Mongolia - The Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue
Foto: The summer palace of Vienna (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Austria - Today we are visiting Schönbrunn Palace. This former summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Empress Elisabeth is located just outside the center of Vienna. We board the metro at Schwedenplatz. From there, it's a direct ride to the palace. We're clearly not the only ones — many tourists have chosen to visit the palace today. From the metro station, we walk in a crowd toward the court. At the ticket machine, a staff member warns that the current wait time for entering the palace is one hour. This turns out to be optimistic. When the tickets finally print, we see that our entry time is 12:30 — nearly two hours of waiting. Fortunately, there's a Christmas market in front of the palace. Just like at the city hall yesterday, there are stalls selling food, drinks, and Christmas trinkets. We also walk through the palace gardens. In the enormous park behind Schönbrunn, there is even a zoo, established in 1752. From the garden, we have a beautiful view of the rear façade of the palace. The sun shines beautifully on the pale yellow walls. Directly opposite the palace lies the Gloriette, situated on a hill. This belvedere was built in the 18th century on the orders of Maria Theresa. From the hill, we have a splendid view of Schönbrunn Palace and the city behind it. Stunning! Via the Orangery in the garden, we return to the Christmas market and join the queue to visit the palace. Even during our timeslot, it is still very busy. Through the audio system, we learn that Schloss Schönbrunn was built in its current form in 1713. Emperor Charles VI gifted the palace to his daughter Maria Theresa. She turned it into the summer residence of the Habsburgs. The last residents were Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Elisabeth. When Emperor Franz Joseph died in 1918, the empire came to an end.
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