Vienna - Second Day (1)

First layout done with Club Scrap Tuscany kit. Second layout done with Club Scrap Autumn Splendour kit. Third layout done with printed paper from 7 Gypsies. Also used rub-ons, various swirly stamps, acrylic paints, Stayz on inks, vellum, QK alphas, MM alpha stamps & MM metal moulded edging. I tried to follow the famous yellow of the Schonbrunn Palace on the layouts as well.

We left very early in the morning to see the Schonbrunn Palace and grounds. The children went off to try on some old fashioned costumes and have some fun while the adults got a guided tour of the Royal Apartments of Empress Maria Teresia. Now these are what I call ‘royal’ apartments. They were so … Regal! The ‘Blue or Porcelain Room’ was my favourite. And the ‘Million’ room with Indian paintings and gold leafing is exceptional. This particular room is now valued at 60 to 70 million dollars. No photography was allowed so I had to buy a guide book. This rule is good for palace business!

From there we went to see the Royal bakery to see how Apple Strudel was made with an age old recipe. Lily got to be an assistant and help out in doing strange things to the dough. We were then served a slice of strudel with coffee ~ a great mid morning snack.

Our next stop was the marionette theatre. This is so beautiful that one has to see it to believe the effects that can be achieved. One really is absorbed into a make believe fantasy world and when the show finished, exiting the theatre is something of a shock. We went back stage to see how it all worked. I was surprised at how small the puppets were. They looked life size when on stage. Some kind of optical illusion the theatre is very proud of.

We then got into a funny little yellow/green train called Der Schonbrunner. It took us all the way to near the Gloriette. We had lunch at a very Tyrolean style restaurant. Authentic Austrian they said but I did not like my Wiener Schintzel too much. After lunch we went to see some animals in the farm below the restaurant and try out some great cheese. The man selling the cheese was a very Authentic Tyrolean crusty old mountain farmer.

Next we walked to the Gloriette, which was 3 minutes from the restaurant. The views of the city from there are great. And if I heard our guide correctly (I just wish she has spoken louder or used a microphone ~ I had to strain to hear every word), the Gloriette sits on Maria Teresia’s huge refrigerator. The mountain under the Gloriette has been bored deep into and it is very cool in the caves there. The Empress used to take pleasure in serving delicacies made in her refrigerator ~ like sorbet in summer. I could just imagine her servants running from the Gloriette to the Palace with the sorbet before it melted completely. It is by no means a short distance!