Schönbrunn Palace, Austria

The main reason we went to Vienna: to see the Schönbrunn Palace!

Janey not fully enjoying herself. Poor girl.

Schönbrunn is the former summer residence of the Habsburgs and it's BIG with 1,441 rooms (I wonder how long it took to count them - like did someone walk from room to room to double check?). Only about 40 rooms are shown to the public. Although the palace's exterior is Baroque, the interior was finished under Maria Theresa in an opulent Rococo.

No pictures allowed inside, so here are some from the internet:

Moving from room to room you are immersed in imperial splendor. The chandeliers are made of either Bohemian crystal or hand-carved wood with gold-leaf gilding. Thick walls hid the servants as they ran around stoking the ceramic stoves from the back and attending to other behind-the-scenes matters.

Then we walked around the beautiful grounds.

Unlike the garden's of Versailles, meant to shut out the real world, Schönbrunn's park was opened to the public in 1779 while the monarchy was still in full swing. It was part of Maria Theresa's reform policy, making the garden a celebration of the evolution of civilization from autocracy into real democracy. Today it's a delightful, sprawling place to wander.

Janey in a better mood.

Jane in Vienna in November 2013 and Jane in Vienna in February 2016. Still cute :) Up behind the Neptune fountain is the Gloriette: a purely decorative monument celebrating an obscure Austrian military victory. It now houses a cafe with a view.

One thing kids seem to universally love: chasing birds. Jane is no exception.

Looking back on Schönbrunn.

Me being me, of course I dragged us all up the zig-zag path to the top of the hill by the Gloriette. 

The views were worth all the huffing and puffing uphill!

The cafe inside the Gloriette. We took a peek, snapped a picture, and continued on.

Me and my valentine.

Lovely yellow Schönbrunn Palace set against the blue skies because once again we got lucky and the morning fog lifted revealing an amazingly beautiful day even when the weather had predicted rain!

We had a wonderful morning exploring this palace.

Then we headed to another palace - the Belvedere - and meandered around Vienna. All that is coming in a later entry!