This was my favorite spot in Vienna, although we arrived there from a bus tour taken the day we landed in Austria. It was not until the end of our tour, which sleep deprivation and heat seemed to have deteriorated, that I finally asked who lived in this monstrous abode. It was the imperial family's summer residence, the home where Marie Antoinette was raised. Wow!
As you can likely tell from our photo, we were not in the best of moods for such a grand tour, but I saw enough to know (and not enough to know!) that this is at the top of my list of places to visit when I return to Vienna at some undetermined as of yet point in my life. Here is a funny conversation I had with my half comatose daughter, who only knew that this was the home of a princess. We were waiting in a shaded, covered walkway between the huge palace and another set of buildings which were likely at sometime either stables or offices, but now are the home of a restaurant.
Em: Where did she live?
Me: In that big building. Let's sit here (on a step off the back door of the kitchen) but watch out. People might come out this door and not know we are here.
Em: I want to go in that door.
Me: We can't go in there.
Em: Why not? I want to see where she lived.
Me: Well, she lived over there, and we are going to go in and see that. This is a restaurant.
Em: So, she lived next door to a restaurant???
Me: Laughing.... well, when she lived here, it was not a restaurant!
How, exactly, do you explain 300 years ago to a 6 year old? I thought the immense size of the place might be some indication, but apparently I was incorrect. All in all, I'm guessing the fact that there was no longer a real, live princess living in that palace made it not seem so authentic to her. In a sense, Cinderella's Castle at Disney World is the only "real" castle she's ever seen, because she knows Cinderella lives there, has seen her with her own eyes. And by the way, she has her own restaurant as well!
1 comment:
What a wonderful trip, and quite the cultural education.
Post a Comment