Cedric #3: May 30

We had a hard time getting up this morning, but after some pillow smashes the last person (a particular Hokie) got up. We were out of the door by 9:15; very impressive for our group. After yesterday's hour long breakfast fiasco, we decided to make a quick stop at a bakery in the metro station instead. Metro stations in Europe are very fancy. Especially in Berlin and Vienna where there are shops, supermarkets…

Let me go off on a little tangent about supermarkets. At most restaurants in Europe bottled water is usually more expensive that other drinks (including bubble water, of which I'm the only consumer in our group). In addition, sometimes restaurants (Prague, and Vienna so far…) don't have tap water (yea right…) and in Berlin supposedly its rude to ask for tap water. A half liter is anywhere from 3 to 5 euros! Therefore we've developed a system to bypass the money drain. To be polite, we buy the cheapest water and split it, but after the meal we go to the nearest supermarket (usually in a metro station) and each buy all the water we want. A liter and a half can cost about 70 cents! Quite a bargain. Now back to Sunday morning…

After a quick (and in my opinion disappointing) breakfast we were off for a fifteen minute ride (much shorter than Versailles and Potsdam) to Schloß Schonbrunn (or as we know it, Schonbrunn Palace), home of the Habsburgs.

Construction began in 1696. Built to rival Versailes, I must say the Austrians did a good job. Even though the palace is not as large and elaborate (on the outside) and doesn't have such gigantic gardens as Versailles, it definitely has a certain charm. At first I was disgusted by the yellow-orange (or as Sam describes, "a mix between greasy popcorn and unripened orange") of the palace's exterior; however, after the initial shock I slowly began to appreciate its color and even grew to enjoy it. Upon arrival at the palace, we bought a discounted (because we were all 18 and younger) Classic Pass. The first destination would be the palace itself.

The interior was stunning. Unlike Versailles, Schonbrunn was the Imperial family's residence until 1918 (the end of World War I); therefore, the artwork, furniture, and china were much more modern. Maria Theresia, ruler of Austria in the mid 1700s, seemed to have redone much of the palace because her lavish influence was apparent in most of the rooms. According to the audioguide, she was one of Austria's most beloved Empresses. It turns out she was the mother of Marie Antoinette who was guillotined in the French Revolution. A few generations later, Franz Joseph I was a much more simple (yet still elegant) ruler who considered himself a servant to the state. As a group of 5 rings, we admired him the most (of course based off limited information). Ironically, he was Austria's last legit Emperor (he died in 1916, in the middle of World War I. The Habsburgs would lose the throne two years later and Austria would become a Republic).

After finishing the audiotour, our ticket allowed us (unlike some others who were kicked out) to see a ten minute show of how to make Apple Strudel. After tasting a small yet scrumptious sample, we watched with wide eyes as the black-haired cook churned out an apple strudel in lightning speed while cracking many hilarious jokes.

Next, we went to the gardens. First section, the Privy Gardens, a "small" private garden for the Imperial family. It was quite nice, with an overlook with a beautiful view on the side of the Palace. In the middle were orange and lemon trees with some of the biggest lemons I've ever seen!

In the back of the gardens was a maze!! Parker and I loved the maze more than anything else at the palace! At first I thought it would be worthless, but it was pretty legit. Christian was the first to the raised platform in the middle where he mocked us and took sneaky pictures of us finding our way (we just wanted to make sure we saw every corner of that maze because we'd only be there once!) Then while Sam, Christian, and Henry went to frolic in the small kiddy playground, Parker and I completed/sprinted through the two other mazes which included a small mirror maze, bridges, a math riddle (which we really wanted to complete but we didn't have enough time to because the others were waiting…), and twelve foot poles that you need to climb up to ring a bell on top. We had a blast.

By then, a rapidly approaching line of pitch-black clouds was making its way across the horizon towards us. We decided to quickly visit the last part of the gardens, a large fancy what would come to be rain shelter on the top of a large hill (called the Gloriette). Parker and I took "quickly" to heart and jogged up the hill, making it under the shelter with a spectacular view before the pouring rains arrived. Sam, Christian, and Henry were not so fortunate and received a nice shower (luckily they had rain coats) by the time they joined us. After huddling under a ledge, trying to stay dry, the rain abated and we quickly escaped from the Palace grounds back to the metro. Overall, I loved Schloß Schonbrunn.

After a quick stop by the hostel, we had lunch around 1:30 (quite early for us…). We ate at a different bakery with delicious paninis inside a metro station. Very quick, cheap, and satisfying.

By 2 o'clock we were at our next attraction for the day, the modern art museum Albertina. Not being a fan of modern art, I wasn't particularly excited about it but I was pleasantly surprised because there were some interesting and good pieces. I especially enjoyed the Impressionist art. Professor Henry had not studied much of the art, but he did recognize many of the artists. Sam said it was his favorite art museum of the trip so far.

After several hours of walking through never ending galleries, we took the metro to another recommended museum, the Secession. However, after looking at the prices and being honestly weary of art, we decided to skip this one. Instead, we enthusiastically went to the Natural History Museum in the Museum Quarter.

With an hour and a half left before the museum closed, we quickly raced through as much as we could. The first many rooms were dedicated to various rocks, including a 68.86kg (2.7 million dollar) chunk of gold which we wanted to add to our art collection. However, after due consideration, we decided to leave it behind and add its more portable 46.57 kg (1.8 million dollar) neighbor to our collection instead. Needless to say, we enjoyed dinner that evening. We also saw some minerals from Georgia (and as Parker really wants me to add, Texas), USA!

After the rocks, Sam nearly wet his pants when seeing a giant chloroplast model on the ceiling. Parker and I entertained ourselves for several minutes in front of a thermal imaging camera. The next exhibit contained a black box in the middle with security cameras floating around. Anxious to see the prize inside, we rush in and its Henry's turn to jump in excitement: the Fat Goddess!! (or as Henry enlightened us, it is properly called the Venus of Willendorf). Henry enthusiastically educated us about its meaning and origin as we analyzed one of the oldest statuettes in human history.

Next was the Darwin exhibit, with awesome 3D pictures and a section full of skulls of human evolution. It was interesting to see how small the first ones were and how they slowly progressed to the modern human skull.

The last exhibit we were able to see before being kicked out once again from a museum was the stuffed animal section. No, it was not full of teddy bears, but there was a section of monkeys that Parker wanted to join.

At 6:30 we were forced to exit the museum so we turned our focus on the most important aspect of traveling: food. We ate at a nice restaurant not to far away and I got to finally taste wiener schnitzel, a Viennese speciality of breaded veal.

Luckily for us, streetcar number 49 passed a block away from the restaurant and went right next to our hostel. So we got on our first Viennese streetcar and luckily it stopped right in front of an ice cream shop! We got off and each of us bought large, tasty, and surprisingly cheap (for the amount given) ice cream and milkshakes. Paradise.

After dessert, we returned to our hostel for an "early" night. Sam blogged and Henry took a shower while Christian, Parker, and I began an intense game of Risk (the amazing hostel had a shelf full of board games). Midway through the game, Henry came asking for rescue: he had dropped the key to his locker down the drain of the sink! We don't know how, but Henry magically managed to get the key wedged perfectly horizontally three or four inches down. We jumped to the rescue. I rushed to get a paperclip which Christian daring and carefully guided to try and hook the evasive key. Clatter!! The key fell deeper out of sight deep into the murky depths. Uh oh… Henry's heart was about to stop when Parker proposed to dismantle the drain.

Before I continue the story, I would just like to warn parents about some future bills coming in the mail…

We quickly crouched down and unscrewed the drain… and water started spraying everywhere! We jumped back in surprise and before we could do anything, the bathroom was already soaked. Christian put his hand over the pipe to try to stop the gushing water but to no avail; it just sprayed through his hand and he got completely soaked. Not knowing what to do, we rushed out of the bathroom. There was already a crowd of people gathering to watch…

Just kidding. Once the pipe was unscrewed, out came Henry's key. Whew! Sigh of relief. We just screwed the drain back on and all was well.

Nothing much happened after that adrenaline rush. We talked a bit with a couple from Detroit and Ireland, Henry blogged, and the rest of us got ready for bed. Lights out around 12:30, and we dozed off each into our various wonderlands.