After spending a day and night in Salzburg, we headed back to Wien with a three hour long train ride. After dropping off our bags we headed to the Belvedere Palace. There is an art gallery here, focusing on the works of Klimt, an Austrian painter. We decided to not go to the museum, instead just wandering around the gardens. Most of the Earth was dug up, similar to the Mirabel Gardens in Salzburg, but it was still pretty nonetheless. I can only imagine what it would look like during the spring and summer when the gardens are filled with blooming flowers. The day we were there was extremely cold. The wind was blowing and just being outside made you want to cringe. Horrible day to be traveling - such a big difference compared to the Salzburg the day before.
Looking at the Upper Belvedere from the gardens
The Lower Belvedere from the sculpture garden
After wandering the grounds of this massive palace, we headed to another massive palace - the Schönbrunn Palace. The palace showcases the lifestyle of the Hapsburg monarchs before their downfall in 1918. The palace was mainly used as a summer residence and had a large area for hunting and recreation. Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, used the palace the most during the 19th century. He was born and also died there, spending the majority of his time within this palace. We toured the palace, seeing the majority of the rooms. Honestly, I don't really remember much about the rooms. They were very grand, filled with paintings, elaborate decorations and fancy furniture. We were given an audio guide, but it went through so much information so fast.
The palace was HUGE!
After taking the tour inside, we headed out into the grounds. There are tons of things to see and do within the grounds of the palace. It has its own zoo, a maze and labyrinth, a number of fountains and various different buildings. We walked to see the Neptune Fountain and the Gloriette.
Looking at the Neptune Fountain and the Gloriette from the Palace.
The Gloriette was set on top of a hill. We could see quite a distance surrounding the palace into Wien. The world "gloriette" meaning, little glory, is a building that is usually placed in an elevated area and the one in Wien is no exception. This one was originally used as a dining hall and festive hall for Franz Joseph I. Now it holds a viewing terrace and a small cafe.
The view from the Gloriette.
After wandering around the gardens in the FREEEEZING cold, we headed back into the city in search of the Haus der Musik. The museum itself was very interactive - there were tons of things to play with and/or touch. Kids would probably really enjoy it. I was a bit freaked out touching everything (germs! >.<) The museum started with some information about how sound is made and how we perceive sounds. One of the first exhibits went through a series of sound illusions and the reasons behind them. That was really interesting! For example, a scale is typically made up of 8 notes and as you continue the notes get higher and higher. They showed one scale that never seemed to end. Its called the Shepard's scale and they have examples of it on the internet. Using science, they tried to explain what was going on, but so much of it was over my head! I didn't understand it at all. In another area of the museum, they went through the different eras of music and had examples of the various well known musicians at the time. It reminded me so much of music history class! We were given audio guides so we could hear music as well as the narration.
In a final area focusing on the Wien Philharmonic Orchestra, they had this display where you could "compose" your own music using a set of dice. Here are our results:
By the end of the museum, we were starving and we went in search of some good Austrian food. One of my high school friends who is currently on exchange in Wien recommended we head to Figlmuller for some Schnitzel. En route to the restaurant we stumbled upon the Musik Meile Wien. There were tons of stars on the ground with many composers I am familiar with, and some that I was not.
We finally made it to the restaurant, ordered our schnitzel and when it came, boy was I glad we decided to share. The portion was HUGEE! Bigger than my face - probably twice the size of my face.
We ordered it with a side of potatoes and salad which were both very yummy. I found the schnitzel to be really salty (a trend I'm starting to notice in European food), especially around the edges. The centre was less so and tasted much better. Now I've had schnitzel in Austria!
For more pictures, click here.
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