EUROPE & DC '23 • Day 19: Vienna, Austria

MORE PALACES • THE GOLDEN HALL

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SCHONBRUNN PALACE

WIth our newly acquired metro knowledge and our validated pass, it was off to the Schonbrunn Palace this morning. It is reminiscent of Versailles, but not as spectacular. And when we mentioned our trip to the breakfast host at the hotel, he replied that it is often referred to as a little Versailles. It has the expansive gardens and fountains around the palace, and the large courtyard in front of the palace, but not the grandeur or French flair.

We really couldn't determine which ticket to buy as it is presented as a combo ticket. Without knowing what is worth seeing we really spent more than necessary to see some pretty underwhelming parts of the grounds. 3 of the exterior areas that require a ticket were really unnecessary to pay for; the orangery, the privy garden and the top of the Gloriette. You can simply walk to the Gloriette for free and see the palace grounds, the paid view from the rooftop really didn't add anything to the experience. The 2 gardens were truly nothingburgers and I would not recommend paying for them. The large palace gardens are free to enjoy though and worth making the trip to the palace, even if not going in to see the interior rooms. We did enjoy the Maze though, and thought it was worth the fee.

Inside the palace you get to walk in the room that Mozart gave his first concert, at the age of 6. That is pretty cool.

No pictures allowed inside, sorry.

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THE GOLDEN HALL

We only spent 3 nights in Vienna, but you have to hear at least some music. The Vienna Philharmonic was not playing on the days we were here, so I opted to get tickets for what I would call, "The Tourist Experience" performance. Lots of Mozart, Strauss, period attire and a smaller ensemble (30ish), instead of the large modern sized symphony orchestra. We saw the performance in the Golden Hall at the Musikverien. I hadn't actually heard all these pop hits of the classics performed live before, and it was interesting to hear them performed with the smaller ensemble. Jimi showed up too ;-)