Austria > Schönbrunn Palace

When we wake up, it’s truly Christmas. Outside, church bells are ringing. In the small breakfast room, it’s busy. All the tables are taken. One couple has just finished, so we can take their place. I had no idea the guesthouse had so many rooms! Today we’re going to visit Schönbrunn Palace. This former summer palace of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Elisabeth, lies just outside the center of Vienna. At Schwedenplatz, we take the metro. From here, we have a direct line to the palace. We’re clearly not alone—many tourists have chosen today to visit it. From the metro station, we join a stream of people walking to the palace courtyard. At the ticket machine, a staff member warns us that the waiting time to enter the palace is currently one hour. This turns out to be optimistic. When the tickets finally roll out of the machine, we see that our entry time isn’t until 12:30. That means almost two hours of waiting. Fortunately, there’s a Christmas market in front of the palace. Just like at the town hall yesterday, there are stalls selling food, drinks, and Christmas trinkets. We also stroll into the palace gardens. In the enormous park behind Schönbrunn Palace, there’s even a zoo, established in 1752. From the garden, we have a beautiful view of the back of the palace. The sun shines warmly on the pale yellow façade. Directly opposite the palace, on a hill, stands the Gloriette. This belvedere was built in the 18th century in the park by order of Maria Theresa. From up there, we look down on Schönbrunn Palace and the city beyond it. Magnificent! Through the Orangery in the gardens, we make our way back to the Christmas market.

Austria - The imposing palace of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth

We join the queue for the palace visit. Even at our time slot, it’s still very crowded. Through the audio guide, we learn that Schloss Schönbrunn was built in its current form in 1713. Emperor Charles VI gave the palace to his daughter Maria Theresa, who made it the Habsburgs’ summer residence. The last residents were Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. When Franz Joseph died in 1918, the empire came to an end. We pass through the imperial reception rooms, Franz Joseph’s study, and the bedrooms. Each room is beautifully decorated, with lavish amounts of gold leaf. The Mirror Hall, where the young Mozart performed his first concert for the emperor at the age of six, is especially stunning. At the end, we also visit Maria Theresa’s rooms—an extension of the regular tour. She ruled in the 18th century and was one of the most influential monarchs of her time. These rooms seem even more beautiful than the previous ones. After more than an hour, we’re back outside. On the metro ride back, we let all the impressions of Schönbrunn sink in. We get off at Karlsplatz, at the edge of the Inner City, where the Karlskirche stands. The closed Christmas market in front of the church creates a rather messy and strange atmosphere. All the stalls are boarded up with wooden panels. In the drained fountain, there’s still straw from the living nativity scene. It doesn’t make the church look any better. The Karlskirche is dedicated to Carlo Borromeo, who, during the plague outbreak of 1576, fought to help the sick and insisted that clergy remain in the city to care for them.

Austria - The Karlskirche is dedicated to Borromeus who fought the plague in 1576

After the plague was defeated, he was regarded as a hero by the people. In 1610, the Catholic Church canonized him. His statue stands above the entrance to the church. Inside the lavishly decorated Baroque church, the altar is also dedicated to Borromeo. Angels carry him on a cloud toward heaven. In the middle of the church hang two enormous mirrored spheres, which I estimate to be at least ten meters in diameter. This artwork rises as the temperature increases and sinks again at night. The church’s interior reflects in the spheres—a funny sight. Due to ongoing renovations, there’s scaffolding in the church with an elevator. Tourists can take this lift, 30 meters high, to view the church from above. Although no work is being done today, the view of the dome and church interior is magnificent. Finally, we visit the treasury. Via a broad spiral staircase, we reach the displayed treasures. Back outside, we cross the Ringstrasse and walk to the opera house, the Wiener Staatsoper. Guided tours are given in this 19th-century building. We’re too late for today, but there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming days. In Annagasse, we step into a small restaurant for a drink. The weather has been fairly nice today, but now it’s starting to drizzle lightly. People pass by with umbrellas. When we leave again, it’s practically dry. We walk back to our guesthouse via St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Dusk settles over the city. The Christmas lights brighten the shopping streets. For the evening—Christmas Day—we have another restaurant reservation, this time on the west side of the Inner City. Tonight, no multi-course Christmas dinner, just à la carte. With a bottle of wine, it’s an excellent choice.