Nathan's Insights

Wednesday 17 April 2024
Highlights: Exploring the stunning Schönbrunn Palace, a night of ballet at the State Opera House watching Die Kameliendame.

Today I wanted to explore the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. This summer palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers who purchased it in 1569 first making it into a game reserve for hunting.

We headed off to Schönbrunn Palace using the excellent U Train service. We purchase grand tour tickets for 31 euros which allocated us an entrance time of 11.24 which gave us over 90 minutes to explore the extensive gardens. The Gardens extending for 1.2 km from east to west and approximately 1 kilometre from north to south. Both the Gardens and the Palace are listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

After exploring the Gardens and being provided excellent views of the Palace and the city it was time for our audio tour of Schönbrunn Palace.

Schönbrunn Palace has 1,441 rooms and reflects tastes and styles since the 1600s. The Palace is still used for important State Receptions but has mostly been used as a tourist destination since the 1950s.

The Palace has furniture and paintings that go back over 300 years which dazzle the eye.

In the early afternoon I headed back to the hotel for some rest time. Darby continued back to Vienna’s centre for some more exploring. We would meet up at 4.45 pm the State Opera House to attempt to get some room tickets for a performance.

Tonight’s performance was for Die Kameliendame which is a ballet. It was written by Alexandre Dumas in 1848 as a semi-autobiographical novel. It is the story of a courtesan Marguerite Gauter and her suitor and later lover Armand Duval. It is a tragic story of missed opportunities, pain, and eventual death for Marguerite with the great regret of Armand.

A ballet is a great medium to watch as the dances and body movements tell the story not words. There were three Acts to the ballet which started at 6.30 pm, had first intermission at 7.15 pm and the second at 8.15 pm finishing at 9.30 pm. Each intermission was for 20 minutes which gives you time to sit down.

We selected standing room tickets on the Balcony level which gave us a great view of the orchestra as well as the stage. While standing you get to lean on a railing in your allocated standing spot. It was a beautiful ballet in a world renown Opera House. A perfect event for Vienna the capital for classical music.