Vienna: More than a Palace! But mostly a palace.

Neoclassical? Pretty Classy.

Vienna is a beautiful neoclassical city. It's a great place to take the time to get lost and wander down unfamiliar streets. You will find lovely buildings wherever you look. And if you want to get lost, you're in luck! The free maps for this city were the worst I encountered anywhere in Europe! 

There are a lot of amazing facts about this city that you will definitely learn if you spend more than a day there and don't waste it getting lost.

Awww, horse hug.

Vienna is renowned for its Lipizzaner stallions (not carriage horses), which are trained from birth to death to prance and dance. 

Not the training process. I hope.

It's a beautiful city, though it seems cold around the edges at first glance. However, hipsters will find it full of boho-chic undertones. If you know someone that knows someone that isn't a tourist, you'll have fun. There are awesome bars full of board games, friendly people, and if you look around, you might be able to find a pay-what-you-want buffet! What more can you need? 

I have a lot of respect for the cold stone side of Vienna. By the looks of things, they have traditionally allocated the resources to libraries that libraries deserve. 

Forget the books, check out this library!

The other thing you can't avoid in Vienna is the deep and abiding influence of the Hapsburg dynasty. I'm not talking inbreeding and chins the size of a lesser man's head--I'm talking palaces! Big ones!

Not actually pure gold.

This is the Schönbrunn Palace. If you think it looks impressive on the outside, just wait until you see the inside! They didn't allow photography, so I respected their wishes, and stuck to exterior photography. I only cried a little.

The outside is ok, too.

The other great thing about this place: if you're not into seeing palace rooms or spending money, you can check out their sweet gardens for free! (Though if you want to check out the hedge mazes, you'll have to pay a couple euros.)

Not a maze. But pretty impressive.

But wait! There's more! You can also walk through the gardens all the way up to the mostly-useless building on a hill!

Palace gardens don't grow plants, they grow buildings.

But if palaces don't float your boat and you don't want to meet the friendly inhabitants of Vienna, you can always turn to the antisocial joys of night photography!

It's a thing! Yet another house of rats.

 Rathaus: where politicians spend their days.

And another thing!

Karlskirche! It's a church!
Where politicians claim they spend their days!