Thinking about staying behind at Schönbrunn Palace (Danube River cruise)

[OhanaCuz]

So I'm in planning overdrive for the Danube River cruise. In looking at the Vienna schedule and two hours for Schönbrunn Palace just doesn't seem like enough time with the strudel making demonstration and marionette show. We're thinking about staying behind when the group leaves. The afternoon activities are either a bike ride (which we don't want to do) or "own your own time". I did see that the world's oldest zoo (Tiergarten Schönbrunn) is on the palace ground and that intrigues me greatly. Did anyone experience this?

I'm terrible about getting lost and am not sure how we'd get back to the ship if we did this. I did see that Uber operates in Vienna. Do they give you a physical address at each port that you could put into the Uber app? Sorry for the basic questions but I'm new to all of this!

 

[tink1970]

I know that when we were in Vienna and wanted to return to the ship, a taxi was called for us and it went straight to where the riverboat was...that said Betti (my favorite ABD guide!) might have told them the address. At the same time we were leaving, another family had gotten an Uber. They ended up back at the river boat just fine. So...I know it's possible to Uber. I know it's possible to do some "on your own" things in Vienna. I'm pretty sure that ABD's nightly information sheet (like the navigators on DCL) has the berthing address but I can't swear to that. If not, the concierge could give you the address or one of the ABD guides could. It should be pretty easy to obtain! I'm all for making a vacation your own, so hope you'll do it and report back. I can get lost in a circle so completely understand your wanting to have your ducks in a row

 

[carpenta]

If you really want to see another fabulous castle see the summer palace located just a few miles from the palace. Easy to get to on the trolley which stops right next to the Opera House. Outstanding gardens as well as world class art works. Like Tink said "make it your own" and a taxi or Uber will get you back. The ship is not very far from the center of town.

 

[OhanaCuz]

I know that when we were in Vienna and wanted to return to the ship, a taxi was called for us and it went straight to where the riverboat was...that said Betti (my favorite ABD guide!) might have told them the address. At the same time we were leaving, another family had gotten an Uber. They ended up back at the river boat just fine. So...I know it's possible to Uber. I know it's possible to do some "on your own" things in Vienna. I'm pretty sure that ABD's nightly information sheet (like the navigators on DCL) has the berthing address but I can't swear to that. If not, the concierge could give you the address or one of the ABD guides could. It should be pretty easy to obtain! I'm all for making a vacation your own, so hope you'll do it and report back. I can get lost in a circle so completely understand your wanting to have your ducks in a row

Thank you! This makes me feel much better.

If you really want to see another fabulous castle see the summer palace located just a few miles from the palace. Easy to get to on the trolley which stops right next to the Opera House. Outstanding gardens as well as world class art works. Like Tink said "make it your own" and a taxi or Uber will get you back. The ship is not very far from the center of town.

This interests me greatly. Thank you for the info. Are you referring to Belvedere Palace Schloss Belvedere?

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Trust me on this. If you really want to see Schonnbrunn, head to the palace with ABD but then break off and tour it on your own. Get your own ticket and visit it yourself. The tour you'll get with ABD will only show you part of the palace, not all of it. That 2 hours at Schonnbrunn will encompass a 45 minute tour of the palace, the strudel demonstration and the marionette show. I was so disappointed with the tour that my mom put her foot down and said we were breaking away from the group immediately after the 45 minute palace tour because she knew how much I wanted to see the palace and how upset I was at the crappy tour we'd received. We broke away, went and bought our own tickets for admission back into the palace and spent the entire day there on our own. We retoured the palace with the audio tour, this time touring the ENTIRE palace, not just half of it, and learning about all of the palace and the Hapsburgs that inhabited it, not just one of them because our guide decided we were unable to comprehend anything more complex than the history of one person. We enjoyed lunch at the outdoor café on the grounds, toured the gardens and grounds, and we would have gone to the zoo but we had a group tour of the zoo later that night so we skipped that part but had we known it was going to turn into a disaster as well, we would have toured it as well. Feel free to read about my visit and see some pictures in my blog, the link is in my signature, but you'll have to scroll back to find it, my most recent trip to South East Asia is in front of it.

 

[carpenta]

Thank you! This makes me feel much better.



This interests me greatly. Thank you for the info. Are you referring to Belvedere Palace Schloss Belvedere?

Yes I believe that is the official name . It was the Royal summer palace and it has a great view of Vienna proper. It is now an art museum you can tour with wonderful art work as well as a little coffee / pastry shop. You can walk the grounds and tour the horse stables set up as a historical museum on the families who called it home. I would strongly suggest to skip some of the fluff stuff and immerse yourself in the historical aspect of Vienna. Don't forget to get a sausage from the street vendors.....great highlight IMO.

 

[OhanaCuz]

Trust me on this. If you really want to see Schonnbrunn, head to the palace with ABD but then break off and tour it on your own. Get your own ticket and visit it yourself. The tour you'll get with ABD will only show you part of the palace, not all of it. That 2 hours at Schonnbrunn will encompass a 45 minute tour of the palace, the strudel demonstration and the marionette show. I was so disappointed with the tour that my mom put her foot down and said we were breaking away from the group immediately after the 45 minute palace tour because she knew how much I wanted to see the palace and how upset I was at the crappy tour we'd received. We broke away, went and bought our own tickets for admission back into the palace and spent the entire day there on our own. We retoured the palace with the audio tour, this time touring the ENTIRE palace, not just half of it, and learning about all of the palace and the Hapsburgs that inhabited it, not just one of them because our guide decided we were unable to comprehend anything more complex than the history of one person. We enjoyed lunch at the outdoor café on the grounds, toured the gardens and grounds, and we would have gone to the zoo but we had a group tour of the zoo later that night so we skipped that part but had we known it was going to turn into a disaster as well, we would have toured it as well. Feel free to read about my visit and see some pictures in my blog, the link is in my signature, but you'll have to scroll back to find it, my most recent trip to South East Asia is in front of it.

2 hours seemed pretty slim on its own without other activities. Getting a lunch at the outdoor cafe sounds great. I think without a doubt we're staying behind now.

Yes I believe that is the official name . It was the Royal summer palace and it has a great view of Vienna proper. It is now an art museum you can tour with wonderful art work as well as a little coffee / pastry shop. You can walk the grounds and tour the horse stables set up as a historical museum on the families who called it home. I would strongly suggest to skip some of the fluff stuff and immerse yourself in the historical aspect of Vienna. Don't forget to get a sausage from the street vendors.....great highlight IMO.

I've bookmarked it. Thank you for letting me know about this place. It's funny how you mention the sausage from street vendors because I distinctly remembered that @sayhello wrote about that on her Vienna day.

 

[carpenta]

Eyewitness Travel print some great travel books with most highlights and maps which are very easy to use to plan your trip. I find that when we travel to Europe it is very easy to use public transportation on our own. Even when we were in Spain we encountered areas where nobody spoke English but with a map and hand gestures we got where we wanted to go on the subway system. In Germany we decided to go off on our own and travel a ways outside Rothensburg to the summer palace and took a bus. We were helped by an elderly German woman who could not speak English but when she heard the name of the castle helped us navigate our travels. It was those small trips we find are exciting and leaves us with wonderful memories.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

2 hours seemed pretty slim on its own without other activities. Getting a lunch at the outdoor cafe sounds great. I think without a doubt we're staying behind now.

There are 2 cafes at the palace. One that is down near the main entrance near the ticket office and one that is closer to the palace. You want to go to the one that is closer to the palace itself. This is the one we went to, on the recommendation of the local guide that was with us. We went there twice while we were in Vienna. You will seat yourself so don't wait for them to seat you. Also, don't be surprised if you have to track your waiter down to make payment, they don't rush you out and they aren't fast with bringing the check to your table in Europe. You're allowed to linger. This café does have indoor and outdoor seating, we opted to sit outside even though it was chilly, but the café had stand heaters and blankets if you needed them.

 

[OhanaCuz]

Eyewitness Travel print some great travel books with most highlights and maps which are very easy to use to plan your trip. I find that when we travel to Europe it is very easy to use public transportation on our own. Even when we were in Spain we encountered areas where nobody spoke English but with a map and hand gestures we got where we wanted to go on the subway system. In Germany we decided to go off on our own and travel a ways outside Rothensburg to the summer palace and took a bus. We were helped by an elderly German woman who could not speak English but when she heard the name of the castle helped us navigate our travels. It was those small trips we find are exciting and leaves us with wonderful memories.

That could be some fun reading on the plane trip over there. Thank you!

There are 2 cafes at the palace. One that is down near the main entrance near the ticket office and one that is closer to the palace. You want to go to the one that is closer to the palace itself. This is the one we went to, on the recommendation of the local guide that was with us. We went there twice while we were in Vienna. You will seat yourself so don't wait for them to seat you. Also, don't be surprised if you have to track your waiter down to make payment, they don't rush you out and they aren't fast with bringing the check to your table in Europe. You're allowed to linger. This café does have indoor and outdoor seating, we opted to sit outside even though it was chilly, but the café had stand heaters and blankets if you needed them.

This is great info. Thank you!

 

[sayhello]

It's funny how you mention the sausage from street vendors because I distinctly remembered that @sayhello wrote about that on her Vienna day.

I totally did! It was *fabulous*!!

Sayhello

 

[SingingMom]

We toured Sisi's apartments and museum on our own during our Central Europe ABD - would not have missed it for the world!! Salzburg & Vienna are two of my FAVORITE spots that we have traveled so far!

 

[OhanaCuz]

We toured Sisi's apartments and museum on our own during our Central Europe ABD - would not have missed it for the world!! Salzburg & Vienna are two of my FAVORITE spots that we have traveled so far!

Oh wow that looks great also. That also got bookmarked. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Oh wow that looks great also. That also got bookmarked. Thank you for the suggestion.

Just so you know, Sisi's apartments and museum are located that Hofburg Palace, which is where the Spanish Riding School is also located. These are not nearby the Schonnbrunn Palace. You will need to take a taxi or an Uber to get there, or if you're brave the underground. We zipped back and forth around Vienna on the U-bahn (the underground). I think it took us like 15-20 minutes to get from the Hofburg to Schonnbrunn.

 

[OhanaCuz]

Just so you know, Sisi's apartments and museum are located that Hofburg Palace, which is where the Spanish Riding School is also located. These are not nearby the Schonnbrunn Palace. You will need to take a taxi or an Uber to get there, or if you're brave the underground. We zipped back and forth around Vienna on the U-bahn (the underground). I think it took us like 15-20 minutes to get from the Hofburg to Schonnbrunn.

Appreciate the tip! I've been marking these locations in Google Maps. We are not brave and are going to be using Uber.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Appreciate the tip! I've been marking these locations in Google Maps. We are not brave and are going to be using Uber.

That's why I mentioned you could take a taxi or Uber. The only way to access the Hofburg other than on foot is by taxi so the Uber will drop you as close as possible to the Hofburg Palace and then you can walk to it. The Spanish Riding School also offers tours, but not sure when you're going so the horses may not be there as they give them time off at their farm in Piber, which is about 2 hours away from Vienna in the summer. They still offer the tours of the school, but the horses just wouldn't be present.

 

[OhanaCuz]

That's why I mentioned you could take a taxi or Uber. The only way to access the Hofburg other than on foot is by taxi so the Uber will drop you as close as possible to the Hofburg Palace and then you can walk to it. The Spanish Riding School also offers tours, but not sure when you're going so the horses may not be there as they give them time off at their farm in Piber, which is about 2 hours away from Vienna in the summer. They still offer the tours of the school, but the horses just wouldn't be present.

All of these options sound so wonderful. I don't know how we're going to decide which ones to do in the time we have before dinner!

 

[sayhello]

That's why I mentioned you could take a taxi or Uber. The only way to access the Hofburg other than on foot is by taxi so the Uber will drop you as close as possible to the Hofburg Palace and then you can walk to it. The Spanish Riding School also offers tours, but not sure when you're going so the horses may not be there as they give them time off at their farm in Piber, which is about 2 hours away from Vienna in the summer. They still offer the tours of the school, but the horses just wouldn't be present.

Actually, the mares & foals are still there, just not the performing stallions. They let us walk through the stables & see the mares & foals, and told us about breeding & raising them. It was quite fascinating.

Sayhello

 

[SingingMom]

Actually, the mares & foals are still there, just not the performing stallions. They let us walk through the stables & see the mares & foals, and told us about breeding & raising them. It was quite fascinating.

Sayhello

We missed that because of a gala - DD was heartbroken! But... we DID get to see the pandas at the zoo, so that was a surprise!

 

[SingingMom]

Just so you know, Sisi's apartments and museum are located that Hofburg Palace, which is where the Spanish Riding School is also located. These are not nearby the Schonnbrunn Palace. You will need to take a taxi or an Uber to get there, or if you're brave the underground. We zipped back and forth around Vienna on the U-bahn (the underground). I think it took us like 15-20 minutes to get from the Hofburg to Schonnbrunn.

Yes - I had Hofburg Palace on my mind. lol We walked to it from the Ritz Carlton. How I love Vienna!!