We drove to the Schonbrunn Palace today for the ‘Grand Tour’. Very cool place, fantastic architecture, interior decoration and grounds. The tour took us through about 40 rooms, but that was just a fraction of the whole building. 1440 rooms in total we’ve been told. And this was just their ‘Summer Palace’. Rather eccentric these aristocratic types weren’t they? After doing our circuit, we went for a wander through the grounds past the fountain and up to the Gloriette Monument, which gave us a fantastic view looking back over the grounds, buildings and the city beyond. As well as the formal gardens the grounds hold the worlds oldest zoo and also a great area for kids young and old. A maze and playground type area which was a lot of fun. We ended up spending most of the day here and could have easily spent more time still.
After this it was time for the show. We understood that this was a casual dress affair, but we didn’t realize how casual, until some of the tour groups showed up. We also didn’t realize that wolf whistles were part of the protocol. It was a fairly small theatre, so it was a little cramped and not quite what we had in mind, but quite cool nonetheless. The eight members of the Vienna Orchestra put on a good show and gave us a taste of what a full live performance would be like.
There is a film festival going on here at the moment with free films showing on a huge screen outside the Civic centre, so we decided to hang around for a look. We have to say that an operatic DVD on a big outside screen just doesn’t quite have the same effect as what I imagine the live show to be. But it didn’t put us off completely we went back the next night. They were showing a Sonny Rollins concert this time. We only caught the last few minutes of it though, but what we saw was most excellent. We got delayed by the Giant Ferris Wheel. Built in 1897, with a height of 65 meters. Very impressive. There was a group in the car in front of us being served, what appeared to be, a birthday dinner. After each rotation they were given another course. How cool would that be.
We spent the rest of Sunday mooching around the central city gazing at the fantastic buildings that appeared around every corner, the magnificent churches, the museums that cover every obscure collection that you can imagine. Vienna is a fantastic city, we loved it.
After this it was time for the show. We understood that this was a casual dress affair, but we didn’t realize how casual, until some of the tour groups showed up. We also didn’t realize that wolf whistles were part of the protocol. It was a fairly small theatre, so it was a little cramped and not quite what we had in mind, but quite cool nonetheless. The eight members of the Vienna Orchestra put on a good show and gave us a taste of what a full live performance would be like.
There is a film festival going on here at the moment with free films showing on a huge screen outside the Civic centre, so we decided to hang around for a look. We have to say that an operatic DVD on a big outside screen just doesn’t quite have the same effect as what I imagine the live show to be. But it didn’t put us off completely we went back the next night. They were showing a Sonny Rollins concert this time. We only caught the last few minutes of it though, but what we saw was most excellent. We got delayed by the Giant Ferris Wheel. Built in 1897, with a height of 65 meters. Very impressive. There was a group in the car in front of us being served, what appeared to be, a birthday dinner. After each rotation they were given another course. How cool would that be.
We spent the rest of Sunday mooching around the central city gazing at the fantastic buildings that appeared around every corner, the magnificent churches, the museums that cover every obscure collection that you can imagine. Vienna is a fantastic city, we loved it.
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