Today I finally went to the Schönbrunn Tiergarten. Tiergarten means zoo. Supposedly it is the oldest zoo in the world. I haven’t gone until now because I am spoiled from having grown up so close to San Diego. The San Diego Zoo is one of the greatest in the world. The Berlin Zoo, considered the best in Europe, is child’s play in comparison to the San Diego Zoo. So thinking about the Schönbrunn Tiergarten, I wasn’t that excited at the idea of going. Today, however, was a mild day temperature-wise and it was sunny with a blue sky. Working in an office during the week makes me eager to be outside on the weekends when the weather is nice.
So off I went to the Schönbrunn Tiergarten. I have to admit I was very impressed with it. It is by no means a competitor to either the Berlin or San Diego zoo in size, but it definitely has a charm to it. The layout is great. Most places where the animals are kept allow you to walk completely around to get different angles of the animals. This means that you usually saw the animals, instead of the normal disappointment of going to an area and not seeing a critter.
There was also a rainforest area that was really a lot of fun. You had to enter a two story building that had the warmth and dampness of a rainforest. It was set up like a huge tree house, allowing you to cross wooden rope bridges and see the animals hanging out right next to you.
What was also impressive was the arrangement of the large cats. There were sections where only glass stood between you and the cats. I stood about a foot away and watched as a leopard and a panther strolled by. To get such an up close encounter was exciting.
Overall I would recommend the Schönbrunn Tiergarten to anyone. It was definitely worth the visit.
Schonbrunn Tiergarten
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As I mentioned in my Breaking Your Fast in Austria post, I will be talking about food in Austria. Since breakfast has already been covered, let’s move on to lunch.
It’s still the big meal out of the day for most Austrians. Out in the country they seem to have the luxury to drive home, cook something up real fast, and hurry back to work. In Vienna, they are like most city folk, and scurry off to a restaurant.
What an Austrian might have for lunch is the beloved Wiener Schnitzel. No, I am not talking about the fast food chain. Wiener Schnitzel is veal pounded very thin, breaded, and fried. A wedge of lemon is served on the side to sprinkle over it. A potato salad is served in a bowl. Potato salad is not mixed with mayonnaise, it’s mixed with oil and vinegar. But if you are being a real Austrian, you won’t just use any oil, you’ll use pumpkin seed oil. It makes the potatoes look green. It’s actually really rather good, it’s just a surprising sight at first.
Wiener-Schnitzel
A variation of the Wiener Schnitzel is the Cordon Bleu. It is also veal pounded very thin, but with cheese and ham included. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s tasty. If you’re going to go this very bad route, go all the way and have some French fries on the side.
cordon-bleu
Lunch is a big topic and I’ll continue to address the more popular items on the Austrian menu.
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I will be the first one to state that I love Munich. I had the luck of being able to stay in the city for a month. I ran around and checked out all of the sights. I hadn’t been back to the city in over eight years and was able to convince my husband that we should visit for a day.
Upon our visit to Munich, I realized that my memories of the city were pretty good. Naturally I compared Munich to my adopted city of Vienna and noticed the following that I prefer about Munich over Vienna:
- The underground subway is in fact underground. The only time it emerges is when it is out in the suburbs. I like this because Munich doesn’t have the noise that the train makes and there is no bad real estate because of the above ground train. In Vienna, the train is about 30% underground, the rest above ground. It is unsightly and loud.
- The people of Munich are friendly. Ask any Austrian or anyone who knows the Viennese, and they’ll tell you the Viennese aren’t proper Austrians because of their rudeness and unfriendliness.
- Munich is cleaner than Vienna.
- Munich has good shopping that is comparable to Milan or Paris.
- There’s a great party scene in Munich
- Cultural opportunities of fantastic museums and great theater are never ending
Having not been to Munich for over eight years, I did in fact romanticize. Though the above holds true, Vienna still holds my heart because of it’s imperial nature. The Inner City of Vienna blows Munich out of the water in its ability to impress with its fantastic architecture. I have never seen anything more beautiful or impressive than the Inner City of Vienna. Also, cultural opportunities are just as strong in Vienna as they are in Munich, and there is a good party scene in Vienna too.
That and I just might be feeling that Vienna is in fact, home.
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