Not long ago, Frau A and I took a weekend trip to Vienna. This time, instead of driving (like to Stuttgart), we decided to take the train. The ride itself is about 4 hours and 20 minutes. At this distance, the door-to-door time is just about equal with flying (but still a little cheaper, when you factor in the ride to the airport). We could have driven in slightly less time, but the train was more relaxing and no traffic jams.
We all learned about the Austro-Hungarian Empire in school, but still it is easy to forget just how close Vienna is to Hungary and the Czech Republic (probably because you think of Austira as part of the modern German language block. In fact, there is a boat that travels along the Danube to Bratislava, Slovakia in just over an hour. (next time...)
One of the most popular tourist destinations in Vienna is Schoenbrunn Palace and Gardens. It was very cold that day in February, so we spent an abbreviated time snapping photos of the palace and grounds. In comparison with sites in Munich like the Nymphenburg Palace, Schoenbrunn has a much more regal and powerful feel -- it was the home of the Habsburgs and center of power in its time.
Here I caught Frau A taking photos of the front gate. It was a blustery day, so I used the Olympus "dramatic tone" filter to increase contrast and give the picture more punch.
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We took a short tour of the palace (of course, a very vary small part -- it's enormous... wonder what the other thousands of square meters are used for?). For a moment, the sun was hitting the back of the palace nicely, and the colors came out beautifully. That's Frau A again on the right, snapping her own pics. Again, perhaps not as ornate as other palaces, but has a really large presense. Impressive.
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You see the balcony in the above photo? This is the back of the palace, facing the gardens. From here, you get a nice view of the grounds -- massive scene. This was the end of winter, so things were a bit gray and muted, but you might imagine what it could be in the spring a summer. I also particularly like the structure on the hill at the far end. It looks like a mystical site in a fantasy movie.
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Again, since it was mostly an overcast day (except the few minutes for the photo of the back of the palace above, where skies magically cleared) I took the opportunity to use the "dramatic tone" art filter again and caught sun streaming through the clouds. Nice otherworldly effect.
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After hours on your feet walking around the palace and gardens, you need some good food (schoenes essen) and we definitely found that. No, we did not go the Hotel Sacher and get the famous sachertorte. However we did have Wiener Schnitzel and Zwiebelrostbraten at the "12 Apostles Cellar". The building has been around since 1339 and it's known for traditional Austrian cuisine. We also had the local "double malt" beer to go with the dishes. As expected, it was a bit sweeter than a typical Munich helles, but the malt was roasted more darkly and it had a nice, complex flavor.
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Later in the weekend, we enjoyed some goulash -- no, not the soup but yes, this is a Hungarian dish leftover from the empire. It's hung around because it's good. The meat is falling-apart tender, and the paprika-rich sauce is fantastic. And we washed it down with more local beer. Notice that these glasses are different than the Munich maß. They're more squat - shorter and wider - but still give you a half-liter. The most common Viennese beer is the märzen, like the beer server at Oktoberfest. A little darker and sweeter than the standard Munich helles. Excellent.
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Yes, those are two shots of local schnapps in front of the beer. Cultural research, you know.
Despite skipping the sachertorte, we did indulge in two other Vienna classics: apfelstrudel and chocolate truffel torte. Sooooo good. There are so many nice cafes in Vienna, and they all have a selection of sweets like these.
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We have more photos, and more thoughts to post about Vienna... but we really can't wait to return. A great weekend getaway from home base in Munich.