A person cannot say they have visited Vienna without spending time at Schonbrunn Palace. Let's stop and take a moment to think about the word, palace . . . then think of descriptors, like opulent, grand, royal, decadent, rich, and gilded. Yes, I am trying to conjure up visual images because this palace is more than I can get my arms around; it is more than I am capable of relating here and further, we were allowed to take no photographs of the interior or the palace. The Schonbrunn is probably the most important architectural, cultural and historical place in all of Austria. Its vast gardens, zoo and grounds began as a hunting lodge in the 16th century for the enjoyment of court of Roman Emperor Maximilian II. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1996. The palace sits to the west and well out of Old Town Vienna. Back in the day, I imagine it must have been well out into the forest and a good day's ride from old town. Over 300 years, it has evolved into a 1,441-room Baroque palace most famously occupied by Franz Joseph, of the Habsburg monarchy, and the longest reigning emperor of Austria.

While we were not allowed to photograph anything we saw in the interior of the palace we could take pictures of the grounds, the Neptune Fountain and the Gloriette. The original Gloriette monument was destroyed in World War II but was quickly rebuilt in 1947—we saw some of the remnants of the original structures lying sadly on the ground . The estate hosts a grand zoo, an intimidating maze (which I would not enter!!), rose gardens, and the largest glass-house palm house and desert house we have ever seen—and we have seen quite a few.

We had hot chocolate and strudel in one of the outdoor restaurants and spent the rest of our time touring the vast grounds.

After Schonbrunn, with nothing left on our important to-do list, we simply explored Vienna via tram. We caught one just outside Schonbrunn and rode it until we saw a cafe we could not resist. We had goulash once again. Goulash is one of those dishes that in my small little world, I always pictured as a batch of whatever one might have on hand, spiced up pretty well and served with some decent bread. No, that's it not it. Goulash is an actual recipe that is often modified slightly household by household, but chiefly consists of beef, browned with onion, and garlic stewed with thick, concentrated tomato sauce and plenty, plenty of paprika. And now the secret - it must be served with spaetzle. I have learned, truly I have learned. I will host a dinner party when I return home of goulash with spaetzle and rustic bread. Consider yourself lucky to be included. Oh heck, I will cook it for everyone!!!

Ok, we rode trams east and west and north and south. We saw Vienna as a local might see it and captured some of the regular neighborhoods in pictures. We learned important facts: bus drivers and tram drivers do not like it when tourist passengers ride to the end of the line and stay on for the turn around.