This morning Norbert went across the street from our hotel to the HUGE Schonbrunn Palace to get tickets for tonight's concert. While there he visited the extensive grounds and took all of the pix of them I am posting.
While he was there I made a new friend, Rabia, who came to straighten our room. She is from Egypt. She escaped to Germany 8 years ago with her three children.. For the first three years she was unable to find regular work.
I asked her if her bandana was a substitute for a hijab and she said yes, that they do not like her wearing her hijab here at work.. She said people here are not very nice to her so she minds her own business and goes home.
She feels very isolated. I asked her about the mosque and she said that is the one place she feels comfortable but because of work doesn't get there often. She speaks Arabic (Egyptian), has had to learn German, and speaks English well enough for us to have a conversation.
This hotel where we are is a "grand dame" type. Not our usual style. But booking months ago we found a very good rate and thought it fit Vienna. The employees at reception are quite pretentious. It was refreshing to meet someone who is real.
What is in mini bar depends on what they think you will buy. Ours has the bare minimum - all the more room for our own groceries :)
So on to the Schonbrunn palace which is the most visited site in Vienna.
While he was there I made a new friend, Rabia, who came to straighten our room. She is from Egypt. She escaped to Germany 8 years ago with her three children.. For the first three years she was unable to find regular work.
I asked her if her bandana was a substitute for a hijab and she said yes, that they do not like her wearing her hijab here at work.. She said people here are not very nice to her so she minds her own business and goes home.
She feels very isolated. I asked her about the mosque and she said that is the one place she feels comfortable but because of work doesn't get there often. She speaks Arabic (Egyptian), has had to learn German, and speaks English well enough for us to have a conversation.
This hotel where we are is a "grand dame" type. Not our usual style. But booking months ago we found a very good rate and thought it fit Vienna. The employees at reception are quite pretentious. It was refreshing to meet someone who is real.
What is in mini bar depends on what they think you will buy. Ours has the bare minimum - all the more room for our own groceries :)
So on to the Schonbrunn palace which is the most visited site in Vienna.
Norbert's pictures
There is also a zoo and more gardens
So we returned to the palace in the evening for a concert of Mozart, Haydn, and Strauss which included operatic arias, waltzes with dancers, ballet, orchestra and soloists.
The concerts are held in the orangery of the palace. Look up that word as I had to :)
Mozart himself performed here in 1786
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