Our flight from Geneva to Vienna went smoothly, and our early arrival left nearly a full day to explore as we had originally planned.
Our first stop on Saturday was Hofburg Palace, which is the former home of the Habsburg dynasty and currently serves as the residence of the Austrian President. It’s a massive complex with numerous wings.
We began the tour by seeing the Imperial Apartments – namely those of Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth (better known by many as “Sisi”). While it was interesting to see the 19th century décor, the most memorable aspect of the tour was learning about Sisi’s fondness for the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland (where we live) and her ultimate assassination at the hands of an Italian anarchist in Geneva.
The next stops in the palace were the Austrian National Library and the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury). I really enjoyed the library, in particular, with its beautiful architecture and design. It dates back to the 1700s, is known for having the first card catalogue, and houses a vast collection of manuscripts, rare books, maps and globes.
We then walked around the palace for a bit and saw some sites including the Augustinian Friars' Church and the Spanish Riding School. The following are some pictures of statues along the way that I found interesting.
For lunch, we at a restaurant that overlooks the Hofburg gardens. It actually felt a bit like a greenhouse with all of the glass windows, but it worked out well given the nice weather.
The view was really beautiful, overlooking a large park covered in snow. Apparently it is rare to have so much snow in Vienna during early December, so we really were fortunate with our timing.
Our first stop on Saturday was Hofburg Palace, which is the former home of the Habsburg dynasty and currently serves as the residence of the Austrian President. It’s a massive complex with numerous wings.
We began the tour by seeing the Imperial Apartments – namely those of Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth (better known by many as “Sisi”). While it was interesting to see the 19th century décor, the most memorable aspect of the tour was learning about Sisi’s fondness for the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland (where we live) and her ultimate assassination at the hands of an Italian anarchist in Geneva.The next stops in the palace were the Austrian National Library and the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury). I really enjoyed the library, in particular, with its beautiful architecture and design. It dates back to the 1700s, is known for having the first card catalogue, and houses a vast collection of manuscripts, rare books, maps and globes.
We then walked around the palace for a bit and saw some sites including the Augustinian Friars' Church and the Spanish Riding School. The following are some pictures of statues along the way that I found interesting.
For lunch, we at a restaurant that overlooks the Hofburg gardens. It actually felt a bit like a greenhouse with all of the glass windows, but it worked out well given the nice weather.
The view was really beautiful, overlooking a large park covered in snow. Apparently it is rare to have so much snow in Vienna during early December, so we really were fortunate with our timing.
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