Oh, the rain. It poured all night. The forecast is gloomy, but we are hoping for at least no torrential downpours. We take our time this morning, breakfast, organizing, etc. We finally get out of the hotel a little after 9 and head over to the Hofburg Palace where we figure we can spend a good part of the day inside out of the rain.
It’s drizzling as we make our way to the subway. Not too bad – we’ll take it. Only 2 stops to the Volkstheater where we can walk along the Volksgarten to the main entrance of the castle. With all the walking we did yesterday – we didn’t end up here so it’s a whole new vista for us.
And it’s really wild. The Palace is so huge – it’s broken up into all the multiple museums now, but you just have to stand there and imagine these buildings were all simply housing for the royal family. How many people must it have taken to run this place? Thousands we’re guessing!
Inside the castle walls, it’s equally impressive. A wonderful courtyard ringed with domed rooftops and ornate carvings.
We first venture through the Silver Collection, which is mind boggling. The thousands upon thousands of silverware pieces (still used today for state dinners, mind you!), place settings, table ornamentations, candelabras, you name it. It’s over the top with excess. And this is just the recent stuff, because during the Napoleonic wars, they had to melt down all the silver for coins – and the Kaiser’s collection was no exception. Crazy!
Everything has an origination and story behind it. Like the gorgeous plates that that are painted to depict animals and crustaceans for the Kaiser’s hunting lodge – a present from his wife, Empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”). And the oriental pieces, given to the younger brother of the Kaiser who was assassinated in Mexico (long story – he went there to rule but couldn’t grab hold of the unrest and was killed). It’s all pretty interesting, and opulent and excessive, but gives you a little bit of insight into how royalty lives.
Next up is the Imperial Apartments. We can’t take pictures here – so you just get text. Although I did snap a few of the marble entrance staircase…grand beyond belief.
Inside the apartments, the first rooms are all devoted to Elisabeth (“Sisi” as she was popularly known). A tortured story – part truth, part legend. The Kaiser fell in love with her when she was 16 (her mother and aunt were actually trying to set up her sister with the Kaiser, but he fell in love with Sisi). She couldn’t take the pressures of being the princess and after dutifully fulfilling her duties, she began to travel to get away from the pressures. The Franz Joseph loved her so much, he let her have her way. But she was a tortured soul, a poet, who wrote of dark and moody emotions – focusing on loss of freedom.
After her assassination in France, she was almost canonized and now has a huge place I the lore of Hungarian history –with tons of promotional material and products available with her likeness.
The legend is really intriguing, so now we have to go find the history (and other) books to read up on her!
Onward through the Palace, after the Sisi legends, we get a good glimpse of how Franz Joseph lived, where he greeted his populace, took his breakfast, slept, and worked. He was a very unaffected King – working long, hard hours – supposedly up at 3:15am and at work by 5:30 am. Sisi on the other hand, lived more opulently in specially designed rooms with extra filigree and flowers and wonderful murals painted to look like luscious gardens in exotic lands. It’s really an intriguing story – and way of life.
Once out of the apartments, it is still pretty early, so we decide to go through the Treasury Museum to pass the time (on Rick Steve’s suggestion). We walk around the perimeter of the palace staring in awe at the incredible statues placed all around the walls.
And then at the back entrance to the palace, staring in awe at the horse drawn carriages. Not for their look – they fit perfectly here with the history – but for their prices! 55 Euros for 20 minutes! Wow!
Back inside the palace garden, we pay our 12 Euros (steep!) and head into the Treasury. It is really interesting – I’m particularly intrigued by the Tabards the Kings wear – they are beautiful, but look so heavy and unwieldy.
There are crowns and scepters, and gowns and even a cradle for a Roman King.
There are baptism pitchers and strange altar looking sculptures, gold roses, jewelry, the largest bowl ever cut out of a single quartz stone, and of course more crowns, but also the box in which the crown is placed when not being worn. That’s pretty neat.
Pretty interesting, but not really 12 Euros worth of interesting. We could have skipped this one – after the 4th, or 5th, or 6th crown…well, you’re just crowned out. 
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