Events 10/28: Vienna again

Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/KCfRW7iGVeqSKyJz7

So, Friday morning, we got up, and went to Vienna, for real this time. It was about a 3-hour bus ride, not too long. We got to our first stop, Schönbrunn palace, a little late, however.

This picture is actually from after we went inside. Before, we were rushing to make our tour at 10:00. It was an audio tour, with a little PDA type device you held up to your ear. I don't know how we could have been late, but apparently it was important we got there by 10.

The palace was beautiful, but they didn't allow pictures, unfortunately. It was interesting learning about Franz Joseph I, the last emperor of the Habsburg empire, since we had just read a book about the time period, that talked about him a decent amount. There were things about his wife, as well. Apparently, while we know Franz Joseph loved her profusely, we have little idea of whether she loved him, and the evidence suggests she did not. She lived an independent lifestyle, traveling all over on her own, rarely spending time in the palace with her husband. Unfortunately, this eventually led to her death, when she was killed by an Italian revolutionary while traveling.

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After the tour, we split up and went to the palace gardens, which were beautiful.

Lots of walking, tho. My group even went up a hill to see a building under construction, with a cool pond nearby. Don't know what the building was about.

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After exploring the gardens, we went to a bunch of places I went last weekend. We walked to Belvedere Palace and the Hofburg Palace with the tour guide, then stopped for lunch. Lunch was at an interesting buffet-type place. There was a central area, which kind of had sections. There was a buffet, but I got schnitzel, which was a limited amount, but I was also allowed one plate of sides, so I loaded up. It was delicious. After that, we split up. I went with some people who were going where I had been last weekend, going to St. Steven's cathedral and St. Peter's church, and ended back at Maria Theresa Square. While waiting with some people, I found you could go inside the bushes there.

We left after that. The bus ride back was fine, and I went to bed, again with a trip in the morning: Prague.