Schonbrunn Palace

Day 12 (cont.) - After lunch, we took a bus to Schonbrunn Palace, which is located on the west side of Vienna. Schonbrunn Palace was the imperial summer residence of Empress Maria Theresa. It was originally built as a hunting lodge. Over the years, they kept expanding it until it became a huge palace. The story goes that each time Maria Theresa had a child, they added on rooms. Each child had nannies and other people to help with their care, so each child necessitated a few rooms. Maria Theresa ended up having 16 children, so many rooms were added. The rooms are all beautiful, with frescoes on the ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, mirrored walls, etc.  After touring inside the palace, we walked around on the beautiful grounds outdoors. Then we boarded the bus to return to the ship. On the way to the palace, we had passed by the Imperial Hotel, where apparently some important meetings are going to take place tomorrow. There were many television cameras set up outside the hotel, and we were told they were awaiting the arrival of John Kerry, among others. In the evening, after dinner, a bus took whoever was interested to see a concert at the Vienna Opera House. Joe went to see it while I stayed on the ship.