1979 Vienna (8/12/1979)

Sunday, August 12, 1979

Arrived in Vienna at 6:45 and woke up just before the conductor came along to clear out the train! First order of business was to join the long lines to get our money changed. Then we went to the restroom where the lady attendant wiped the toilet seat, then used her key to lock us in the stall! (Simply turning the door handle from the inside freed us!) Throughout Europe, except Spain where we have traveled so far, we usually have had to pay a fee to use the lavatories.

We checked our baggage, ate our cold McDonald’s breakfast of apple pies and flat shakes, and planned our Vienna tour. First we walked to the Schönbrunn palace which reminded us of what we thought Versailles would look like, with a huge sprawling building, beautifully landscaped grounds with flowers galore, huge fountains, etc.

Schönbrunn

Tamiko with a fountain

Schönbrunn gardens

We climbed up to a huge monument to get a view of the palace and Vienna.

Kathy snapped a photo for an Italian-speaking couple. Lots of Italians here, as well as the Asians and English-speaking tourists. Back down on the palace grounds we sniffed out a zoo and toured one of the fancy greenhouses.

Schönbrunn conservatory

Schönbrunn conservatory ticket

In the latter was a tropical room with temperatures near 90 degrees and probably 100% humidity. Northern Europe has been cool for us; we wear jackets as the natives run around in shorts. But this tropical room went to the other extreme. The plants were fantastic!

After viewing the postcards of the interior of the palace, we decided we didn't have to pay to see them in real life. We took a tram into central Vienna to see the Hofburg, stopping first to watch the antics of a leaf and grass-eating swan, and to take a photo. Waited patiently for the swan to pose properly. Just after clicking the camera, a guard came to chase us away, since we weren't supposed to be on the grass. In all the Vienna parks were signs to “Keep off the grass.”

Hofburg swan

Walked around the Hofburg and Spanish Riding School buildings which were closed. We were able to view one palace with the crown jewel collection that was larger than Denmark’s, but not as impressive. A lot of the stones were uncut and just glued on haphazardly it seemed, but glued on with gold! Saw an agate bowl once mistaken for the Holy Grail.

Hofburg Treasury ticket

Then we went in search of an eatery, but most of the inexpensive places were closed. Somehow ended up at St Stephen’s Cathedral which had a patterned tile roof.

We finally found a McDonald’s which was super crowded, but that wasn't the reason these strange guys were literally breathing down our necks! We ate in a park where the wind blew the fountain mist in our direction. As we finished eating, we found the mist was turning to rain. So in the rain we walked to Belvedere Palace to explore the supposed sculpted gardens. But they turned out to be only well-trimmed hedges, or at least in the process of being trimmed hedges. First we saw a mediocre fountain, then a fantastic cascading fountain. The palace itself was more elegant than Schönbrunn. We were glad we came to see it, even if it was pouring rain. We took the underground trams back to the train station. In the station café we were served hot chocolate by a couple grumpy waitresses, then we stocked up on bread and water for our night train trip from Vienna to Zürich. On this train, our compartment had up to five people with a capacity for six, and one French-Swiss girl managed to take up all the unused seats, two to four at a time! Can’t say we enjoyed her company, as she also was the only one to smoke in our non-smoking car.

Map of Vienna

Next: Zürich.