Schönbrunn Palace, Part Two: the Gloriette & Maze/Labyrinths (Vienna Day Two continued)

One really cool part of the Schönbrunn Palace is the "Gloriette" - when I first heard someone mention this, I had no idea what that meant. Now I know! It's this cool building on top of the hill behind the palace. You walk a LONG way away from the palace to the fountain you see below, then up the hill. Nowadays there is a restaurant inside the Gloriette, and we had lunch there as a nice break after having toured the imperial apartments. 

The fountain at the end of the flat walk from the palace to the bottom of the hill:

 

After lunch, we climbed up to the top of the building, atop the hill. The view over Vienna and the palace:

 

 

Perhaps the very best part of the visit was the complex of three hedge mazes. Well, actually I learned the difference between a maze (of which there was one) and a labyrinth (of which there were two). A maze has decision points, where you can choose the right or wrong path to get to the center the fastest, or find a dead end. A labyrinth, on the other hand, has no forks, just one long, twisting path, that will get you where you're going eventually (but much later than you think at first). Here I am returning from a dead end in the maze with hedges too tall to see over...David got to the center before me and laughed as he watched me make my way there via many peaceful meanderings.

The labyrinths had fun activities to work on along the way, such as a climbing poles with a bell at the top to ring if you make it up, math challenges, and musical dance pads. Schönbrunn Palace is highly recommended!

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