April 2009
Easter in Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace
Not far from the city center is a royal palace of the Habsburg dynasty. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Vienna. It was built in the hope of rivaling the palace in Versailles.
In typical imperial fashion, the palace grounds were complete with gardens, orchards, an area for hunting game, fish nurseries, a private zoo and even fake "roman ruins." And it was only intended to be a summer home.
One of the most curious features of the gardens were these perpendicular trees, trimmed to look as flat as a wall. What possessed the residence of the palace to begin this trend? At the end of this tree-lined lane is the private zoo which still operates today.
This is the largest of several fountains found within the gardens. It was not operating during our visit, probably because of the expense.
The weather that day was unusually warm and sunny for the beginning of April. It made the gravel paths and all the white statues a bit visually overwhelming. Here I am trying to keep my eyes open long enough for a photo...
...and failing..
At the top of the hill overlooking the main palace stood a curious building. It looked like something suited only to parties since it had nothing but patios and a small ballroom.
