Not to be a Debbie Downer but for me Vienna lacked a bit of the “it factor“.
What is the “it factor“? I have no idea. Some places have it and others don’t. I suppose it’s just a magnetic pull that attracts you to some places over others.
The people in Vienna are happy, very fashionable, friendly. The city itself is modern, beautiful, clean. It’s really everything you could want in a holiday destination but it lacks a little something and I can’t put my finger on it. Megan felt the same way.
Nonetheless, Vienna is full of amazing museums/attractions and we took full advantage. The one that really blew our hair back was Schonnbrun Palace.
Us outside of Schonnbrun Palace (on a cold winter day)
Schonnbrun Palace
was built by the powerful Habsburg family 300 years ago to be their “summer home”.
1441 room “summer home”.
The Habsburgs at one time or another had conquered half of Europe so they’re “kind of a big deal” as Ron Burgundy would say.
As we walked room to room, I was blown away by the history that had happened in these rooms:
The Napolean Room
In 1806 and 1810 when Napoleans’ forces occupied Vienna, he stayed at Schonnbrun Palace. I literally walked through the bedroom of Napolean Bonaparte. His sons picture is still on the wall.
Ballroom
This room hosted the historic 1961 meeting between JFK and Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War.
Schonnbrun Palace 1961
It was also in this Palace that a young 6 year old Mozart played his first concert for the imperial family in 1762
.
Unreal!
Several days later we were picking up our rental car and on our way to Slovenia to visit the capital city “Ljubljana”.
Slovenia is a small country (about 4 times the size of PEI) with only 2 million people. 60% of the country is forested which is quite rare in Europe to say the least. Slovenia is 1 of 7 nations that made up the former communist country of Yugoslavia.
Preseren Square, Ljubljana
We loved Ljubljana. It’s quiet, cobblestone, pedestrian-only city center. It’s friendly people and interesting history. It’s lively pubs with outdoor seating. I felt it had tons of character and is well worth a visit if you find yourself nearby one day.
Enjoying sausage and fresh bread served with horseradish and mustard (with a beer to wash it down)
Large churches seem to be in every small village here. Slovenia is mostly Roman Catholic.
The balcony behind me is where Yugoslavian leader “Tito” gave his first speech. He would go on to rule Yugoslavia for 35 years until his death in 1980.
Tomorrow we cross the border into Croatia and head down the Adriatic coast before turning inland to Bosnia. Very excited!
I’ll leave you with the dissapointed look of someone who orders “Vienna Sausages with Goulash” at a nice restaurant in Vienna ……..and the waiter brings me 2 hot dogs. Megan found this pretty hilarious…
Vienna, Austria
Kamikaze Canuck 
Love it. Thanks for the history lesson. This is like being there(and I will never be able to do. Love you guys, what is Megan finding to eat? I doubt that sausages would be high on the list.
Always look forward to your posts bro 🙂
Good to here from you both. I love the learning’s. Very volatile area over the last 30 years! Maybe hope for other parts of the world in crisis. Hope Megan is feeling well!!
Looking forward to Croatia lesson…….
Hi Jason and Megan, As always you do such a great job with your blogs. I always learn some new history and customs of the countries . Keep up the great work. Have fun in England. Love Dad
Thanks Neil. I’m doing one last blog before we get to London. Meg is very excited for London. We are having a great time!