people and you might have trouble making decisions. Seven people... ummm, well... there may have been some misunderstandings between Belvedere and the market where we finally ate dinner. I somehow ended up being the navigator, and thought that we were going back into the city center... they wanted to go to the Nachmarkt. I thought that we could walk past a cafe, they thought I had chosen a place to eat. Anyways, I may have come across a little bratty- but we made it to the market! aaaand they decided to go to the same place as the day before, where there was no vegetarian entrée. So I went a few doors down and had vegetarian couscous. Then we walked into town and got Gelato (tiramisu and biscotti!!) and then rode the U-bahn out to the Donauinsel to enjoy the last rays of sun setting over the Blue Danube. Then it was back to Graz for some much needed sleep and time off for my feet :)

That's it for the [first] Vienna adventure, folks! Thanks for following, I would love to hear from you!