Vienna day 3 - Schönbrunn Palace

Lourens and I decided to take the day and explore Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn Palace is just outside of the city centre and was the Summer residence of the Hapsburg Royal Family during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.



http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en.html  
After a short tram ride and walk we ended up at the massive courtyard entrance to Schönbrunn. The sheer scale of the palace is so intimidating.  There were a lot of people visiting the palace and what looked like some choir and singing groups who must have been putting on performances there.

Lourens and I decided to go for a walk through the gardens and immediately found ourselves in an unmanicured part of the garden by sneaking through the hedge (a relatively common phenomenon with Mensans to want to end up where you're not supposed to be).

The gardens are beautiful and provided some shade in the heat of the day.

We then went to the gardens on the other side of the palace where a spectacular fountain of merpeople and seahorses is at the bottom of a hill. There are so many amazing marble sculptures. To the right of the fountain is the Tiergarten (Zoo) and the palace labyrinth. 

We then met up with Roeland and went on a tour through the main chambers in the palace. We weren't able to take any photos inside here which was a shame. It was interesting to note that all the paintings and the furniture in there were of the  royals who lived there at the time, Franz Joseph and his family, unlike other palaces where all the paintings are of relatives and ancestors who had gone before. It seemed more like the family home of the royals, albeit on an extremely large and decadent scale. The tour was only one floor of many, but it did give a wonderful insight into the lives of that family. 

After the tour we stopped for a snack and then after deciding not to go in the labyrinth and taking a lot of photos, Lourens and I went up the hill to check out the palace reservoir and buildings up the top. The view from the top was spectacular and was a great way to see some more of the city.

It was wonderful to spend time with the LEAP crew before heading to Bratislava. I'm off to meet Jessie at the airport in the morning and head to Bratislava by bus, so I'll update you all from there!