Thursday 13th March

The morning was forecast to be damp so we had a lazy start and left the apartment at approx. 10:30am and headed to the Rathaus (City Hall) but as on several locations the whole area was covered in heavy plant machinery and cranes, but I did manage to grab this distant image later in the day.

To the left of this is the Austrian Parliament building which like many of the buildings in Vienna looked very clean. So we think they must have been sand blasted during the last few years.

As you can see the weather has now significantly improved and we had sunshine and clouds for most of the day. However we needed our coats today as the wind chill factor kept the temperature down.

Walking east past the Hofburg building which was an ornate imperial apartment building we past the Spanish Riding School which our son had recommended, so we bought tickets for the Saturday performance. Continuing along Kohlmarkt street we had lunch in Nordsee, which was a sandwich and hot food bar. Like most food places we see, the food was well presented and tasty.

Nearby was the St. Peter’s Catholic Church (Peterskirche) which was magnificent inside. Despite a service in progress, they still allowed photographs.

Walking past the building there was a statue commemorating Mozart with a musical arrangement of flowers in the foreground.

At this point we were starting to feel the effects of the many miles we had walked over the past day and a half. So headed to the Karlsplatz subway to purchase a 72 hour travel pass which would cover the rest of our time in the city. This cost 17 Euro each which works out at approx. £5 per day and gives unlimited travel on all public transport throughout the city. There are 24 and 48 hour passes if preferred which work out slightly more expensive per day, but well worth considering.

Before taking the train, we were close to the St. Charles’s Church (Karlskirche) which unfortunately had scaffolding around one of the towers, but we may return another day when it rains to look inside.

Time to rest our legs, so we took the train from Karlsplatz out west to the Schönbrunn palace and gardens. The palace you can walk around, but this is chargeable, however the massive gardens are free. There is also a zoo adjacent to the gardens if you are interested. Before attempting to stroll around these gardens we had a rest in the café and enjoyed a slice of black forest gateau which is a favourite of ours, not often seen anymore.

I had intended to hang around here until sunset and the blue hour following, to take a photo of the Gloriette Schönbrunn which is lit up in the evening. The full moon would also be rising in the east, but as happens on many occasions we were disappointed as it had started to cloud over as you will see in the following images and the forecast had changed to show light rain in the evening.

After this we headed back to our apartment on the train and decided to eat in. Vanessa had a curry and I chose tortellini which of course had to be washed down with some wine. Unfortunately I couldn’t restrain myself, so the whole bottle was consumed.

Tomorrow we expect some rain, so another late start is planned and some sightseeing by tram.