Our second full day in Vienna was spent at the Schonbrunn Palace just outside of the city. It was built as a hunting lodge and summer palace for the Austrian emperor. For the first day since we left France, the weather was sunny and clear. We took the 58 train to the palace and as the train came to a stop, I caught my first look of the palace. It was incredible. Truly awe inspiring. I have studied the Austrian empire for some time during AP European History in high school, so to finally be at the place where all that history was made was indescribable. We bought our tickets, and began the grand tour of the palace. I'm glad that they didn't allow pictures, because no camera could have captured the beauty and grand majesty of it. I saw the office of Emperor Josepf II and Franz Joseph, Maria Theresa's bedroom, and the hall where Mozart, at the age of 6, performed his first concert. I would love to return to the palace during the summer. I would love to see the gardens behind the palace when the flowers were in full bloom. They seemed to stretch out forever. The gardens are actually bigger than the entire nation of Monaco. We climbed the hill to the top, which present a majestic view of the palace and Vienna as well. We spent hours walking around the surrounding woods, gardens, and the palace itself. While walking around the gift shop, I heard something that immediately caught my attention. I heard the unmistakable sound that is a southern accent. I talked to the girl, and it turned out that she lives in Knoxville! Definitely a big surprise. Eventually though, we had to leave the palace. That night, we had a special treat lined up. A concert featuring music from Mozart and Strauss, two of the greatest Austrian composers as well as two of my own personal favorites. The concert was incredible. I felt truly Viennese. It was the perfect way to spend a last day in this beautiful city. I'm having trouble putting  all the pictures up, so make sure to check the blog in a couple days and hopefully they will all be up there.