Schonbrunn

I am very happy to have signed up for the Orientation Program with WU, even if I have already skipped a day! The convenience of having tours and travels prearranged for you should not be undervalued. If anything, going to Salzburg halfway through reminded me that these people are working very hard to make this experience an awesome one.

Anyways! Schonbrunn.  We were each given audio guides to walk through the palace with, which is all kinds of brilliant given the diversity of the group. While everyone understands some English, expecting them to understand all the words in strange histories would be unrealistic. One of the gentlemen is even German, so him getting a choice to listen in the local language is great. (I also liked noting whose translation was longer based on walking times.)

As someone who was generally unaware of Austrian history before the World Wars, the tour was well timed. It mostly focused on the Hapsburgs, but provided earlier context and even extended a bit until the modern day. The palace is still in use, with functions beyond the museum (because it is so crazy massive). We are hoping to go back to visit the extensive zoo in the gardens. The estate is vast and meandering, so we saw only a fraction in the time we wandered. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you consider the preservation of the artwork), pictures were not allowed inside. As such:

Oh yeah, we totally went for Mafia pizza for dinner. Massive, massive things.