Schonbrunn Palace

We went to Schonbrunn on Wednesday, June 5. Schonbrun Palace was the summer residence of the Hapsburg family. Prior to that it was used as a hunting "lodge" for the royal family. The palace is built in the baroque style and has 1,441 rooms. No photos were allowed of the interior of the palace.
The Hapsburg family ruled until 1918. Some notable royals that lived there were Marie Antoinette. She spent her summers there until she was married to Louis XIV at the age of 15. FYI her last words were not "Let them eat cake". Another is Empress Elisabeth who was one of the first royals to have a private work out center. She was obsessed with her weight and kept her weight to 110 lbs although she was over 5'8". Her marriage was arranged with her cousin Francis Joseph who would become king of the Hapsburg empire. Initially he was supposed to marry Elisabeth's older sister, so she was raised and bred for court, but Francis preferred Elisabeth to Helene. Elisabeth's story is a lot like Princess Diana's in that she was not ready to be part of the court. She most likely suffered from depression all her life.
We were able to tour 40 of the rooms in the palace and all of the gardens were open for public viewing. Afterwards we went to a strudel where we were given strudel and we learned how to make it. It was quite tasty. However it has not been my favorite dessert here. That goes to the gelato.

Up close & personal with Schonbrunn

View from the balcony of the main entrance

A nice shot of everyone