Sunday, October 5, 2008
Austria Part IV / Österreich Teil Vier
No, no, don't get bored of my Austria trip yet, because the best is yet to come!
After depositing our heavy bagpacks at this uber cool hostel upon reaching VIENNA (http://www.wombats-hostels.com/vienna/the-base/), we set off for Schloss Schoenbrunn ! I tell you, I really wish to advertise for wombat hostel here in my blog because "thats the way a hostel should be" in my opinion! Its CLEAN, REASONABLY-PRICED, HAS A PUB, HAS INTERNET CONNECTION, HAS FOOD and COOL PEOPLE! We even received voucher for a free welcome alcholic drink in the pub! But still, most importantly, its CLEAN! We have been to hostel with blood-stained blanket and spring mattress which poke your back all night long :S
Oh yaya, Schloss Schoenbrunn!
After depositing our heavy bagpacks at this uber cool hostel upon reaching VIENNA (http://www.wombats-hostels.com/vienna/the-base/), we set off for Schloss Schoenbrunn ! I tell you, I really wish to advertise for wombat hostel here in my blog because "thats the way a hostel should be" in my opinion! Its CLEAN, REASONABLY-PRICED, HAS A PUB, HAS INTERNET CONNECTION, HAS FOOD and COOL PEOPLE! We even received voucher for a free welcome alcholic drink in the pub! But still, most importantly, its CLEAN! We have been to hostel with blood-stained blanket and spring mattress which poke your back all night long :S
Oh yaya, Schloss Schoenbrunn!
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| From Austria |
Its one of my favourite palace in Europe. Sometimes, visiting palaces can be a bit boring, because if there isn't anything too spectacular, it could well be just-another-palace to me :P
My current wallpaper - the front of the golden yellow palace.
We went there early enough to beat the crowd and took an audio guide in the state rooms. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed inside the building, which is the case for many museums and palaces. But I tell you, the audio guide is the BEST i ever had! Its not only telling about what is each room for, nor is it just ranting on the history, but it combines both! Its really not easy to recount hundreds years of history to tourists in a way that makes sense to the tourist, without making them confused about who is who's daughter and what happened first.
After which, we went to walk around the garden, which is HUGE!
and symmetrical... It must have taken so much effort to make sure the trees and bushes are equally trimmed.
Summer Sonata~~
We walked up the slope to the highest point of the palace and I took some photos along the way. So right now, I would let the photos speak for themselves... Enjoy~
The Gloriette! Maria Theresa decided Gloriette to be designed to glorify Habsburg' power. Maria Theresa was such one of the most capable ruler and shared such great love with her husband. (read up about her - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria) I actually saw a documentary of her on some cable tv channel and always wanted to go Schloss Schoenbrunn to see for myself how grand it is!
And I really really managed to be there!
Another famous, or rather, more famous figure of the Schloss Schoenbrunn royals is Sisi - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_in_Bavaria. She is really very very pretty and was very very very very obsessed with maintaining her beauty and figure. She used to not have dinners to maintain her 20-inch waist. OMG.. She missed out so much good food in life.
How can you not have a cup of coffee in the mid-day when you are in Vienna!
Then we continued our city tour!
Hundertwasserhaus. The architect built similar houses in other parts of Europe and Japan as well. This place is now a residence appartment and the cool thing that I read about it and agree with it, is that the trees (as above), grow from inside the houses and not from the balcony. This is because the architect believes that the trees are also the residents of the house and should be allowed to grow freely. I never ever had this thought before, but it somehow makes sense to me!
Oh and the mosaic tiles are recycled from the demolish of old palaces.
There was also this Hundertwasserhaus village next to the Hundertwasserhaus residence, and inside this village, there is a toilet of modern art...
which costs 60euro cents (1.20sgd) to enter! Thats the most that I had ever spent on a toilet visit! Not only that, thats also perhaps my longest time spent in a public toilet! Well, I have to make sure my money is well-spent you see...
But it was quite a disappointment, I only saw what I have taken photos of for you guys...
Then we took a tram ride that goes around the old town. The night view of the parliament house was fantastic!
There was a film festival that ended JUST before we came. Schade!
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With that, I conclude my Austria trip =)