Due to a busy day yesterday we decided to take it easy today. After a late breakfast we had agreed to head out to Schönbrunn Palace. We were told the U-2 would take us to this chateau that is on par with such classic chateaux as Versailles or Fontainebleau. However, after studying our route, if we had have taken the U2 we still wouldn't find what we were looking for!!!Schönbrunn Palace is situated about 5 miles east of Vienna city centre. The most direct an...

After a comfortable night in a very spacious room we headed down to the restaurant where we had a satisfying breakfast. It was buffet style and had a wide variety of items, ample to suit our needs for the busy day we had planned for today.Vienna. Our first glimpse of this most imperial of cities in the cold (quite literally!!) light of day. Vienna, the capital city of Austria since only 1804 when the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed. 2.6 million inhabita...

Thursday 14th January. Morning time. It was cold but fresh when the taxi arrived to take us the 4 miles or so across the Runcorn Bridge that spans the river Mersey to the train station. The sun was bright. It was a typical winter's day. Roisin and I were both clad in what we term our 'Moscow’ coats; thick thermal jackets that served us well several years ago when we hit Red Square and its environs that make up the touristy bits of Russia’s cap...