This morning, I woke up around 7AM and left the hostel shortly thereafter.  The day’s plan was to bicycle to Schonbrunn Palace and play the rest of the day by ear.

I ordered an omelette at a local diner, and then rented a bicycle from the city bicycle rental network.  For the next 30 minutes, I slowly pedaled on a worn out bicycle, slowly but surely making my way to Schonbrunn Palace.  The line was just a few minutes long and I reserved a spot for the “Imperial Tour,” a 30-40 minute, 20-room tour of the extravagant palace.  The tour was enjoyable, and the luxury/extravagance was in line with that of the Newport Mansions.  Immaculate/original wall paintings, enormous gallery rooms, courtyards, wide-open views from windows, etc.

Although the interior of the palace was stunning, the exterior grounds (including gardens) were on a whole other level.  Hundreds of acres of manicured gardens, fountains, lakes, wooded nature trails and walking paths.  It was especially beautiful that the property had a mild, yet significant upward slope toward the back of the property.  This provided a wonderful view from the end of the property toward the palace and Downtown Vienna.

Next, I picked up another bicycle and cycled toward the Judenplatz, the ancient Jewish quarter in Vienna.   The history of Jews has repeated itself hundreds of times:  Jews modestly immigrate to a new area….Jews increasingly prosper (likely because of our values and work ethic)…Jews are discriminated against because of our religion or because of jealousy…Jews are forced out of an area, persecuted, or maybe even exterminated…. A few resilient, remaining Jews modestly start over.  This is devastating, especially because it keeps repeating itself even nowadays.

The Judenplatz still exists today but is vastly different than how it was nearly a millennium ago.  It mostly blends into its surroundings, except for a holocaust memorial dedicated to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who perished in the holocaust.  Interestingly, the memorial is built above the location of the original medieval synagogue in Judenplantz.  The foundation of said synagogue still exists and can be visited through the basement of the nearby museum.

Next, I slowly walked through Downtown and along the river toward the hostel.  The plan is to pick up my stuff, take a break for a couple hours, and then walk toward the bus station for the overnight bus ride to Zurich.