Friday morning, another big breakfast.  This one featured many of the same dishes as Tuesday:

By 11 am we were walking to the Schonnbrunn Palace that was, according to Google maps, 6 kms away from the hotel.  We thought it should take us an hour and 15 to 30 minutes to walk. We walked through some very un-touristy areas but some were still interesting.

 

Unfortunately, it was also getting hot and the walk took closer to 2 hours because we went down one wrong road, and had  a number of stops for traffic lights and to consult our maps.  Still had time for a quick bite of lunch at a nearby hotel:

 

tomato soup

salad with chicken strips

No photos allowed inside the Palace, the former summer residence of the Hapsburg family built over about 50 years in the 17th century.  The rooms were excessively opulent as the Hapsburgs had to outdo the Bourbons at Versailles. The gardens and woods are extensive and include a zoo, and a maze.

 

 

 

Stopped at an English language bookstore on our way back because Scott’s finished his book.

For dinner, we went to Hollmann Salon, the restaurant associated with our hotel:

aubergine starter

trout salad, beef soup and meatballs

marinated beef and salad

potato leek roulade with sauteed chanterelles

hip steak, semolina polenta, spinach, peppers

three dessert selection

The rest of the night was packing because Saturday morning, we’re off to the train for Graz.