We had a sleep-in this morning as we didn't have any tours to attend. After breakfast, we went to the nearby internet cafe which was great because they were able to get my computer to work with their system. So I sent off long emails to everyone (probably bore them to tears) about our cruise trip so far. The cafe also had phone booths so we made some calls home. The internet and phone rates were very cheap so it was a good opportunity to communicate with “home”. After we leave Vienna tonight, it will be unknown territory as far as the communication goes – we'll see.
After lunch on board, we got on board the bus for our tour to Schȍnbrunn Palace. It was almost a disaster as I'd forgotten by camera and had to run back on board to get it before the bus left.
We had a nice drive to the palace with our guide pointing out significant sites and then when we arrived at the Palace he guided us through some of the Palace apartments, telling us some of the history of the Hapsburg family. The rooms we saw were so opulent and the same as they were in the past. It was wonderful to see the beauty of the rooms but at the same time I felt a bit disgusted that these people were living so richly with far more than they needed. Each of the “children” of the monarch (for example Empress Marie Therese had 16 children) were entitled to five rooms each and each one was trying to outdo the other with the extravagant decorations. The palace has many historical connections and we stood in the room in which Russian Premier Kruschev and American President Kennedy met in 1961. We also stood in the room in which Napoleon stayed when he visited, so that was pretty awesome.
After the tour we had some time to ourselves to explore the gardens of the Palace which were really beautiful with colourful flowers (including orange lantana!!), and magnificent statues and fountains. It was quite a hot afternoon, about 28 deg C. We then reboarded our buses and returned to the boat for dinner. Our boat leaves Vienna tonight.
After lunch on board, we got on board the bus for our tour to Schȍnbrunn Palace. It was almost a disaster as I'd forgotten by camera and had to run back on board to get it before the bus left.
We had a nice drive to the palace with our guide pointing out significant sites and then when we arrived at the Palace he guided us through some of the Palace apartments, telling us some of the history of the Hapsburg family. The rooms we saw were so opulent and the same as they were in the past. It was wonderful to see the beauty of the rooms but at the same time I felt a bit disgusted that these people were living so richly with far more than they needed. Each of the “children” of the monarch (for example Empress Marie Therese had 16 children) were entitled to five rooms each and each one was trying to outdo the other with the extravagant decorations. The palace has many historical connections and we stood in the room in which Russian Premier Kruschev and American President Kennedy met in 1961. We also stood in the room in which Napoleon stayed when he visited, so that was pretty awesome.
After the tour we had some time to ourselves to explore the gardens of the Palace which were really beautiful with colourful flowers (including orange lantana!!), and magnificent statues and fountains. It was quite a hot afternoon, about 28 deg C. We then reboarded our buses and returned to the boat for dinner. Our boat leaves Vienna tonight.
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