Schoenbrunn looks like Versailles, but is really not that far outside of Vienna, which I think bespeaks the need of the Hapsbergs to keep a close hand on the levers of power in order to maintain their dynasty over the 400 or 600 years that they owned this town (depending whether you are talking about the Holy Roman Empire or the Austrian empire). Everyone agrees that the empire fell on 11/11/1918 with the treaty of Versailles. Most also seem to agree that the end of the power of the imperium was greatest under the trinity of Empress Marie Therese (mid-1700s), Metterach (a prime minister of extraordinary influence in the early 1800s), and Emperor Franz Joseph (last half of the 1800s). The summer palace served all of them, and the remains of the place give some insight into the kind of governance that Vienna enjoyed in its heyday.Room after room of gaudy furniture filled the palace. We heard about it all via the recording that they give to you with your admission to help you understand what is going on. But the recording is no help when confronted with hoardes of tourists. Maria Therese and Franz Joseph, however, took little joy in it, other than as a means of manipulating power. Maria Therese’s husband was a kindly emperor, good for the arts, but wisely ceded the political work to his wife, who managed alliances through the marriages of her myriad daughters, encouraged industrialization within the empire and assemled the Baltic kingdoms into a world power. Much of this wheeling and dealing happened at the summer palace. Her rooms were gaudy and baroque, but one got the feeling that she used beauty as a tool of diplomacy- if you are going to be a world power, you need to look like a world power.
Her heirs were not so savvy, but they managed to bring aboard Metternach who played the European balance of power like a musical instrument while the aristocrats enjoyed the finer things of life. After the revolution of 1848, came Franz Joseph a workaholic whose rooms showed his Spartan devotion to duty. His death in 1916 clearly contributed to the downfall of the empire after the First World War.
A summer palace wouldn’t be a summer palace without a garden, and this place had several. The kitchen garden was spectacular and the the main garden was big, grand and had a pavilion overlooking it that gave a spectacular view of Vienna. Did I mention again that the weather outside was perfect? So we walked the ground, now a park full of joggers and children, visited the playgrounds full of labyrinths and cools toys, and had lunch at the Gloriette. I had minced meat pancakes and Sturm (fresh wine, not yet aged, apparently a fall tradition in Austria) that were amazing. 
Julie enjoyed another Eiskaffee with her croissant. Afterwards, we meandered to the kitchen to watch a demonstration of the making of Apfelstrudel- strudel making is an art, and, while we were invited to try it home, I think that I will give it a pass. A long day, but worthwhile. These folks built an empire with what they had, and managed to come back after Napoleon sacked the city (twice). Coming back from the Nazi period is just one more brush with the improbable and unpleasant.Another subway ride and we were ready for art. The Leopoldmuseum had Klimt and his lesser known kin, who tried to remake the art world in the fin d’siecle by “seceding” from the Academy and creating a more practical art, that was part of everything. The work was at times dark and depressing. But it again showed that cycle of hope, how you can build with what you have and get something better.
Their spirit was nowhere better expressed than in Karlsplatz, where were found a kinetic water sculpture spelling words in falling water droplet that are pulled from the news feeds of the internet in a public park. Art can be part of life, and Vienna is still trying to figure out how.A subway ride home, a quick change and we were off the Symphony. In honor of the visiting Spanish choir, we had tapas at a nearby Spanish restaurant (surprisingly good). Musikverein is a wonderful hall, shaped rather like Mechanic’s Hall with great acoustics and lousy chairs. The music was operatic.
Act 1 was from Spanish operas of which I had not heard; act II was from Verdi, Bizet, Prokokiev and some others. All was of high quality, but as always Carmen and Aida brought the house down. The applause was deafening, and again showed the vibrancy of the cultural of life of post-imperial Vienna. They have 3 or 4 concerts like this going on every night. Just amazing.We ended the day by sharing a 5 scoop waffle cone by the Canal. Vienna as a tourist is almost as much fun as Vienna as a wanderer.
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