Captain Grumpy: For those waiting on a baseball reference…it was “get away” day for us in Vienna. We had a 1430 train ride to Praha. So after breakfast, we hustled over to Schonbrunn Palace to visit the Habsburgs Summer house and gardens. It was damp and rain threatened to ruin our visit. Luckily, the inside of the palace had a roof, so we stayed dry. Part of the tour was under restoration -- the ballroom was one year into a two year project. We were able to watch as the workers were applying the gold leaf, which signaled they were finishing up with that portion of the room. The kids were well behaved, so was Mother Superior. The way I figured it, she was due to be the one in trouble. The kids and I have been hogging that role. There were a couple other places that I would have liked to see in Vienna, but we now have a feel for the city and if possible, will return to see more. We decided to try another restaurant out of the guidebook for lunch, so we traipsed across the city to try to locate it. Unfortunately, it had closed a few years prior and so, without much option, we ate in the restaurant that now occupies that space. Nothing to write home about (I suppose that I had better stop typing about it). We went back to the hotel, gathered our bags and headed to the train station. We boarded our train and occupied a cabin to ourselves, taking up 4 of the 6 seats. I quickly coached the kids on misbehaving in case someone else tried to sit with us. We even rehearsed it once before Mother Superior realized what I was doing. Nevertheless, they were ready. We arrived on time and took the metro to the hotel. Then it was off to a restaurant for some food. Mother Superior read that they raise their own fish – trout, pike and carp – so fish was off limits (she was afraid that she would get the carp).
Mother Superior: We are half way through our train ride to Prague. On this gray, rainy and overcast day, we toured the Habsburg summer palace at Schonbrunn. A this magnificent residence, that the Empress Maria Theresia completed, we had our first sighting of tour buses and gangs of tourists. Afraid of anything that looks or smells of mobs, we quickened our pace and raced past a group of schoolchildren to discover the grounds before the crowds had a chance to organize themselves. Maria Theresia was a great tour de force of political and personal ambition. She loved her husband Franz Stephan greatly, yet ironically only allowed her favorite daughter, Maria Christina to marry for love. The rest all suffered arranged marriages. Most notably, Maria Antionette who once wrote, “I love the Queen, but fear my mother.” Interesting fact I learned today while speaking to one of the curators. In the old days, women in Austria used to have a little sack in which they would place raw meat. They would carry it around their waist so that fleas and other critters would be attracted to the beef, rather than the human’s filthy body. Horrifying. Maybe I can use this to stir up conversation at the next Halloween party?
Princess: Today I woke up and played. I went on a train. It was raining.
Monkey Hat: Today I woke up early and played Angry Birds on dad’s iphone until mom woke up. While mom showered, dad and I got dressed. We decided to go down to eat first after Princess woke up. So we went downstairs to have breakfast. We had the same food as yesterday. We both went back upstairs and let the girls have their breakfast. While the ate, I charged mom’s camera batteries and played more Angry Birds. When the girls came back up, we left to go to the Schonbrunn Palace. At the palace, I saw where Sisi stayed for the summer. When we were done, we went to have lunch at Milo and then went back to the hotel to get our bags. Then we went to the train station. When it was time, we got on the train and we went into our cabin. Princess and I played while mom and dad read their books. Princess stopped playing with me so I read book #10 of Horror Land. I finished the book and started number 11, but I didn’t finish it. At last we got to Prague and took a subway to our Marriott Hotel. We left our hotel and went to eat. We ate across the street and had pizza, pasta and tomatoes. After we finished, we went back to the hotel and wrote our journals to go to bed. Princess and I built a spaceship to sleep in. PS. On the train, we ate gummy bears.
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