Coat of arms of the Republic of Austria

SCENIC EMERALD: VIENNA WITH SCENIC TOURS

Scenic Emerald had docked in Vienna, the capital of Austria, before we awoke on Friday, September 4. It was raining, and the historic city whose walls had successfully resisted sieges in 1529 and 1683 by Muslim armies determined to conquer central Europe presented anything but an attractive appearance. Our bus departed for the Schönbrunn Palace at 9.00 am.

The facade of the Schönbrunn Palace overlooks the extensive sculpted gardens called the Great Parterre. The gardens end in the Neptune Fountain which is overlooked by the Gloriette structure.

Schönbrunn was a former imperial summer residence of the Hapsburg monarchs and is one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The magnificent palace and gardens reflect the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive rulers of Austria. Unlike many great museums and palaces in France and Germany where photography without flash is permitted, no photographs can be taken inside the Schönbrunn Palace. The coat of arms between the two views of the palace is that of the Hapsburg monarchs.

The sculpted gardens at Schönbrunn Palace called the Great Parterre.

A brief walk through the sculpted gardens called the Great Parterre ended at the Neptune Fountain. This elaborate fountain is overlooked on a hill by the Gloriette structure which was erected by Empress Maria Theresa as a symbol of Hapsburg power. The Great Parterre is lined by 32 sculptured classical figures representing deities and virtues. A great deal of the palace complex and gardens was not included in our tour. Features that we did not see included the zoo, the Gloriette structure, the Maze, the Orangerie, the Roman Ruins, the Palm House, and the English Garden.

At least a dozen buses were parked outside the palace, and the pressure of the crowd inside the palace caused the tour of the state rooms and apartments to be rushed.

After leaving Schönbrunn Palace, we were driven to St Stephens Cathedral in the heart of Vienna. It was now raining steadily and after a short visit to the cathedral, our bus returned us directly to the Scenic Emerald. We had received only fleeting impressions of Vienna as our bus sped back to the Danube but those impressions suggested a beautiful city and attractions that would be worth a visit of several days rather than a very rushed half-day stopover. In my opinion, Scenic should drop relatively uninteresting stops at Nuremburg and Bratislava from their river cruise itinerary and provide passengers with more time to explore picturesque cities such as Salzburg and Vienna.

A virus was sweeping throught the passengers on Scenic Emerald, and having succumbed to it, I was unable to accompany my wife to the musical evening at Vienna's Palais Liechtenstein. None of the crew appeared to be affected by the virus, which led me to suspect that out air conditioned buses helped to spread the disease.

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