schonbrunn

I finally made it out to the schonbrunn palace today.  When I woke up it was snowing--but by the time I left around 1 it had stopped.  I got to the palace after two 10 minute tram rides and am again so thankful for the miracle of google maps.  The palace was really pretty and the snow definitely added too the drama of the scene.  It is for sure the hottest tourist spot in vienna and today was no exception.  I made my way up the big (icy) hill behind the palace and toured the woods/gardens on the grounds.  It is the first time I have been in the woods since arriving in Vienna and it felt really good to be there.  There were a lot of other people around but it was really easy to be alone.  There were small walking paths cut through the woods and there were hundreds of really old, hand made bird houses that I started taking pictures of---for my mom.  Then I came across an emu.  It was behind a fence--but it was still an emu...Later I saw his friends the reindeer.  Walking in the woods with snow everywhere was really refreshing and gave me a really good feeling.

After Schonbrunn (3 hours) I took the first tram back to my building but starting walking around before getting on the second.  I found a big shopping district that sort of reminded me of a big american city; lots of Mcdonalds, starbucks, and crazy people.  I walked around for a long time and found some good shops to return to if I ever need some new clothes.  

I got back home around 6 and am glad to be inside and out of the cold--it was about 30 here today--and being outside for 5 hours sort of wore me out. 

Here are some pictures from the day