How To: Go Running in Vienna

       People in Vienna don't go running. Or at least, not visibly. There must be some sort of underground secret running cult where they choose a certain time of day for different days of the week to go running...I'm assuming in cloaks by the cover of darkness..I would not be surprised. At all. Because I see so few runners about! And you know ME, I'm not going out for the next marathon by ANY means....but I do enjoy the occasional morning jog....it turns out you'll get grossly stared at if you go for a run anywhere outside of a park.

      SO. What has become my favorite running haunt is the Schönbrunn gardens! You can run forEVER and not tire of seeing the beautiful trees, statues, tourists, horse and carriages, or the beautiful backdrop of the Schönbrunn palace. AND, it's like runner's MECCA! Runners everywhere! I should maybe earn a prize for discovering Vienna's runners' cult's headquarters. It's Schloss Schönbrunn. Just so you know, Vienna runners...I'M ON TO YOU.

But seriously. Gorgeous place for a walk, run, picnic...you name it.

        I guess that's another thing I'll miss about coming home--can't really go for a #casual jog past a palace can I?? (#himeg)

        BUT NO MATTER. I'll enjoy it while I can! :) I finally decided to bring my camera with me so I could snap some Schönbrunn photos...and it was the perfect day for it too!

(this is actually the view from the Gloriette)

So here I am running. Doo doo doooo. past these trees. Super pretty. I like those trees. Past this statue. And there are plenty of others like him. He sure looks heroic.

Just stopping to stretch by some Roman ruins. Doo do doooo.

       Ok. Now at this point in my run, I decided to run up to the Gloriette. I don't know why. It was a horrible idea. I can barely WALK up there! It's so steep and wind-y. I truly felt like I was scaling the walls of Helmsdeep or something, that's how strenuous this was. Also, I'm definitely not exaggerating or anything.....But right about halfway up, when I was starting to kind of hate life, the song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus came on my friend's "workout" playlist on her iPod. Which was glorious to say the least. Made it to the top!

         Here's the Gloriette at the top of the hill! A Gloriette, meaning "little glory", basically is just a building erected (in a garden) on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The Schönbrunn Garden has probably the most famous Gloriette...although I'm going to see one at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria on Sunday! Eisenstadt is Haydn's birth place WHAT UPPP

 

         Fun historical fact of the day!: This Gloriette was built in 1775 and was the last building constructed in the garden. It was meant to serve as both a focal point and a lookout point for the garden (And there certainly IS a fantastic view of the city!) Also, it was used as a dining hall, festival hall, and a breakfast room for emperor Franz Josef I (and it now houses..surprise surprise....a café!)

 
Yay! I love Schönbrunn!