Matt Visits Vienna

Date: March 24th - March 29th

I'm posting the dates on the next few posts because they are so old and should have been done a while ago.







Matt and his friend, Ben, came to visit Vienna for almost a week, and quickly realized, as most would, there isn't that much to do in Vienna. After about two days of extensive walking they'd probably seen most of what Vienna had to offer. I was busy with class during the week he was here, but was off once the weekend finally came.

On Friday I took my last class and then we headed up to the hills that surround Vienna. Up there we walked around for a bit, enjoying the panorama of the city. Eventually we headed down and went to a heuriger, which is a restaurant that serves wine it has recently made from its nearby vineyard. Usually the food is from nearby farms as well.

Oh and another funny thing, there's a garbage incinerator by my university here... it's not all that different from Rutland High School, I just traded up from a dump to an incinerator. haha

Schönbrunn Palace

This past weekend we visited Schönbrunn which is located in Wien (Vienna) as a day trip with a program from our school. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside, so I was only able to snap shots of the exterior; however, you can easily tell that this place was amazing. The weather wasn't so great that day, and in the Spring the gardens (which are huge and some not even in pictures) are in full bloom. I will most likely travel here again once the weather is nicer. The palace is truly a work of art, and its impressive size was shocking.

It was built in 1696 for Emperor Leopold I, and then given as a present to his daughter Maria Theresa (mother of Marie Antoinette, I guess we know where she got her sense of lavish entitlement from). Much of the interior was altered by Maria Theresa to keep up with the times and many of the rooms are of Rococo era. The palace was also home to Franz Josef I of Austria, who remained in power from 1848 until 1916 upon his death. He was an extremely devoted leader and would spend countless hours everyday working through the daily task required of a ruler. The palace would only remain occupied until 1918 when the abdication of Charles I ultimately ended the Habsburg Monarch.

More Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/570185842HWXZwc