A free night in Vienna COMPLETED About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from your room! Very nice hotel!

[Principessa_di_Fata]

I too would have been taken aback by the first view, and by the outside of the hotel. Glad the inside more than made up for it! Wow! Lovely view, too!

[cubfancolleen]

The hotel looks great (at least inside!)! What a quick trip from the airort in to town! Was it an express train, or was it just really that close?

[mommapants]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. I once spilled Orange soda on myself while traveling, not only was I sticky but it stained my clothes. I was going to wear them again later in the trip - that didn't happen.

The oil refinery reminds me of Newark Airport in north New Jersey.

[emmalovesdisney]

Wow, that is a lovely looking hotel room, although the same can not be said about the outside of the hotel

[Dlandmom2]

You weren't kidding about the view!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

The hotel looks great (at least inside!)! What a quick trip from the airort in to town! Was it an express train, or was it just really that close?

It was an express train, although having said that, I didn't feel that we hurtled along that fast...

[KMB733]

Not such a pretty first view of the city!! Your hotel room and view were beautiful though.

[mcc0313]

Great start Cheryl...the travel did seem very easy with the train right at the airport and the subway. I will agree that the station did remind me of a station back in the 40s or 50s - very retro

There definitely was a big difference from the look of the hotel from the outside to what you found inside...what a beautiful hotel (and those desserts looked pretty yummy as well). What a great room and a lovely view...

[DrDolphin]

Sorry to hear the first site of Vienna was a petrochemical plant (ugh) and that the Hotel Intercontinental was at first a disappointment - but glad to see how nice it was once you got inside.

[mojjo]

OMGoodness...what an amazing hotel and view. You completely scored on that one.

[ariel14]

Great start Cheryl! Lovely views from your hotel room!

[emvenable77]

Just caught up! Your arrival seemed to go smoothly! Can't wait to see your pics of all of your excursions!

[chezp]

Saturday 19 March – part three: very unlike a palace....

We didn’t have much time to enjoy it, as I wanted to head out to Schonbrunn Palace. We made our way over to the subway station and caught the train out there. It wasn’t hard to work out where to go when we arrived, as it was all very well signposted. As you’d expect with any good palace, you could also see the building from some distance away.....



We finally got to the entrance and headed inside, feeling decidedly chilly. We’d definitely made the wrong decision in the room, when we’d taken off a layer each and left it in the room, as we were warm. We certainly weren’t warm now. : We took lots of photos in the entrance courtyard...



Then we headed inside to purchase our tickets to the Grand Tour, which takes you through 40 rooms of the palace. Before you enter, where you’re not allowed to take any photos, there are some wonderful views out over the gardens, and towards the Gloriette and Neptune Fountain. The Gloriette was built in 1775 and is on a hill high above the palace, with the fountain at the base of the hill in front of it.


The map of the complex

We were able to grab a couple of photos, before we started the tour, at which point photos are banned.



We made our way up the grand staircase to the first floor, seeing the fresco above, which I thought, at first glance, was vandalised. I quickly realised that actually it had been very cleverly designed and, what I thought was vandalism, was in front a chain of clouds cut through the whole fresco, on which the gods were descending. It was unlike any fresco we’ve ever seen and we’ve seen literally hundreds in palaces across Europe.

That really set the scene for the whole visit. This palace is unlike anything you’re used to in a palace. You can tell that this was a place that a family loved to live, it shines through in every room you see, with intimate dining tables for the family to eat at. However, the audioguide we listened to as we went through the rooms told some very sad stories about those families. The palace was the base for the Habsburgs and really, this palace tells the story of the women who made their homes here.

In particular, it’s about two women – Elisabeth and Maria Theresa, who was a powerful ruler in her own right. We heard repeatedly that she had 16 children, 11 of them girls and, of those, she had a favourite, as there was only one that she allowed to marry for love. The rest were told who to marry. This was the Habsburg’s way. They didn’t wage war on other countries, they ensured that marriages helped to unite them with other dynasties, giving them power over other countries. There were some very bitter extracts from memos and letters from the women who were forced to marry for power, rather than love, which made you think.

With Elisabeth, she was married to Franz Joseph and he adored her, but she didn’t exactly return the feelings. She spent much of her time travelling and away from Vienna. Even when she was at the palace, she often wouldn’t eat at the family dinner table, as she was obsessed with her weight. She wrote about the trials of marriage and how it’s something you’re forced into at the age of 15 and then regret for the next 30 years. It was all very sad and not something you usually hear, so the honesty was refreshing at least.

As for the rooms, as I say, a lot of them were very plain and that’s a pleasant change, but some really did have the wow factor. The great gallery, with its three frescos above you, and mirrors along each side, has been used over many years for banquets and it’s not hard to see why. However, the real treasures here are just off the great gallery, with two small rooms, one oval and the other round, both Chinese cabinets. Lacquered panels cover the walls, as do porcelain vases. They used to play cards in here, but honestly, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on that, I’d have spent my time staring at the ornate Chinese decoration.

The Large Rosa Room has some beautiful portraits of everyday life in Switzerland, all Habsburg property, while in another room, there are portraits of children, but these aren’t the usual posed ones you see from the 18th and 19th century. These are portraits of children enjoying themselves, laughing and blowing bubbles and exceptionally natural. They’re probably some of the best I’ve ever seen in terms of capturing the essence of youngsters.

The absolute highlight for me was the Vieux-Lacque Room, which was where Maria Theresa lived, after she was widowed. It’s clear that she absolutely adored her husband, as she retreated into a room that was covered with oriental black lacquer. When she died, her journals broke down exactly how long she’d been married, down to hours and minutes. So sad.

It’s definitely well worth a visit, and I’m really glad we went for the Grand Tour, which probably only took us about 40 minutes, so about a minute a room. We didn’t feel rushed at any time or feel as if the audioguide was making us linger too long in any room. It was all very well paced.

From there, we headed into the shop and got our usual purchases in one go – guidebook and fridge magnets, along with a Christmas tree decoration. Everything was very well priced and there was a very expansive selection.

Next: oh boy, this is cold!

[DrDolphin]

Your tour sounded wonderful - and gave such insight into the royal family, a rare view, or so it sounds.