Vienna Day 2

Day 2

After a relaxed breakfast we walked to the station and managed to secure a day ticket each €8 on a machine. Then we got a tram to opera and a UBan to Schloss Schonbrunn. We didn’t need to work out the way to the palace. We just followed the hoards. (We’d bought timed tickets €35 last night on-line for noon as we weren’t sure how long it would take to get there).

It was a pretty spectacular palace. More opulence from empress Marie Theresa. #1 daughter had done the Hapsburgs for A level history and I think she came here when inter-railing when she was in 6 form so I was thinking particularly of her and her friend. Particularly sumptuous was the white and gold mirror room where 6 year old Mozart played for the empress, and the great gallery where Kennedy met Khrushchev.

After we’d toured the rooms with an audio guide we went round the gardens which will be nice in summer, and walked up to the Neptune fountain sadly with no water and even higher to Gloriette which gave spectacular views down to the palace and beyond to more of Vienna.

Then we went to a restaurant for a late lunch, also booked last night. Jenny had Wiener Schnitzel (pork coated in a thick breaded mix) and I had a fish on sweet potato mash but it was pretty bland. We had a glass of wine which was nice then got the public transport back to the hotel, giving us a couple of hours to relax and get ready to go to the opera. It was Don Carlos which we’d not seen before.

Our day ticket took us there by tram. The staircase was ornate but the interior wasn’t as stunning as other opera houses we’d been too. Unfortunately the only tickets we could get were €80 and in the gods. A big man was in my line of vision to the stage but the music was wonderful as was the singing. It gave what opera should - confusion, betrayal, doomed lovers and death. We loved the drama and emotion of it. We got the tram back and need to get to bed for an early start tomorrow. I wish we’d booked to stay longer as we won’t see half of what’s on our list!

We walked just shy of 16,000 steps, almost 7 miles.

Top left and bottom right are the opera and the rest is the palace