Schloss Schonbrunn and Shopping...what a combo

Another perfect day in Vienna. Woke up to 7Celsius but the sun is shining so all is good. We were busy packing our bags and Anna gave me a pair of black panties. 'Not mine' I said. She said it had to be because they weren't hers...but they were in her suitcase. We're not sure if our housekeeper was having some fun and left them or if we had a visitor during the night who left her calling card. We headed out early this morning to beat the crowds at the palace. We stopped for breakfast at one of the underground stations.. delicious pastries and sandwiches. Of course, I left my ticket in my room so I had to buy another one, but we tackled the underground like pros... transferring to different lines and not second-guessing ourselves at all. 

The palace was very intriguing. The rooms were beautifully decorated and the walls in some of the rooms were covered in Oriental panels. Unbelievable how they lived back in those days...no wonder the common folk revolted. The gardens were huge, but of course, too early for any color. The gardeners were busy planting pansies, but the tress were still bare. It must look magnificent in the summer months. Anna's answer 'well, we'll have to come back in the summer'. You'll see in the picture the gloriette and Fountain of Nepture in the foreground. The painting in the palace showed how the entire hillside was covered with wedding guests in their carriages, along with their families back in the 1800s. What I didn't know was that Marie Antoinette was one of Franz Joseph's children.

On the way out we passed this sculpture. Is this what they mean when they say 'two-faced'?

After finishing up at the palace, we headed back to the hotel to get our bags and get to the ship. In order to get to our hotel from the underground we had to go through the mall. And what a mall it is. Spread out over 4 blocks, connected by overhead walkways, it has 260 stores...OMG!!!! We only went in to get a converter, but on the way we passed a great shoe store....well, I had to stop at 3 pairs because I'm already over on the weight limit on my bags and I still have 5 more weeks to go.  Maybe when I see my grandson in Italy I can give him some of my 'stuff' to bring back to the States.

Right now I'm looking out the window at the Danube....reminds me of the Mississippi...a very quick flowing river. It's a beautiful scene, with the lights from the high rises reflecting on the water.