Today saw the glorious weather continue, at least for the start of the day! Tomorrow's forecast is for it to be somewhat damp, so the plan was to fit in as much as possible today. To that end I headed to Schloss Schonbrunn.

Schonbrunn is a short metro ride from the city and was the main summer residence of the ruling Habsburg family. The palace consists of a staggering 1,441 rooms! The Grand Tour that I opted for consisted of a mere 40 rooms, which were the main State Rooms and suitably stunning. The accompanying audio for was very good.

When originally purchased by the Habsburgs in 1569 as a hunting lodge, the site was occupied by a mansion called Kattenburg. The current palace was built in 1740-50 by Marie Theresa. The longest reigning Austrian Emperor Franz Josef was born here in 1830 and died here in 1916. Two years later the Habsburg dynasty collapsed as Austria became a republic and the palace a museum. During the 10 year Allied occupation of Austria after WWII, the palace was the headquarters of the British. It then resumed being a museum while still being used for some special occasions, most notably when US President John F Kennedy met his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev.

I then explored the extensive grounds, the highlights of which are the Neptune Fountain and the Gloriette. Due to the usual temperatures experienced at this time of year, the fountain was switched off but still very impressive. The Gloriette is an impressive structure situated on a hill above the fountain and nowadays houses a cafe.

Before leaving for my next destination I popped into the café by the entrance for a scrummy Apfel Strudel and coffee.

A metro and tram ride saw me arrive at Belvedere, a complex that consists of two baroque palaces, Upper and Lower Belvedere. Both were built in the 18th century by Prince Eugen, a member of the Habsburg dynasty and a very successful commander in the Holy Roman Army. Nowadays they house art exhibitions which didn't interest me enough to justify the entrance fee, but the buildings themselves are very impressive and well worth a look.

As I was leaving to catch a tram into the city centre, it started raining. This was quite good timing as I was heading to the Hofburg, the winter home of the Habsburgs and all under cover!

The Hofburg, which translates as Castle of the Court, was originally built in the 13th century. This is now known as The Swiss Wing as the Hofburg has been extended many times over the centuries. However, during all that time it's primary purpose has remained the same, as the seat of government. Today it is still the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria.

The various parts of the sprawling palace complex now have various different uses, including the famous Spanish Riding School and several museums.

The audio tour was very interesting, starting with a very impressive display of tableware.

It then incorporated a section devoted to Sisi, aka Empress Elizabeth of Austria. At the age of 16 Sisi married the Emperor Franz Joseph I. Apparently hating the formality of court life, over time she distanced herself from public duties and often travelled around Europe. Then tragically at the age of 60 she was stabbed by an Italian rebel in Geneva. It was only really after her death that the Legend of Sisi grew.

The third part of the tour consisted of the palace State Rooms.

On the way back to base, I stopped at the Cafe Amacord, where I enjoyed Rice Balls stuffed with mozzarella followed by a lovely Weiner Schnitzel accompanied by a potato salad. This was just around the corner from the apartment, so I didn't have far to limp back. I then took advantage of there being a bath and soaked my aching limbs and feet!