My next stop was Vienna. I really love this city. It was so beautiful with amazing Roman and Gothic architecture, tasty chocolate shops, and fancy restaurants. After resting in the hostel for a bit, I walked around the neighborhood to explore. It was chilly again, and I was grateful Georgie lent me a scarf and dad’s ski cap before I left. I had weinerschnitzel a few times in Vienna, and they were all amazing. The first night I also went to an ice cream shop where they had a variety of parfaits and sundaes. I had the pistachio one. It had loads of whipped cream over ice cream, lots of pistachios, all covered in a pistachio sauce puree. It was delicious.
The next day, I went to Schloss Schonbrun. It is the summer palace for the Habsburgs. One famous daughter of Maria Theresa, was Marie Antoinette. I took a tour through the home with an audio guide. It was really interesting, and quite beautiful. There was a huge ballroom where Mozart played a concert for Maria Theresa when he was just 6 years old. The grounds were quite beautiful, but since it was the tail end of winter, not much was in bloom. I imagine in spring it is gorgeous. There were many fountains and trails all in the “backyard.” I encountered some friendly squirrels that were absolutely adorable with their large pointy ears. I think they are used to being fed, because they came right up to you. But, I was smart and didn’t pick any up for fear of being quarantined with rabies.
In the front of the summer home was a small Easter Market. Lots of school groups were visiting that day, and they were just as excited about the oversized Easter eggs, giant pretzels, and chocolates as I was. I really like looking at all the painted eggs as well. They reminded me of the ones mom made for Christmas. She is such a good artist! So is dad. What happened with me? Anyways, it was a fun trip to the summer residence. After that, I took the underground to the main part of the city.
