Vienna Day 2

Today we have quite a lot planned again, so our day starts earlier. First we go to a Henry to get our breakfast. There is fresh pastry and a coffee, which we eat outside with a view of the Hofburg in Vienna. When the Sisi Museum opens at 10 sharp, we are there and, thanks to the online tickets we bought beforehand, do not have to join the long queue. The museum admission includes the Sisi Museum, the Silver Collection and the state rooms. First we go to the Silver Collection, which contains numerous items of tableware from Austria’s past ruling eras. Everything is designed very lavishly and handmade. There are numerous sets. For every guest, every occasion and every building there used to be a different set. The plates are mostly hand-painted. In addition there was a different glass for every drink, even the wines were drunk from the most varied goblets and wine glasses. Of course the decoration on the tables could not be missing, there were flowers, candle holders, étagères, artfully decorated vases and much more. In the Sisi Museum we learn more about the tragic life of the empress, who is mostly perceived as very popular. The life story of the young empress impresses us greatly. Later we get to see many lavishly designed rooms of court life at the time. Sisi and Franz had separate chambers. Franz got up every day at half past 4 to receive his subjects. Sisi did a lot of sport, wrote poems, watched her diet and had her hair done for 2 to 3 hours every day. She also learned several languages and liked to travel.

As we leave the museum, we happen to walk past a film shoot in the middle of Vienna’s old town. It is very interesting to watch the goings-on of the camera operators and their assistants. We are dying to know which film it is. So we unpack the telephoto lens, and the next time the cut is called, we take a photo of the clapperboard. On it, it is clearly visible which film it is…

We pick up our lunch at a Billa. That is a grocery chain here in Austria that offers a large selection of to-go products, including many vegan alternatives. We buy salads, wraps and summer rolls. We want to enjoy the food in the park of Belvedere Palace. On foot it is about half an hour, but it feels shorter. Belvedere Palace and its garden are really beautifully designed and have impressive architecture.

The palace was built for Prince Eugene in the 18th century. In total there are 12 fountains with statues of Greek gods in the palace garden. The garden is otherwise also strongly based on Greek mythology. The lower part of the palace is oriented towards the underworld, as it lies around 30 metres lower than the upper part of the palace. The garden separates the two parts of the palace. The upper part is oriented towards Olympus. Accordingly, this is where more statues of the father gods are found. After a walk in the palace park we go back to the hotel and get ready to go for dinner. Today we want to eat at the restaurant “Figlmüller”, which is famous across the city for its schnitzel. For 3 months now, this traditional restaurant has actually had vegan schnitzel too. We are therefore very happy and are greeted outside the restaurant by a queue about 30 metres long. After being reassured online once more that it would be worth the long wait, we also joined the queue. And the wait was truly worth it in every respect. The schnitzel and the potato salad (or as they say here “Erdapfelsalat”) were excellent. To all meat eaters: the vegan schnitzel is worth it, whether you are a carnivore, pescetarian, vegetarian or vegan!