In the morning our plan is to take the metro out to Schonbrunn Palace, but first we make a stop at an internet cafe just below Kartner Ring on Kartnerstrasse 61. It's 2.20 euro for 30 min and you have to pay ion advance. If your time runs out, you lose anything you have on the screen, so be careful. For some reason, I could not see thumbnails of my photos so I couldn't post any, even though they do have USB drives. Everything was in German, all websites, keyboards, etc.
We take the Green line, the U4 to Schonbrunn Palace. It's a massive place, and given that it was the Hapsburg "summer homer" there is some repetition with the Hofburg. We tour the apartments with the audio guide (provided with the tickets) and then walk over to the zoo, which is why we really came out here anyway. The zoo has a pair of Giant Pandas which fascinate my mother.
The map in the guide does not indicate the zoo entrance and we end up walking much farther than needed though the gardens.
The zoo itself is interesting-it's in the Baroque style and the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752. The enclosures aren't as big as I'd like to see for the animals, but they are certainly not the worst. We're fortunate to see the Pandas up and lolling about, eating bamboo. But for me, even better was to be able to get right next to a lounging cheetah who was resting up against a glass window. It's an absolutely magnificent cat, and I just wanted to scratch his head. I do miss my house kitties.
Before we leave, we also check out the Palm house, a large glass greenhouse. We don't walk up to the Gloriette, which supposedly has fantastic views because we are just too tired.
Back in town, we make a quick stop at the eye doctor, who says my mom's eye is much better. We also go to the famous Cafe Central just down the block from the doc for to coffee and apple strudel which is good and served warm but has rum and nuts in it.
Note; the following was originally posted to Cafe Demel, but really belongs to the Central.
Here, I get to participate in that most Viennese cafe pastime, reading the newspaper. They have my favorite, the International Herald Tribune, on one of the sticks on which the newspapers hang. This is a very civilized way to read the paper; the newspapers are attached to a long post with metal clips. There's also a metal backing which allows the reader to hold the paper open with one hand while sipping coffee with the other.
For dinner, we walk around the city for almost an hour and eventually end up right across the street from the hotel at the 650 year old (yes, it was originally built as an Inn in 1447!) Griechenbeisl. I'm a little skeptical about eating here, and not hugely hungry, but we decide to give it a go anyway.
We are pleasantly surprised. I have a Pilsner Urquell beer, which was introduced to the world here in 1852 and a bowl of "griessnockersuppe". Mom has a nice glass of red wine and perfectly cooked lamb chops which are served with a very tasty potato and leek side dish. With a small bowl of ice cream and tip, dinner was around 50 euro.
Pedometer reading for day 6-7 miles
We take the Green line, the U4 to Schonbrunn Palace. It's a massive place, and given that it was the Hapsburg "summer homer" there is some repetition with the Hofburg. We tour the apartments with the audio guide (provided with the tickets) and then walk over to the zoo, which is why we really came out here anyway. The zoo has a pair of Giant Pandas which fascinate my mother.
The map in the guide does not indicate the zoo entrance and we end up walking much farther than needed though the gardens.
The zoo itself is interesting-it's in the Baroque style and the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752. The enclosures aren't as big as I'd like to see for the animals, but they are certainly not the worst. We're fortunate to see the Pandas up and lolling about, eating bamboo. But for me, even better was to be able to get right next to a lounging cheetah who was resting up against a glass window. It's an absolutely magnificent cat, and I just wanted to scratch his head. I do miss my house kitties.
Before we leave, we also check out the Palm house, a large glass greenhouse. We don't walk up to the Gloriette, which supposedly has fantastic views because we are just too tired.
Back in town, we make a quick stop at the eye doctor, who says my mom's eye is much better. We also go to the famous Cafe Central just down the block from the doc for to coffee and apple strudel which is good and served warm but has rum and nuts in it.
Note; the following was originally posted to Cafe Demel, but really belongs to the Central.
Here, I get to participate in that most Viennese cafe pastime, reading the newspaper. They have my favorite, the International Herald Tribune, on one of the sticks on which the newspapers hang. This is a very civilized way to read the paper; the newspapers are attached to a long post with metal clips. There's also a metal backing which allows the reader to hold the paper open with one hand while sipping coffee with the other.
For dinner, we walk around the city for almost an hour and eventually end up right across the street from the hotel at the 650 year old (yes, it was originally built as an Inn in 1447!) Griechenbeisl. I'm a little skeptical about eating here, and not hugely hungry, but we decide to give it a go anyway.
We are pleasantly surprised. I have a Pilsner Urquell beer, which was introduced to the world here in 1852 and a bowl of "griessnockersuppe". Mom has a nice glass of red wine and perfectly cooked lamb chops which are served with a very tasty potato and leek side dish. With a small bowl of ice cream and tip, dinner was around 50 euro.
Pedometer reading for day 6-7 miles
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