August 25th,Winding Down…Not Really

August 25th,Winding Down…Not Really

After arriving back in Vienna, early in the morning, I went back to Schonbrunn Palace to finish up my tour of the palace grounds. I went to the Palmhouse, the Desert House, the Carriage Museum and the Apple Strudel Show. The Carriage Museum was really fascinating. I was able to see all different kinds of carriages. One of them used to belong to Napoleon, but it was bought by the Hapsburgs, and turned into an imperial court carriage. It got me thinking along the lines of “used cars” in the olden days. On display were also baby carriages for the Crown Prince Rudolph. To me that is a waste of money to spend on a child who would outgrow such a thing, but it didn’t matter to the Hapsburgs. They could afford it without making a dent in their pocket. The best display in the Carriage Museum was the funerary carriage, or the hearse. It was all black and it was used for the royal family members, except Prince Rudolph. Prince Rudolph had committed suicide and before doing so he killed his mistress. Rudolph had an interesting relationship with his parents, the emperor and the empress. So it was not right for Prince Rudolph to have the royal burial that all of the royal family members received. It is just a fascinating story to read. I am definitely keeping the book “A Nervous Splendor” and I highly recommend it to every history major. Afterwards I headed over to the Apple Strudel Show. I had a sample of the famous Schonbrunn apple strudel. It was okay, not the best. I was able to obtain the 300-year-old recipe. It is interesting how long a recipe can last. Some friends and I ended up eating again at the Naschmarkt. My days are numbered here in Vienna and I need to get all the Wiener Schnitzel I can get!