Saturday 14 September 2013

Breakfast With The Emperor
Exploring Schönbrunn


Griaß enk!
Welcome!
A welcome in Tyrolean dialect
at the entrance of the beautiful Gastgarten
of the Restaurant Tirolerhof

Red flowers
in a window box

Carved wood porch column
at the outdoor stair landing.

I love how
these blossoms
caress the wood just so.

And this is the view,
from the porch of the restaurant,
built in Tyrolean farmhouse style,
looking down to the 1722 farmhouse
located in the gardens of
Schönbrunn Palace!

Right here, at this table,
did I savour a perfect Mother's Day breakfast,
accompanied by the cock-a-doodle-doo of
the resident rooster at the farmhouse below
and the finest chorus of birds imaginable!
Particularly enjoyable was the friendly service
all around, and for this alone would I encourage you
to have a meal there.

The Tirolerhof's bucolic setting,
amidst a forest-like area of the palace gardens,
the outdoor dining terrace under tall leafy trees,
and the great food, prepared from
local and even organic ingredients where possible,
make it a really enjoyable Gasthaus experience.

The Tirolerhof entrance to
the famous Schönbrunner Zoo is only steps
away from this Country Inn in the City,
offering you a golden opportunity to work off
the Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel right there!

Or you decide to walk straight ahead,
in south-easterly direction,
where you will see this side-façade rise in front of you:

Schönbrunn's Gloriette!
Standing high on the hill behind Schönbrunn Palace,
the Gloriette with its large high-ceilinged center hall
and arcaded wings, this graceful folly in all
its splendid non-usefulness,
is in my opinion one of the most romantic places
in all of Vienna.

"Built in 1775
as the last building constructed in the garden
according to the plans of Austrian imperial architect
Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg
as a 'temple of renown' to serve as both a focal point
and a lookout point for the garden,
it was used as a dining hall and festival hall
as well as a breakfast room for emperor Franz Joseph I
." *)
Where once the Emperor
used to entertain his dinnerguests
or have breakfast in solitude -
lost in thought, following a mallard duck
swimming in the reflection pool, perchance,
or gazing down onto the summer palace and its gardens
and the city beyond  -
nowadays we commoners can do the same,
while drinking a cup of coffee or tea,
and eating a slice of apfelstrudel
if we so chose, all in imperial surroundings.



Click on the image
for more views of the city
from the Gloriette!

And so the answer
to the question in my Sunday post
- Where in the City? -
has become clear:
Schönbrunn Palace's Garden
is the location of both the 1722 Tyrolean farmhouse
and the building where emperor Franz Joseph I,
the next to last ruler of a long line of Habsburg owners,
used to have his solitary breakfast
(see also Morning in the City).

A view of Schönbrunn Palace
and gardens from the Gloriette


Photographs and Text
May 2009
© by Merisi

Gloriette.
Eye-catcher, or pavilion in a garden from which views may be enjoyed, e.g. Hohenburg's Gloriette at Schönbrunn, Vienna (1775).
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "gloriette." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000.
(Retrieved May 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com)

Hohenberg, Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von
(1732–1816).
Architect of the arcaded Gloriette, the celebrated eye-catcher in the park at Schönbrunn, Vienna (1773–5), an early revival of the Cinquecento style, as well as the ‘Roman Ruin’ (1778), inspired by Piranesi. He redesigned (1772) the landscape garden at Schönbrunn, and is credited with the interior of the theatre at Schönbrunn Palace.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Hohenberg, Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von."
A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000.  (Retrieved May 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com)

*) Text in cursive, between quotation marks, quoted from Wikipedia.org!

Click for  a map of Schönbrunn!
R e p o s t - first published in May 2009

22 comments:

  1. It is Bucolic & Idyllic & just Gorgeous! Thank you!

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  2. Lovely. Something very nice about the blooms against the old wood.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, indeed! Every time I walk around there, I am in awe of the work of the gardeners of Schönbrunn (and grateful to the Austrian taxpayers who keep this jewel in bloom).

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  3. Why do you repost old postings? Not that this is not a nice posting, but Schönbrunn in September definitely as a different look and feel from the Schönbrunn in May you reposted here.
    You should go back, the light is heavenly these days when the skies are blue.

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    Replies
    1. I love every chance I get to visit Schönbrunn!
      I plead guilty to reposting every now and then, though.

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    2. Did you ever try going there shortly before closing time recently?
      It is magic! The visitors were still up at the top of the hill of the Gloriette, it was getting dark really quick, the lights in the city started to sparkle and by the time we had reached the gate, "the day was gone". The myriards of joggers had already left the park, it became quiet and turned out to be a magic visit that evening. I should add there are no lights in the park except for the lights at the Gloriette and around the palace. It's darker there than it gets in any park in Vienna where you always have lights next to the paths.

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  4. Whatever the month, your captures are superb, Merisi and I never tire of seeing them and particularly these! What beautiful place and one I would so like to visit and have a delicious meal at the Restaurant Tirolerhof! Thanks as always for sharing the beauty!! Have a wonderful weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Sylvia,
      thank you for always finding such kind and encouraging words, even for old reposts!
      A wonderful weekend to you, too,
      Merisi

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  5. Quite a palatial post!
    ard to choose which palace I would rest my head in...?
    My Tyrolean is not up to snuff.

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  6. What a beautiful place this is to have a lovely breakfast and explore the grounds. I can imagine myself sitting at the little table in that fairy-tale restaurant and experiencing all the tastes, sights and sounds. Thankyou, Merisi for the lovely tour of this amazing place! xx

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  7. Your photos and words are such a compelling love letter to Vienna, to Austria -- you make it even more beautiful, always.

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  8. Hallo! Merisi...such beautiful pictures! I've been to Schonbrunn last July..sublime! I totally agree with you with the Gloriette and I'm just curious to know what made you consider it as one of the most romantic places in Vienna? I love your city, I want to go back this October, I want to see Vienna with all the fall colors. Schones Wochenende!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! :-)
      Schönbrunn surprises me every time I go there. So much beauty, sometimes in the most simple things. Walking through the gardens never looks the same, depending on time of day, the weather, the shadow patterns, taking a different direction or another bend on the path, it's always, always as if you were walking through a different world. After many, many visits, throughout the seasons, through eight years now, I am still in love with the place. I can only wish each and every visitor to find the time and peace and walk at least one small part of the gardens alone, away from the crowds. It may seem an impossible feat, but, this being Schönbrunn, it is possible to find a corner to enjoy by yourself. I have never been in the palace, though. Somehow the gardens are too exciting to risk losing a moment there, even for someone who leaves a short walk away.

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  9. Your take us to some fantastic places. What a perfect place for breakfast before us to Schönbrunn gardens.
    Sarah x

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  10. The restaurant is absolutely lovely! As to the emperor place, well, it's a emperor place, what else?! Wonderful shots, all of them.

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  11. Gorgeous, a combination of rustic and elegant.

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  12. I'm in love with the first ones. Wow.

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  13. Hello Merisi, saying hello from Stephanie's course. I like the concept of your blog, not in the least as Vienna is such an inspiring, vivid, stylish, fantastic and breathtaking beautiful city. I only visited one time, more than 10 years ago now, but did read a lot about it as I love classical music and composer biographies. I didn't know there was a lovely place like this situated so close to Schönbrunn: thank you for sharing! I guess I'll be back soon to explore your blog further.

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