Day 5 Vienna

Last night we dined at Wortner, a local Austrian restaurant which did not have an English translation to its menu so we took pot luck - a very palatable plate of perch, ratatouille and boiled potatoes and a wiener snitznel with mashed potatoes hit the spot. We had arrived there on two trams with a seemless conection. Vienna’s population is only about a third greater than Dublin’s both in the city and the greater metropolitan area but what a transport system it has! We crossed and recrossed the city effortlessly. 

Today, we visited Vienna’s top attraction - the Schonbrunn. 

We decided to take The Grand Tour in English.(€22pp) - duration 1 hour. Our guide was excellent and gave us a great history of the Hapsburgs, who ruled most of Europe from 13th to early 20th century and Schonbrunn was the summer palace of the Austro- Hungarian branch. 

The building was spectacular. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take photos. One of the Hapsburgs,    Marie Therese (women were entitled to succeed) had 19 children of which 11 survived - even among the aristocracy, infant mortality was very high. We saw a most impressively ornate bed where she met her courtiers after the birth of each child. It resembled a horizontal throne and took 20 years to create. By contrast Franz Josef was a frugal man, whose quarters were simply furnished and he refused to have water piped to his bedroom but instead had a wash basin and chamber pot! 

Marie Therese married all her daughters for political reasons to the crown princes of Europe and the infamous Marie Antonette married King Louis VI. Napoleon was also married to a Hapsburg and after Napoleon’s  defeat, his only son child was sent from France to his grandfather in Austria and Napoleon never saw him again.  

Mozart was a rising child prodegy in the rule of Marie Therese. Hearing of his talent, she invited him to perform for her. So excited was the 7 year old Mozart, that after the concert, he ran to the Empress, jumped on her lap and kissed her profusely. All held their breath but Marie Therese laughed and there were no consequences. A commoner did not touch a Royal! 

The palace was not unlike Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors. It had Blue and Black Chinese room and one made from walnut imported from Canada! During WW1, this room was disassembled and hidden in a salt mine to be reconstructed after the war. 

The Empress Marie Therese had access from her bedroom to the rear garden - what a garden. 

After WWI, being on the losing side, the Habsburg had to leave Austria and take refuge in Switzerland. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was no more. 

It was time to head for the airport - again connected by rail to the city, and home. As we boarded, the rain commenced. We had wonderful weather 25-30 degrees - the only rain we experienced was in the mountains on Sunday afternoon - sunshine only in Vienna.  A most enjoyable trip!