Ahhhh.... Vienna

We had a wonderful time in the gorgeous city of Vienna! 5 days of fun and adventure with the family exploring for 10 hours each day. We were amazed at how well our kids did, especially our three-year-old. He loves to keep up with his sister (and Mom and Dad) and was quite a trooper. Vienna is, in a word, STUNNING. It is the Europe everyone falls in love with... gorgeous architecture, statues in every square, flourishes on every building, clean streets, bright and plentiful stores and restaurants, cafes and gelaterias galore!

The Hofburg Palace (above) is the highlight for any tourist (well, that and the Schonbrunn palace). This was the home of Austria's ruling family for more than 600 years. While we didn't tour this palace - we opted for Schonbrunn instead - the sheer enormity and grandeur of this palace is enough to make you stop and think, "WOW." The palace is now also the home of the famous Lippanzer Stallions, the dancing white horses of international fame. While they're next performance wasn't until Nov. 13, we were able to witness one of their practice sessions in the grand building. The horses are beautiful. It's incredible to watch them prance on their feet; difficult to describe but like nothing you've ever seen from a horse. The kids really enjoyed this experience but were disappointed we couldn't see a 'real' show. The practice, after a while, became a little boring because most of the horses were prancing in circles but not doing much of their traditional tricks and routines. Still, it was a rare and fun glimpse into this Viennese tradition.

Schonbrunn is the Viennese version of Versailles. AMAZING. This was 'just' the summer home of the Hofburg family. I kept trying to impress upon my daughter that this would be like going to a beach house, but in a much grander fashion! The palace has 1,400 rooms (!!!) of which 40 are open to the public. S and I went on the tour, while Dad and L played outside on the palace grounds. It was one of those days where we weren't sure how well our son would do on a boring (for a three-year-old) tour. The great thing about living here is the ability to travel in the off-season. Schonbrunn is packed with tourists in the summer months and often requires a 2-3 hour wait to enter. We were able to walk right in and start our tour immediately! Unfortunately, pictures inside are not allowed but we were able to buy some postcards with pictures of the rooms. S and I really enjoyed the tour and she was awed by all the gold, chandeliers, furniture, and elaborate wall decor. These people had money coming out their ears! The coolest thing for me was seeing the Grand Ballroom and the reception room, where a six-year-old Mozart gave his first performance for the Empress. The story goes that as soon as he finished playing the violin, he jumped into the Empress' lap and gave her a big hug. Cute.

The palace gardens and "Gloriette" (above) are quite a sight to behold. By this time, we knew the kids didn't have the energy to walk all the way to the top where the Gloriette arch stands in all its glory (ha, maybe that's why it's called "gloriette"!) I imagine the view from there, looking down toward the gardens and palace, is incredible. We will have to go back in the Spring when the flowers are in bloom to take in the full effect of this gorgeous place.

We then entered the Schonbrunn/Vienna Zoo which sits at the back edge of the grounds. The zoo was established by the Hofburgs in the late 1700s for the "enjoyment of the palace children." Niiiiice. It is a beautiful zoo and reminded us a lot of the Oregon Zoo, with it's hilly location, trees and great exhibits. The big treat for us were the pandas and koalas, animals you rarely see in a zoo.


The kids also enjoyed seeing the giraffes -- immensely! We did too! Inside the giraffe house, you can get extremely close to them and they love to stick their long black tongues through the bars to give you a lick, or grab some leaves from your hand. We learned this by watching the local children bring in leaves to feed the giraffes. Who knew giraffes could be so much fun?

As you can see, each of our days involved an activity just for the kids. The zoo was the highlight, but we also enjoyed the City Park and playground (more than once), the Natural History Museum (dinosaur bones, animals, and rocks... oh my!), gelato (every night) and walking around and exploring the beautiful sights. The weather was gorgeous after our first day: sun, blue skies and crisp COLD air. We bundled up in our winter parkas, long underwear, hats and gloves, and were just fine. We ate in many great yet inexpensive restaurants and certainly the kids had their fair share of Wienerschnitzel. Our last evening in Vienna, we found a great Italian restaurant (which I think may have been run by the Mafia... lots of suspicious in/out activity by Italian men... that, or I've seen 'The Godfather' one too many times). We needed a break from the schnitzel and potatoes. Our meal was authentic Italian - of course, delicious - and we made friends with our Mafia waiter ;-) When he brought the bill, he also brought Travis and I a glass of grappa. Whhooo-ahhhh! That stuff burns! We'd each already had some wine and beer but knew it would be considered rude if we didn't drink up. Some great parenting happening that night.... wine, beer, and grappa while needing to still get our two young children back to the hotel. Hmmm. Good thing we were walking and the cold night air brought us back to reality ;-) That, and a stop at the gelateria, and we were good to go.




After 13 (me) and 8 (T) years of teaching we REALLY appreciated our first-ever Fall Break. Vienna was the perfect way to celebrate this much-needed vacation. The best news? It's only 3 hours by train (even less by car) so we can go back! And we can take YOU there when you come to visit.