Hallstatt kicked us out of town by sending the sun out to make us regret every complaint we might have had. Bastard.

Yesterday we arrived in our excellent apartment in Vienna. We’ll be very comfortable here for the next 5 days, with lots of space to cook and lounge and a close proximity to the sights in town.

We went for an afternoon stroll through the beautiful museum quarter where we stopped in for a drink, before wandering the city centre for a bit, eating and drinking at a Mexican restaurant for a change of pace, and then one final drink at a quaint little bar on our street. We’re already loving the variety Vienna has to offer, after the slightly trapped feeling of Hallstattt.

The next day we made our way to Schloss Schonbrunn, former Imperial palace and centre of power for the Habsburgs and the Austrian Empire. While no photos were allowed inside, the guided audio tour was refreshingly good, and we learnt about the key palace tenants including Empress Maria-Theresa and Emporer Franz Joseph – both fascinating characters from different eras of the empire. The palace grounds featured some lovely parkland and a labyrinth that was an absolute blast to navigate, we got completely lost! Further up the hill is the Gloriette where you can see the entire palace from on high, as well as a great view of Vienna.

Just around the corner is the Zoo, which tripadvisor describes as one of the best in all Europe. While we’re biased and would never rate it higher than Taronga, we had a lovely afternoon visiting animal friends such as panda bears, elephants, penguins and other cute little critters.

Oh, almost forgot one of the day’s highlights! In a basement on the palace grounds you can take a seat and have a coffee and some apple strudel while watching an expert assemble the dish. Marthese was incredibly impressed with his pastry tossing technique. It was a lovely way to break up the day with a little cooking show!