Vienna

    Vienna itself was not a Wow me kind of place.The hotel we stayed in was definitely the best of this trip.Right on the Ringstrasse,in the historical part of Vienna.We spent alot of time in the museum of history and in Hofburg palace.Austria's history is very complex and the story of Empress Elizabeth<Sissi> and Emperor Franz is a great one to  listen to as you are auto guiding your way through the private apartments at Hofburg.

  The museum had the biggest collection of gold that I have ever seen all in one place before.The center pieces,dinner sets and silver ware were amazing.Apparently porcelain was not good enough for dinner in the early times.But after the war and melting down of the gold for coins and such,porcelain /china was the excepted diner service for the elite.They traveled with quite the entourage to the summer and winter palaces and the crates they brought with them for family dinners and for formal dinners must have been wagon loads This little part of the tour made me really understand how many people and wagons must have been involved in a move to a different residence. 

 

 

      Outside the back of the Hofburg,by the Spanish riding school there are roman ruins that are preserved.They have placards dating different parts..The Romans occupied Vienna for a couple hundred years.It amazes me that the roman influence is all over Europe.Every where we go  we see it mixed in with the history of that country and has been for so long.We stand and look in awe,Being from Canada we do not have even  a church that old. 

 

 Next on our stop was the lovely Schobrunn Palace which I have separate pages for.Please have a look!