During the second day in Vienna, we went through the wonders in the outskirts.
Schloss Schönbrunn is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence.
In the year 1569, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased a large floodplain of the Wien river beneath a hill, where a former owner, in 1548, had erected a mansion called Katterburg. The emperor ordered the area to be fenced and put game there such as pheasants, ducks, deer and boar, in order to serve as the court's recreational hunting ground. In a small separate part of the area, "exotic" birds such as turkeys and peafowl were kept. Fishponds were built, too.
The name Schönbrunn i.e. "beautiful spring", has its roots in an artesian well in the area.
During the next century, it was used as a hunting and recreation ground.
But it wouldn't be until Archduchess consort of Austria, Queen of Germany, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia, named Eleonora Gonzaga (who loved hunting) spent so much time there that it became her widow's residence after the death of her husband, Ferdinand II. In 1643, she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion. In 1642 came the first mention of the name "Schönbrunn" on an invoice. The origins of the Orangery seem to go back to Eleonora Gonzaga as well.
This is a lovely place for a morning walk, it is also possible to visit the Palace (but buy the ticket in advance OR come very early, as the masses are huge) and the labyrinth.
The Orangery offers superb views of the whole place.
Train and time for some fun, can you guess where we are going?
Yay!! Prater!!
Prater dates back to the time of the Austrian Empire, when Emperor Josef II made the Prater (which has been serving as Imperial hunting ground until then) open to public in 1766. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened up on the grounds and the Wurstelprater was born.
The Wiener Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Ferris wheel at the entrance. One of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.
The water trunks may not be so old, but they seem a lot of fun ^_^
It's such an old style place... That reminds better (younger) times.
Luckily, there were more than burger spots in Prater to calm our appetite. Some welcoming Beisl (or Beisel) were also around. The word Beisl is probably Jewish. It originates from the word Bajiss, which means house. Beisls, which evolved in the 18th century are traditional inns in Vienna, that offering local specialities. The style of a Beisl is like trattoria in Italy or Kneipe in Germany.
Beisl are known because of their measuring beverages, panelled walls, hooks for clothes on the wall, mobile partition walls, wooden tables, checked tablecloth, choice of food and beverages displayed on blackboard, spice rack on the table and marking the frequenters' tables. All Viennese specialities are available, such as Tafelspitz (braised beef garnished with chips, chives sauce, spinach, horseradish and apple puree), Vanillierostbraten (roasted meat with garlic) and Schnitzel (fried meat). Besides the meat dishes, soups are also very popular.
The choice of beverages consists mainly of ales and porters and in most of the Beisls one can also buy the so-called mixed beer (ale mixed with porter). As a dessert, we recommend the famous home-made apple strudel (Apfelstrudel).
and PRETZELS. They also have them. Delicious as a bite of heaven, addictive as crack cocaine.
Full tummy, happy faces.
Next stop, Starbucks for some, Opera for others.
It rained. We ended up improvising some dinner at the 5-people suite but eventually... We were out for a fun night. I'm not good at staying up all night, but I reckon IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. Even though I drank 1.5 RedBull and slept 3 hours. And we had some late-night drama, with Blanca's coat getting lost in the cloakroom.
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