Vienna, Austria

We made it to Vienna after spending New Years in Budapest.  I loved Vienna, and think it is definitely going to be on my Top Ten of 2016 travels.  The weather was a bit chilly, winter in Europe hangs around after the ball drops, but we found a really great cozy apartment on AirBnb.

Our first order of business was to explore the city.  The buildings are amazing, and what a beautiful city to be the capital!

While wandering the streets we found a great wurstelstand called Bitzinger. Oh my goodness we had the most delicious sausage with cheese stuffing!  It lives up to its reputation as the best sausage in Vienna.  I miss it already.

We went to the Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens.  The site is outstanding and is one of the most well preserved and impressive palaces in all of Europe that I have seen!  It is quite a summer residence for the Imperial Habsburg family who ran the Holy Roman Empire and later Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1273-1918.  There is emphasis on the history of the Palace  during the time of Maria Teresa and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi).  Maria Teresa was the only woman to officially rule the Habsburg empire.  She was a strong and effective empress, and a great social reformer.  Interestingly enough, she also welcomed the boy genius Mozart into her court, and thus created a star! Sisi on the other hand...while she is the darling to the local tourists-her popularity revolves around her narcissism and struggles with royal life. 

I would recommend going bright and early to get your ticket, because the waiting time can be VERY long.  You can also buy your ticket online if you prefer. You can take either a guided tour, or use their audioguide... I would recommend the audioguide.  We had to wait...so we explored the grounds. 

Pretty ponds, but too cold for water

Can you imagine this being your summer office? Well it was for Maria Teressa.

and I found some really good looking people to take photos of...

The rooms inside the Palace were lavish-Bohemian crystal chandeliers, white porcelain stoves and beautiful ornamentation covered in gold leaf.  

The Christmas Markets were still in swing so we had a chocolate dipped sweet pretzel with coconut flakes.

They no longer have the Habsburg treasures in the Schönbrunn Palace so we went to the Imperial Treasury.  I recommend taking the audioguide-the history behind each piece makes everything seem so much more precious!  The Treasury has an amazing collection of relics from the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire.  The Austrian crown jewels and an extensive collection of incredibly well-preserved royal robes are on display for people to oooo and awwww over. 

Hello Royal Crowns...can I have each one of you?

Amazing fabrics made of gold and pearls.

The largest emerald ever cut.

The cradle for Napoleons son, made out of 600 pounds of silver.

 Just beautiful trinkets...

After the Treasury we stopped in for a Habsburg delight at Demel.  The confectionery started in 1786, was the preferred chocolate of the Royals, and is still around today to as a very fancy delicacy shop. Their dark chocolate bar wonderful, and one of the best I have had so far!

We went to the Imperial Treasure at the Capuchin Monastery. This used to be where the members of the House of Habsburg stored their gifts and relics, but now it is filled with what's left of the Austrian's emperors, empresses and other Habsburg Royalty.  There are pewter coffins of all sizes to be seen. Each coffin had two locks, the key to one was kept by the monks and the other key was stored in the Imperial Palace inside a specially designed dresser.

The biggest double-coffin belongs to Maria Teresa (1717-1780) and her husband who she loved very much Franz I (1708-1765).

Sisi was burried alone, she did not like her husband (he was her cousin) and lived a miserable life after the death of her son.

Before heading back home we stopped for platschinkenkuchl and Scharren, which is the Austrian way of saying crepes and pancakes, and at Heindl's is where we found it. 

We tried a No. 11 (Viennese Meat pancake in a cheese sauce), and a No. 12 (a farmhouse bacon pancake with a mushroom cause). In case you were wondering, No. 11 took it for the win.  

For dessert we had the Feiner Vanilleschmarren Kaiserschmarren, which is a vanilla favored pancake, served with stewed strawberries.  It was delicious!

We loved Vienna, it is so beautiful.  I can't wait to come back in the spring when all the flowers are blooming.  It seems like it will be a great place to bring our bikes and explore. Good thing it is only a 5 hour drive from where we live, because we will definitely be back!