Wien

The last stop on our adventure around Europe was Wien (or Vienna), in Austria. We were really only there for one day, as our train got in really late that first night, but considering the little time we did have, I think we got to do quite a bit.

One of the first places we went to was the Schönbrunn Palace (with the mazes!!) as well as the Imperial Palace - which was pretty cool! We went thru the Sisi Museum, which documented the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (aka Sisi) - who was actually Bavarian! In fact, I was so intrigued by her that I bought her biography from the gift shop. Apparently, she was quite the woman - very driven, independent, and extremely beautiful - which she knew and used to her advantage to get what she wanted from people - particularly her husband, Emperor Francis Joseph I. Her life, as well as her death (she was murdered) was anything but dull, to say the least.

We also went to the Globe Museum, as well as the Imperial Burial Vault - which was creepy, but cool! It was basically a bunch of these rooms underground, containing the coffins of everyone from the Royal line - so there were people there from way, way back to the like the 1630's all the way up till today - I saw one coffin from 2007! One of the most famous coffins is that of Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I - they are actually in a double coffin, buried side by side. Sisi is also buried here, next to her husband and son. Not only were adults buried here, but there were also many child-sized coffins. It was creepy - knowing that you're in a room full of decomposing bodies - but at the same time it was interesting to see how the Imperial family is cared for after death, as well as to see the changes in the coffins as the years went by.