Last day in the beautiful Wien. On this day, I only need to visit Schonbrunn Palace so I took my time to eat my breakfast and pack my rucksack.
I totally underestimated the time needed to spend in this UNESCO world cultural heritage. This massive ensemble of palace, park and a zoo was the summer residence for the Habsburg rulers. The admission fee is quite steep but despite that, it is a crowd magnet. There was quite a queue by the time I reached the ticketing counter. Photography not allowed inside the palace. I paid for the grand tour where one gets to see 40 rooms. Excellent audio guide gives a background history of the rooms, royal family and Habsburg rulers like Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) and Emperor Franz Stephan and Empress Maria Theresa. Really tired at the end of the tour. Next, is visiting the magnificent park. Looking back, I should have paid for Imperial Tour (lesser rooms) and skip the visit to interior of Gloriette, Crown Prince (Privy) garden and Maze. One can visit the area outside the Gloriette for free. It is located high up on the brow of a hill with great view of Wien and Schonbrunn palace. The Privy Garden is gorgeous but so are the many gardens at the main park (free admission) with glorious fountains like Neptune fountain, Obelisk fountain and Roman Ruins. In the Maze, there are some hedges designed as labyrinths. I tried one of it and ended up taking at least 10 minutes to exit...
After the park, I visited the Marionettes museum before boarding a tube to return to the hostel.
Back in the hostel, I collected my rucksack and used the wifi to gather information about Prague. Wien is a great city for opera and classical music. Just to have a taste of an operette, I bought a ticket for the night show. I bought a standing post because I assumed I may need to leave halfway. Surprisingly, the standing location has quite a good view of the stage and the operette has English subtitles. I actually enjoy the whole performance of Stehplatz Parterre. Lead soprano singers have great powerful vocals After the show, I took a tube to Praterstern train station.
Spent the night in the station because the train to Prague was at early morning...Thankfully there is nice waiting room with chairs at the platform which is protective against the cold.
I totally underestimated the time needed to spend in this UNESCO world cultural heritage. This massive ensemble of palace, park and a zoo was the summer residence for the Habsburg rulers. The admission fee is quite steep but despite that, it is a crowd magnet. There was quite a queue by the time I reached the ticketing counter. Photography not allowed inside the palace. I paid for the grand tour where one gets to see 40 rooms. Excellent audio guide gives a background history of the rooms, royal family and Habsburg rulers like Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) and Emperor Franz Stephan and Empress Maria Theresa. Really tired at the end of the tour. Next, is visiting the magnificent park. Looking back, I should have paid for Imperial Tour (lesser rooms) and skip the visit to interior of Gloriette, Crown Prince (Privy) garden and Maze. One can visit the area outside the Gloriette for free. It is located high up on the brow of a hill with great view of Wien and Schonbrunn palace. The Privy Garden is gorgeous but so are the many gardens at the main park (free admission) with glorious fountains like Neptune fountain, Obelisk fountain and Roman Ruins. In the Maze, there are some hedges designed as labyrinths. I tried one of it and ended up taking at least 10 minutes to exit...
After the park, I visited the Marionettes museum before boarding a tube to return to the hostel.
Back in the hostel, I collected my rucksack and used the wifi to gather information about Prague. Wien is a great city for opera and classical music. Just to have a taste of an operette, I bought a ticket for the night show. I bought a standing post because I assumed I may need to leave halfway. Surprisingly, the standing location has quite a good view of the stage and the operette has English subtitles. I actually enjoy the whole performance of Stehplatz Parterre. Lead soprano singers have great powerful vocals After the show, I took a tube to Praterstern train station.
Spent the night in the station because the train to Prague was at early morning...Thankfully there is nice waiting room with chairs at the platform which is protective against the cold.
Schonbrunn palace and Privy garden
