A walk in the rain

Ten days into our holiday and we experience the weather we were expecting - cold and wet. Up until now we have had perfect weather warm with a cool breeze and blue skies. So we can’t complain and the rain was light so it didn’t stop us.

Our morning bike ride to the Spanish Riding School was a huge success. But on the ride home we felt the first spots of rain.

In the afternoon we decided it was too wet to ride our bikes so we walked the 1.5 km to Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) on the recommendation of Jack. 

We we weren’t disappointed. The palace and grounds are extraordinary - the scale of the whole complex was HUGE. And it is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The site of the Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn is outstanding as one of the most impressive and well preserved Baroque ensembles of its kind in Europe. It is hard to believe that such a place exists so close to the city - 400 acres of land including the 1,441-room baroque palace, a Tiergarten (zoo), Orangerie (conservatory) palm house (heated greenhouse).

The area was fenced in order for it to serve as the court's recreational hunting ground - although the only game we saw comprised red squirrels.

Now it is a popular place for tourists judging by the number of buses waiting out the front, and also runners - which is not surprising - it is an oasis in the city !

Fun fact: Schönbrunn Palace has been used in numerous films and television shows - two which stand out for me The Living Daylights  - a Bond film and the 1965 The Great Race.

References

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/786/