Kev n Jo's Blog: June 2013

Day 3 was a visit to Schonbrunn Palace, a short train ride outside of Vienna city. It was the former summer residence of Austrian royalty and is now a major tourist attraction where you can visit the gardens and take a tour of the palace.

It is huge and pretty impressive.

The view of the gardens upon entering the palace grounds.

View of the palace from the garden.

The structure on the hill at the far end of the garden is the Gloriette, a viewing complex of sorts.

TIP(!): If you are not buying the combination ticket (palace tour + Gloriette + Crown Prince Garden + Maze), there is really no need to buy a separate ticket for the Gloriette, you can roam around it for free. The ticket just allows you to go up to the top level which is really not a big deal. So don't buy the Gloriette ticket at the gate. If you really want to, you can still buy it at the Gloriette itself.

Lucas and his new (but not very useful) skill of making faces. Painting at the back is of the Gloriette.

Our first stop was a visit to the Crown Prince Garden, which needed a separate ticket. There was nothing to see there, just a couple of lemon trees and some flower beds. Lucas was probably the only one who truly enjoyed it. He is happy anywhere so long as there is gravel or sand. Life for a toddler is truly that simple.

TIP(!): So here's another tip for you. If you are not buying the combination ticket (palace tour + Gloriette + Crown Prince Garden + Maze), don't buy the ticket to the Crown Prince Garden as it is not worth it. Even though it is only a few euros, it does add up if you have a big group. If you really want to, you can still buy it at the entrance to the Crown Prince Garden itself. There is no need to buy it at the gate.

In fact, on the left hand side of the palace, on your way to the exit, there is a lovely garden with flowers and a gorgeous wisteria walkway. And it is free.

The Gloriette looks really high up but it is not. The hill is an easy walk. Don't hesitate to go up, you will get lovely views and it is a very pleasant walk.

Stop by the fountain before going up the hill.

Cute little mermaid tails.

His mer-horse is not behaving.

Well, this guy says the only way is up, so go on.

View of the palace from behind the fountain.

Isn't this beautiful?

More lovely views.

The glorious Gloriette.

All this is free. See the balcony above? If you want to get up there, you'll need the ticket.

And this is what you'll see - not very different from the view just one floor below.

I was expecting Maria to come running over the grass singing "The hills are alive...".

Have to add that having visited Schonbrunn and Henry VIII's Hampton Court, Versailles still tops my list as the grandest of the three.

Day 4 - We spent the first half at Schonbrunn, doing the grand tour of the palace as we did not have enough time the day before. Photography was not allowed, so no photos to show.

Back in the city, we wandered over to the Museumsquartier for a dose of art.

Museumsquartier is an interesting collection of baroque and modern buildings, dominated by two art museums - Leopold and the MUMOK.

Leopold Museum has a large collection of Gustav Klimt's work, probably Austria's most recognisable artist.

The intriguing 'Death and Life' (1911)

'Medicine'

'Jurisprudence'

Interesting write-up about these painting from wikipaintings.org:

"In 1894, Klimt was commissioned to paint the ceilings in the University of Vienna’s great hall. The commission included three paintings, Philosophy, Medicine, and Jurisprudence. When Klimt presented them to the university upon completion, they were determined to be pornographic in nature, and filled with “perverted excess.” The university would not display them. Medicine was the second painting in the series, and depicted the river of life, and the continuity of life and death, and had no allusions to medicine or the science of healing. Because of this, he was attacked by critics, who pointed out that Vienna at the time was engaging in major medical advancements, and that the painting did not depict anything about either prevention or cure. In 1945, the paintings were destroyed in Germany by advancing forces, the only remaining portions being a photograph of a portion of Medicine, and certain drawings and preliminary sketches."