After breakfast, we boarded the busses to go to Schönbrunn Palace, the summer home of the Hapsburgs. We had a little while before entering the palace, so we got to wander a while in the gardens. 

There, in addition to touring the palace, we got a talk concerning the Hapsburgs, from their medieval origins on up through their exile following the loss in World War I when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania, Poland etc. They originated in Switzerland but moved to Austria. In 1438 Frederik III of the Hapsburgs became the Holy Roman Emperor.  Maria Theresa was the last Hapsburg, but the line continued as the house of Habsburg- Lorraine until 1918 and the end of World War I.  The Summer Palace at Schönbrunn was a nod towards Versailles but a little smaller. Ornate, beautiful and no inside photos.

After our tour and returning to the bus, we got dropped off at Karlsplatz.  We walked to the Museum Café where we had lunch including Sachertorte.

Then we walked to the Albertina Museum, where there was a special exhibition of around 200 Monets, ranging from early works to the Water Lillies to what looked like abstract expressionism after he went blind.  There was another more permanent exhibit of modern art including Picasso, Munch, Braque, Max Ernst, and many others, which was very good.

After we museumed out, we walked to St. Peters church where the chamber music concert was to be held.  We arrived 45 minutes early, bought tickets, and were told that we could go in.  It was in the crypt of the church.  The pianist was warming up.  There was another concert of Mozart Piano Sonatas to follow the Violin Sonatas concert we were attending.  We basically got to hear his whole program.  The violin sonatas were great and 2 of the 3 they played were ones that I (Alan) have played with a friend, so it was even more enjoyable for me. No pictures from the concert, but we saw these two while we were waiting.

Then we caught the metro back to the exit for the ship.  The Vienna Metro was very easy to navigate and we had no trouble at all.  We had dinner and finished packing. Because the Danube between Vienna and Budapest is too shallow for the ships to navigate, we were scheduled to go to Budapest by bus the next morning and then overnight on yet a third Viking ship, the Viking Idun.