Friday morning we were woken up to the sound of a huge market being constructed outside our hotel window. So after texting Sophie to see when to meet up, we wondered along it till she replied. It was a strange mix of bric-a-brac, and typical market stalls. A schlager radio station was providing music, but I didnt recognise anything, unsurprisingly.
After meeting up with Sophie, we headed to Schonbrun - the old holiday residences of the Emperor. This was a beautiful building that we unfortunately never made it into. Instead we spent the whole day wondering around the gardens. The roses were out in bloom and smelt lovely, and there was a palm house, desert house, giant maze and a zoo! Again we ran out of time to go round the maze, but made it to the other three for which you could buy a combi-ticket. (The gardens were free to wonder round, but the rest required tickets).
First we ventured in the 'houses'. I frequently visit Kew Gardens in London, and love the palm house there. This was just as good with plants from a range of climates on offer. Unfortunately you couldnt climb up and view it from the top like at Kew, but it was still worth a look. We then crossed to the dessert house which had lots of Cacti, and even had lizards and tortoises crawling around.
Finally though, we made it to the zoo - just in time to see the tigers and jaguars being fed. Tigers are by far my most favourite animal, and I was fascinated while watching them eat. These ones were not shy and came right up to the glass to eat. We also saw the seals being fed, jumping after fish off ledges causing great big splashes - much to the delight of the children standing close enough to get wet. Finally, we spent ages watching the baby polar bears playing and also caught a glimpse of the baby panda that is apparently quite famous.
After leaving the zoo, which was surprisingly large given its strange location, we headed back to the hotel to get changed for the evening. Sophie wanted to take us to a traditional Heuriger. At the end of a tram route was a popular area called Grinzing, almost its own town, where we met with Sophie's friends again and tried some traditional cuisine. Apparently each Heuriger owns its own vines from which they make their own wine, which was delicious. Michael had his first Schnitzel of the week (not the last by far) and I had regular meat with sauerkraut and knödel. Not a big fan of sauerkraut but the knödel were lovely. Was a very pleasant evening to sit in the gardens and got to discuss Finland with one of Sophie's Finnish friends. Was most likely the best evening of the week.
After meeting up with Sophie, we headed to Schonbrun - the old holiday residences of the Emperor. This was a beautiful building that we unfortunately never made it into. Instead we spent the whole day wondering around the gardens. The roses were out in bloom and smelt lovely, and there was a palm house, desert house, giant maze and a zoo! Again we ran out of time to go round the maze, but made it to the other three for which you could buy a combi-ticket. (The gardens were free to wonder round, but the rest required tickets).
First we ventured in the 'houses'. I frequently visit Kew Gardens in London, and love the palm house there. This was just as good with plants from a range of climates on offer. Unfortunately you couldnt climb up and view it from the top like at Kew, but it was still worth a look. We then crossed to the dessert house which had lots of Cacti, and even had lizards and tortoises crawling around.
Finally though, we made it to the zoo - just in time to see the tigers and jaguars being fed. Tigers are by far my most favourite animal, and I was fascinated while watching them eat. These ones were not shy and came right up to the glass to eat. We also saw the seals being fed, jumping after fish off ledges causing great big splashes - much to the delight of the children standing close enough to get wet. Finally, we spent ages watching the baby polar bears playing and also caught a glimpse of the baby panda that is apparently quite famous.
After leaving the zoo, which was surprisingly large given its strange location, we headed back to the hotel to get changed for the evening. Sophie wanted to take us to a traditional Heuriger. At the end of a tram route was a popular area called Grinzing, almost its own town, where we met with Sophie's friends again and tried some traditional cuisine. Apparently each Heuriger owns its own vines from which they make their own wine, which was delicious. Michael had his first Schnitzel of the week (not the last by far) and I had regular meat with sauerkraut and knödel. Not a big fan of sauerkraut but the knödel were lovely. Was a very pleasant evening to sit in the gardens and got to discuss Finland with one of Sophie's Finnish friends. Was most likely the best evening of the week.
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