and maybe it would snow a bit. Vienna is beautiful and colllllddddd! We weren't as prepared as we could have been the first time we went out but we are quick learners. We layered, and layered, and layered and layered. Even after that, we couldn't stay out too long in the cold - it just creeps into your bones. The wind didn't help at all. But we soldiered through and had a great time.Vienna is a city that decorates for Christmas. Every street seems to have own lights. I also noted that there is no problem with displaying religious decorations as well. I saw many Nativity scenes all over the city. To see a city so nicely decorated really puts you in the Christmas spirit. Even with the freezing cold, people really get out and walk in Vienna. The streets were full of people window shopping, admiring the decorations and having a good time. It is easy to get caught up in it all.
We went to two palaces, Belvedere and Schonbrunn. Belvedere was a royal palace that was originally owned by a French prince-turned-Austrian-war general. The palace was built in the early 1700s and eventually sold to Maria Theresa, the reigning monarch of Austria for many years. Later it was the location of the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955. The treaty established Austria as a free and democratic state after being occupied by Allied Forces since the end of World War II.
The second palace we visited was Schonbrunn. This was one of the main palaces of Maria-Theresa and her husband Francis I. Although technically Maria-Theresa was really only Empress Consort, meaning it was actually her husband on the throne, she pretty much ran things and continued to run things after his death. They had 16 children (when did she have the TIME to run an empire!). The most famous of the children was their youngest daughter Marie Antoinette. It was really interesting going through the palace, which is furnished in the way it would have been when Maria Theresa and Francis lived there. You see all the portraits of their children an you learn a bit as to what happened to them. I think most of Maria Theresa's time was spent figuring out the best marriages for all of her children, with 16 it was probably a full time job. It was kind of sad in a way, it doesn't appear that they had any relationship with their children and the only value the kids had was what they could do for Austria by marrying well. Marie Antoinette was married to the boy who would
be King of France when she was 14 years old! It seemed to be a very opulent but a lonely life. Even after her marriage, Marie Antoinette's mother would constantly write her reminding her of her responsibility to Austria. Schonbrunn was also the site of the meeting between Kennedy and Kruschev. I don't really have a great picture of it because it had a Christmas Market set up in front but this will give you a good idea of what it looked like. Apparently the yellow color of this palace is famous world wide. Now you know. One of our favorite spots was their Natural History Museum, one because it had quite a few interesting exhibits and the building itself was so interesting. The second reason was that it was indoors and did I mention how cold it was outside? It housed an aquarium where we have proof
positive that there is such a thing as a hog fish. Those of you that know us, know why that is important. Doubting WTF readers? Here you go - proof. The inside of the building was just beautiful and I found myself looking up at the ceiling, the mouldings, the paneling just as much as I was looking at the exhibits. 
We also managed to sample some great Austrian cuisine while we were there at a cute
little restaurant. The kids loved the nutcracker that they had on the table, it was really fun to use. If they had been selling them, I would have come home with one for sure. Kiki is demonstrating it to the left. Put the nut in the little hole and then you twist the screw down onto the nut and it cracks it very satisfactorily. It was really fun, in a strange way. I was a little afraid to try the dish circled in red on the menu because in my experience food cooked by an animal is not usually as good. But if you are more adventurous, you might want to try it.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the Opera House as it wasn't open on the day we were there. We also missed out on the famous Lipizzaner Horses at the Spanish Riding School. During the off season, they only offer a certain number of tours per day and they were already sold out by the time we arrived. Darn!
Of course, something else Vienna is famous for is music. Mozart, Johan Strauss, Schubert, and Haydn - all famous Austrian composers. Mozart
performed his first concert at Schonbrunn Palace when he was 6 years old! You see quite a bit of memorabilia dedicated to music. We ran into this at the underground subway. Pay a few euros, do your business and enjoy a little opera at the same time. Snake was moved (not that way!) to buy a souvenir of Vienna of a musical sort. Here it is: 
Mozart Pez. A Classic. Sure to be a treasured memento for many years to come.
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