En-route

Monday in-flight

Last day in Europe. Sigh! Packed up and sorted out gear for our plane trip, then left our packs at the hostel. Caught the train out to Schloss Schoenberg which was the summer residence of the Hofbergs, even though it is 10 minutes from the centre of Vienna. When they went there they took a retinue of 1500 so it isn't small. Walked around the grounds for an hour or so, and visited several of the outlying buildings. The grounds are so large that they house the zoo. Gardens would be magnificent in spring, but rather bare in winter. Then bought the ticket to see the Imperial Palace and did the audio tour of the more central rooms. Very like Versailles -- rococo style, white with gold trimmings, hidden doors and so on. Train back into town for lunch, then out to the city cemetery to see the graves of several of the Strauss family, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms to name a few. Then on to St Mark's Cemetery to see Mozart's grave. Back to the hostel to pick up the gear, then out to the airport on the train for easy check-in. Left on time. Swiss Air from Vienna to Zürich was uneventful. They served us a salami roll for tea. Short chat to Mandy then on a monorail to terminal three, complete with cows mooing, yodelling, and Swiss bells! Even strobed scenery to make the tunnel look like Swiss countryside.